State Duma deputy Nikolai Bortsov has died, the Lipetsk branch of the LDPR reports . The deputy died at his home in Lebedyan, Lipetsk region, at the age of 77. The funeral will take place in Moscow. State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin expressed his condolences to Bortsov's family and friends.
Nikolai Bortsov has been in the Russian parliament since 2003, representing United Russia there. Bortsov, together with his son Yuri (died in 2010), were the main shareholders of the Lebedyansky cannery, which was sold to PepsiCo in 2008 for $1.35 billion. . The magazine estimated his net worth at $550 million.
In February 2022, Bortsov, along with other State Duma deputies, was included in the EU sanctions list for supporting the independence of the "DPR" and "LPR", which was seen as actions to undermine the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. In March, a Ukrainian court sentenced 20 Russian parliamentarians in absentia to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property on charges of encroaching on the country's territorial integrity and inviolability; Bortsov was among them.