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Lawmaker Larisa Shoigu, Sister Of Russian Defense Minister, Dies Aged 68


Larisa Shoigu had been a State Duma deputy since 2007. (file photo)
Larisa Shoigu had been a State Duma deputy since 2007. (file photo)

MOSCOW -- Larisa Shoigu, the older sister of the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and a member of parliament's lower chamber, has died at the age of 68.

The press service of the State Duma speaker, Vyacheslav Volodin, said on June 10 that Larisa Shoigu had died, expressing condolences to relatives, friends, and colleagues of the lawmaker, who represented the ruling United Russia party.

The cause of death was not mentioned. Some media reports say Larisa Shoigu may have died of complications caused by COVID-19.

State Duma documents show that Larisa Shoigu voted for several bills at parliamentary sessions on June 8 and June 9.

However, her colleague, Aleksei Ponomaryov, told the Open Media news outlet that Larisa Shoigu was absent at the mentioned sessions. It was immediately unclear how she appeared to have voted during those sessions since Russian lawmakers cannot allow others to vote on their behalf.

Less than two weeks ago, on May 31, Larisa Shoigu officially won primaries in her native Republic of Tyva in southern Siberia held before September parliamentary elections.

She was elected to the State Duma three times after she worked at the central hospital of the Emergency Ministry, which her brother Sergei Shoigu led from 1991 to 2012.

With reporting by Open Media, TASS, and Interfax

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