A local lawmaker in Russia’s southwestern Krasnodar region has been found dead in a forest, state media reported, citing a law enforcement source.

Vitaly Kapustin, 43, was the head of a construction company and a member of the Tikhoretsky District council, representing the ruling United Russia party. State investigators told the local news outlet KP-Kuban that his death “does not appear to be criminal in nature.”

According to the outlet Kuban Inform, Kapustin was found hanged in a tree from a cable anchored to his own SUV near the village of Novorozhdestvenskaya. One eyewitness told journalists that the lawmaker’s hands were tied behind his back.

“I saw how high it was. As far as I could tell, his hands seemed to be bound behind him. A person couldn’t climb up there easily — the trees are very tall, like in any grove,” the person told Krasnodar Online.

Kapustin was first elected to public office in the village of Otradnenskoye in 2019 and became a municipal deputy for the Tikhoretsk District in 2023. During his second term there, he chaired the district’s commission on agriculture and land management, utilities, transport, communications, and public amenities.

KP-Kuban, citing comments from Kapustin’s acquaintances on social media, noted that he was a well-known figure in the area and that his mother runs a snail farm.

Authorities have not released any official statements regarding Kapustin’s death. Local media report that emergency services are investigating.

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