Rzhavsky was also candidate in the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election,[4] nominated by the "United Family" Party, of which he was the head.

In his program, he promised to establish order in Ukraine, using the methods of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

[2][5] According to his daughter, he had been abducted twice from his estate by Russian soldiers who had demanded a ransom and, during a drunken binge, had shot him dead.

The killing was witnessed by his family who posted an official statement on Rzhavsky's Facebook profile.

[7] On 12 April Investigative Committee of Russia declared it will include the recording in its "investigation on the Bucha fakes"[8] after which Rzhavsky's name disappeared from Russian state media coverage, while Russian bloggers continued claiming he was indeed killed, but by "Ukrainian nationalists".