The Russian journalist, chef and businessman Alexei Zimin has died at the age of 52, in Serbia, according to media reports.

A prominent Russian chef and outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin's regime, who lost a TV competition for criticizing him, was found dead in a Serbian hotel room. Alexei Zimin's sudden death comes with a backdrop of growing threats and mysterious incidents involving exiled Russian dissidents,

Alexei Zimin, a 52-year-old Russian chef and former television presenter who openly opposed Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, was found dead in a hotel in Belgrade. The cause of death remains "unclear.

For us, Alexei was not only a colleague, he was our friend, a close person with whom we were lucky to go through a lot - both good, kind and sad.'