Russian journalist and writer Andrei Konstantinov has died in St. Petersburg, the news website Fontanka reported on Wednesday.
Konstantinov, 60, was suffering from a severe illness, Fontanka said.
Born in the Astrakhan region, Konstantinov was the founder of news websites Fontanka, 47news and the Agency for Investigative Journalism.
He was the author of "Banditsky Petersburg" (Gangland St. Petersburg), a hugely popular crime series about St. Petersburg criminal subcultures, and other detective novels.
Konstantinov also served as the head of the St. Petersburg Union of Journalists from 2004-2011 and worked at St. Petersburg State University at the Faculty of Journalism from 1998-2014.
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