EXCLUSIVE: Anti-Putin businessman mocked Russia’s nuclear weapons and said the army was getting ‘weaker every day’ in podcast weeks before he fell to his death…as his widow rejects suicide claims

• Daniel Rapoport was found dead on June 14 outside his apartment in DC 
• The anti-Putin businessman had been vocal in his criticism of Russia 
• He ran a bar in Moscow, but had fled Russia and was married to a Ukrainian woman
• In an interview on June 15, he denigrated Russia’s nuclear capability 
• Rapoport also claimed the Russian army was getting weaker ‘every day’ 
• He spoke excitedly of starting his new life in America with his wife and daughter
• His widow Alonya does not believe her husband killed himself
• His business partner from Moscow also died falling from a building in 2017 

Dan Rapoport was found dead outside an apartment building in Washington DC on August 14 after apparently falling from the roof

The anti-Putin businessman who fell to his death in Washington DC died weeks after mocking Russia’s nuclear capabilities in a podcast interview where he said the Red Army was becoming ‘weaker every day’, DailyMail.com can reveal. 

Dan Rapoport was found dead outside an apartment building in Washington DC on August 14 after apparently falling from the roof.

The 52-year-old was a Moscow businessman who had fled Russia and settled in Kyiv before war broke out. He was in DC without his wife and their young daughter when he died, and he’d been desperately trying to bring them over. 

Rapoport’s widow has repeatedly rejected the notion that he committed suicide, as have his friends. 

Now, DailyMail.com can reveal how Dan mocked Putin’s nuclear abilities in a podcast with Ukrainian interviewers on June 15, just eight weeks before he died. 

‘We all see the poor state of Russian equipment and technology.. 

‘I doubt anything can even fly from Russia,’ he said, while discussing Russia’s nuclear weaponry in an interview with journalist Olena Sharpanska. 

He added that Russia was becoming ‘weaker every day’ in the war against Ukraine.

The remarks are among many by Rapoport against Russia, but they are his most specific about its military capabilities. 

Rapoport’s widow, Alonya, denied the idea that he committed suicide. 

Around the same time he died, his beloved rescue dog, Boy, was reportedly found wandering around in a park with a suicide note and money tied to his collar. 

Rapoport was also found with $2,000 cash. He was wearing flip flops and a hat when he died. 

Rapoport was an outspoken Putin critic who went to great lengths to publicly denigrate the government

Rapoport planned to bring his widow Alonya and their young daughter to the US when he died. She does not believe the DC police claim that he killed himself 

Rapoport’s dog, Boy, was said to have carried ‘cash and a suicide note’ into a park after he set it free before his death. Those details were reported by  former Tatler editor Yuniya Pugacheva on Telegram 

In his interview with the Ukrainian podcast, he spoke excitedly about starting his new life with his wife and their young daughter.

‘I left Kyiv in May. I have to arrange my family, so I returned to America. 

‘I spent the first two weeks in Florida, then I wet to New York, and now I am in Washington.’ 

Later in the interview, he said he had survivor’s guilt after leaving his wife and daughter in Kyiv. 

He said he intended to go back for them. 

Friends and others are also dubious about the cause of his death. 

‘I think the circumstances of his death are extremely suspicious. 

These are the items found on Rapaport or  near his body on August 14, DailyMail.com can reveal

The eight-floor apartment building that Rapoport jumped to his death from, according to police 

‘Whenever someone who is in a negative view of the Putin regime dies suspiciously, one should rule out foul play, not rule it in,’ said Bill Browder, a financer who also used to live in Moscow, in an interview with Politico. 

‘He was a well-known critic of Putin in the West and had been an effective critic. 

‘He was also an open supporter of [the jailed opposition leader] Alexei Navalny. 

‘And he had all these connections in the elite of Washington, D.C. 

‘The immediate response of the Washington, D.C. police, I think, is a premature and unhelpful conclusion,’ he added. 

The DC Metropolitan Police ruled immediately that no foul play was suspected in the case.  

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