Alexei Zimin, Russian chef who lost TV show over Ukraine war criticism, found dead
A well known Russian chef who criticized the war in Ukraine was found dead in a Serbian hotel room this week, multiple news outlets reported.
Alexei Zimin, whose cooking show was axed after he criticized Russia's war in Ukraine, was found dead in his hotel room while on a visit to Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, AFP reported. Zimin made the trip to promote his newest book, Anglomania, according to the Guardian.
It was unclear what his cause of death was, but Serbian officials told the BBC there were "no suspicious circumstances," and that an autopsy and toxicology report would be completed.
Zimin became a popular figure in Russia thanks to a show he hosted on NTV channel. After he publicly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the show was canceled, according to the Guardian.
In the months after the war in Ukraine began, Zimin posted several videos on his Instagram with anti-war messages, such as one that read, "The thought is not original. Stop the war. Get the troops out and bring our soldiers home."
Zimin was also critical of Putin's invasion of Crimea in 2014. He moved to London soon afterwards in 2015, Meduza reported.
Zimin opened Moscow's first chef's table restaurant called, Ragout, and a gastronomic fast food chain with branches throughout Moscow. In London, he also co-founded Russian restaurant ZIMA, according to the restaurant's website.
He worked as the editor-in-chief of several magazines, including GQ's Russia edition.
"[Alexei] Zimin was much more than just his talents, which were both literary and culinary," Mikhail Fishman, a journalist who said he knew Zimin for more than 30 years, wrote on Facebook. "He cooked, he sang, he wrote, he spoke – and he embodied life itself, zest for life."