A Russian politician at the centre of a hunting scandal has been found shot dead in his office in mysterious circumstances.

Alexander Kramarenko, deputy for the far-eastern Russian region of Magadan Oblast and a close ally of President Putin, caused a stir in May when a photo was published of him posing with over 100 dead birds.

The image of over 100 dead geese, arranged to spell ‘Chukotka 2021’, was taken in the Russian region of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and was posted on the Instagram page ‘Hunting_in_siberia’ on 19th May.

Local media said Kramarenko and his pals shot at least 178 birds that day. The damage of their actions was estimated to be over RUB 700,000 (GBP 7,140).

The images sparked an online backlash, with netizens criticising the politician for killing so many birds and possibly affecting their local population.

One Instagram user commented: “A real hunter will never take more than he needs. Furthermore, to make messages from the carcasses…”

Following the online row, the regional public prosecutor’s office confirmed that it would investigate the regional deputy over the incident.

At the time, the United Russia political party suspended Kramarenko’s membership.

On Sunday, Kramarenko was found shot dead in his office in mysterious circumstances.

According to local reports, the police have studied the CCTV footage and said the politician was alone in the building for several hours prior to his death.

However, no suicide note was found at the scene and the police have not ruled out foul play.

Investigators are currently interviewing officials and staff members as the investigation continues.