A senior Russian general has died of an apparent suicide in a Moscow suburb early Monday, just weeks after he was reportedly sacked by President Vladimir Putin.

Russian Ministry of the Interior Maj. Gen. Vladimir Makarov, 72, was found dead in the village of Golikovo, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Makarov’s wife, Valentina, found her husband with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to Russian-language news outlet SOTA.

[Given the terrible performance of the Russian military, this explanation and the circumstances might lend itself to credibility of this explanation. However, given the rash of deaths among Putin’s critics and potential opponents, don’t necessarily take this as fact either. — Ed]