Former Director General of "Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat" Vitaly Zakharov has been killed in Bashkir city of Salavat.

The former director was killed with a hunting rifle.

According to the information, V.Zakharov was shot twice in the back when he walked with a dog on the Bank of the Belaya river in Salavat.

Criminal case launched on the incident, however, no information reported on motive for the murder.

Notably, V.Zakharov has led "Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat" (1997-1999), "Astrahangazprom" (2002-2005), and "the Astrakhan oil and gas company" (2006-2010).