Russian diplomats seem to be an endangered species, as seven officials have been found dead under mysterious or unexplained circumstances just since Election Day, and — although any link remains as yet unprovable — the deaths certainly provoke a number of questions.

1. Sergei Krivov:

First is the perplexing case of Sergei Krivov — disputably a consular duty commander at the Russian Consulate in Manhattan — died on November 8, Election Day, under perhaps the most problematic circumstances of any of the deaths listed.

Found unconscious and unresponsive on the floor inside the consulate, Krivov suffered blunt force trauma to the head — initially reported as received in a fall from the roof of the building — and passed away before emergency services could reach the scene.

Consular officials quickly backtracked that Krivov died after plunging over the building, instead insisting he'd suffered a heart attack — but the diplomat's lack of paper trails and ambiguity from officials about his career position make the death appear to be far from ordinary.

"That position is no ordinary security guard," reported BuzzFeed on Krivov's ambiguous role at the consulate. "According to other public Russian-language descriptions of the duty commander position, Krivov would have been in charge of, among other things, 'prevention of sabotage' and suppression of 'attempts of secret intrusion' into the consulate.

"In other words, it was Krivov's job to make sure US intelligence agencies didn't have ears in the building."

2. Andrey Karlov:

On December 19, Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov met his fate while giving a speech at an art exhibit in Ankara, when Mevlüt Mert Alt?nta? — an off-duty Turkish riot police officer — fired several shots from behind, fatally wounding the diplomat and injuring several others.

Alt?nta? proceeded to declare jihad and implored the terrified, small crowd of attendees and press, "Do not forget Aleppo, do not forget Syria!"

It was later revealed Alt?nta? had used his law enforcement identification to enter the gallery; but at the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin railed against the attacker, thin security allowing him to enter the exhibit, "Russia Through Turks' Eyes," without issue, and the possible implications for resolving the conflict in Syria, stating,

"This murder is clearly a provocation aimed at undermining the improvement and normalization of Russian-Turkish relations, as well as undermining the peace process in Syria promoted by Russia, Turkey, Iran and other countries interested in settling the conflict in Syria."

3. Petr Polshikov:

At some point on the same day — and prior to the brazen assassination of Karlov — Petr Polshikov, a senior diplomat in the Latin America division at the Russian foreign ministry, died in his Moscow apartment of a gunshot wound to the head. An announcement of the suspicious death did not become public until a few hours after Alt?nta? shocked the world in Ankara.

Detailed information on Polshikov's untimely demise remains difficult to obtain, but reports at the time alleged authorities found two bullet shells on the scene and a firearm under a sink in the bathroom.

4. Oleg Erovinkin:

Ex-KGB chief Oleg Erovinkin — believed to have assisted former British spy, Christopher Steele, with a lurid dossier alleging explicit acts by President Donald Trump — was found dead in his black Lexus on December 29.

Erovinkin had been close to Igor Sechin, a former deputy prime minister and now head of State-owned oil company, Rosneft, and had acted as a key liaison between Sechin and Putin.

Although validity of the contents of that dossier have been called into serious question, Erovinkin's alleged involvement in compiling the information makes his death dubious by nature. An investigation is ongoing.