Russian Dissident Nina Litvinova Dies by Suicide at 80

May 15, 2026

Nina Litvinova, a prominent ocean researcher and lifelong dissident, has died by suicide at age 80, leaving a final message that blamed the invasion of Ukraine and systemic domestic repression for her decision, one of her relatives said.

Litvinova’s body was found on Wednesday on a street in central Moscow. Law enforcement sources told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency that she left a suicide note.

Her cousin, journalist Maria Slonim, shared an excerpt of the note on Facebook. “We decided to show the real reason: she was killed by Putin,” Slonim wrote.

In the note, Litvinova wrote that life had become “unbearable” since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“I tried to help them, but I’m exhausted, and I suffer day and night from helplessness,” Litvinova wrote, referring to those jailed in Russia for opposing the war. “I’m ashamed, but I gave up. Please forgive me.”

Litvinova was the granddaughter of Maxim Litvinov, the Soviet commissar of foreign affairs under Josef Stalin, and the sister of famed Soviet dissident Pavel Litvinov.

The human rights organization Memorial said Litvinova had been a dedicated advocate for political prisoners since the 1960s. In recent years, she attended high-profile trials, including those of historian Yury Dmitriyev and Memorial co-founder Oleg Orlov.

Read more about: Moscow , Dissidents

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