Putin's Former Elections Chief Dies After 'Massive Heart Attack'

Vladimir Churov, Russia's former elections chief, has died at the age of 70, state media said on Wednesday.

Churov's death was reported by multiple state-run outlets including the news agency Tass, which quoted lawmaker Leonid Ivlev saying Churov had suffered a "massive heart attack" last week.

Churov had undergone surgery and died on Wednesday morning, Ivlev added.

The veteran official was known as a staunch ally of President Vladimir Putin and led the Russian Central Election Commission from 2007 to 2016, when he was effectively removed from his post after a Kremlin decree. He was accused of overseeing massive fraud in Russian elections, sparking pro-democracy protests and calls for his resignation.

Churov had turned 70 on March 17 and reportedly had plans to write a book.

"Yes, indeed, the sad news came that Vladimir Evgenyevich Churov passed away this morning," Ivlev told Tass.

"He suffered a massive heart attack a week ago, had a heart operation, then came to his senses, began to get up, walk around the ward, talked about his plans, was going to write a book, but that's how it all happened," the politician added.

"A very worthy person, I worked with him for nine years," he added.

Speaking to RIA Novosti, former CEC Secretary Maya Grishina described Churov as "widely erudite."

"Thanks to this, he always had his own opinion and position," she said. "I condole with his family, his wife. Vladimir Evgenyevich was an excellent cordial leader who deeply delved into all the problems of organizing the electoral process when he was in office."

Churov earned himself the nickname "magician" in December 2011 after street protests were sparked by alleged fraud in Russia's parliamentary elections.

"You're practically a magician. That's what some party leaders are calling you," then-President Dmitry Medvedev told Churov when the elections official informed him that Putin's ruling United Russia party had been victorious.

"I'm just learning," Churov responded, using a quote from a classic Soviet film.

He was ridiculed in 2011 after state TV network Russia-24, while broadcasting preliminary results of the elections, said the southern Rostov region had a 146.47 percent turnout.

In 2016, Putin appointed rights advocate Ella Pamfilova as Churov's replacement. After heading the CEC, Churov worked as ambassador-at-large at Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he oversaw issues of monitoring elections abroad.

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Update 03/22/23 6:50 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and quotes.