MOSCOW. Jan 12 (Interfax) - Vyacheslav Buchnev, the head of the Russian Interior Ministry department for the republic of Marii-el, has apparently shot and killed himself in his office, the Russian Interior Ministry told Interfax on Jan 3
"The head of the republic's Interior Ministry department arrived at work on Saturday. Some time later, his secretary heard a shot in the office and found his boss with no signs of life," a ministry spokesperson said.
Buchnev had taken a leave from December 26 to January 8 but has occasionally appeared at work in the meantime, he said.
The Interior Ministry has decided to dispatch officials from the central internal security and personnel department to Marii-el to determine all circumstances of the incident.
Interfax has learned from a law enforcement source speaking on condition of anonymity that the Interior Ministry leadership had no complaints about Buchnev's work.
It has yet to be determined whether Buchnev's death was suicide or an accident, he said.