The official responsible for privatisation in a major city in Russia's Siberia region was shot dead this morning in an apparent contract killing.
Prosecutors said Valery Maryasov (47) who was also deputy mayor of Novosibirsk, was killed at about 9 a.m. in a lift in his apartment building. His death came four years after his predecessor was also murdered.
"The main version being considered is that of a contract murder," a spokeswoman for local prosecutors said by telephone from the Siberian city. She said a team of investigators was collecting evidence at the site of the murder.
Mr Maryasov was head of the city's land and property department which oversees privatisations - a major source of disputes among business leaders in the 13 years since the end of communist rule.
Officials said Mr Maryasov's predecessor was shot dead in his car on his way to work four years ago. The crime remains unsolved.
The shooting came less than two weeks before President Vladimir Putin seeks re-election in a March 14th poll he is heavily favoured to win and which, unlike post-Soviet elections in the past, has stirred little political tension.
Contract killings occur frequently among senior business people in post-Soviet Russia, and senior politicians are sometimes victims.