BELGRADE: A famed Russian chef who has been highly critical of Moscow’s war in Ukraine has been found dead while on a visit to Serbia’s capital, according to several sources on Wednesday.
The death of Alexei Zimin, who has been based in London for years, marks the latest passing of a Russian expatriate critical of the Kremlin’s war.
Zimin co-founded the ZIMA restaurant in London, served as senior contributor in numerous magazines and has co-authored several books, according to a ZIMA Instagram post.
His body was found late on Tuesday in a flat that he was renting in Belgrade while on a visit to promote his latest book, “Anglomania,” a source close to the investigation told AFP.
Prosecutors told the BBC that the flat was locked from the inside and the death did not appear to be suspicious, but that an autopsy was due to take place.
Born in Russia in 1971, Zimin had opened several restaurants in Moscow before leaving after Russia occupied Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he posted anti-war messages and stopped his Saturday cooking show on a pro-Kremlin television station.
“Throughout his remarkable life, Alexei accomplished a lot — he served as deputy editor-in-chief of Afisha magazine, founded Afisha.Food, also worked as editor-in-chief of Afisha World, GQ, and Gourmet,” his London restaurant ZIMA said in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
“He hosted several culinary shows, authored numerous books, and launched multiple successful restaurants,” it said.
“To us, Alexei was not only a colleague but also a friend, a close companion with whom we shared many experiences — good, kind, and at times sorrowful.”
Russian chef and war critic found dead in Belgrade
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Russian chef and war critic found dead in Belgrade
- The death of Alexei Zimin, who has been based in London for years, marks the latest passing of a Russian expatriate critical of the Kremlin’s war
- His body was found late on Tuesday in a flat that he was renting in Belgrade while on a visit to promote his latest book, “Anglomania“
California joins UN health network following US departure from WHO
- California Governor Gavin Newsom decried the United States’ move on Friday, calling it a “reckless decision” that will hurt many people
CALIFORNIA: California said on Friday it will become the first US state to join the World Health Organization’s global outbreak response network following the Trump administration’s decision to pull Washington out of the WHO.
The network, comprised of more than 360 technical institutions, responds to public health events with the deployment of staff and resources to affected countries. It has tackled major public health events, including COVID-19. The state’s decision to join the network comes more than a year after US President Donald Trump gave notice that Washington would depart from the WHO. On Thursday, it officially withdrew from the agency, saying its decision reflected failures in the UN health agency’s management of the pandemic.
California Governor Gavin Newsom decried the United States’ move on Friday, calling it a “reckless decision” that will hurt many people.
“California will not bear witness to the chaos this decision will bring,” Newsom said in a statement. “We will continue to foster partnerships across the globe and remain at the forefront of public health preparedness, including through our membership as the only state in WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network.”
The governor’s office said he met with the WHO’s Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, where they discussed collaborating to detect and respond to emerging public health threats.
The WHO did not immediately respond when reached for comment.
