Russian authorities say a former Russian air force general committed suicide in Moscow on January 6 by hanging himself.
Moscow police said 77-year-old retired Lieutenant General Anatoly Kudryavtsev was battling cancer and left a suicide note saying he could no longer stand "the excruciating pain."
Kudryavtsev is the fourth retired Russian general to commit suicide within a year.
Police say retired secret service General Viktor Gudkov, who suffered depression due to ongoing serious illness that was not disclosed, shot himself dead in June.
Police say the cancer-striken retired Major General Boris Saplin killed himself in March.
Authorities say retired Counter-Admiral of the Russian Navy, Vyacheslav Apanasenko, also shot himself dead after he failed to obtain painkillers for his cancer due to paperwork errors.
In his suicide note, Apanasenko blamed Russian Health Ministry and government for his death.
