Leading Russian critic of Putin's regime is poisoned in London

The Telegraph ^ | 11/19/06 | Andrew Alderson, Chief Reporter and James Glover

[bruinbirdman]

Scotland Yard has launched an investigation into an audacious attempt to murder – using a deadly poison – a leading Russian defector at a restaurant in London.

Alexander Litvinenko, a former colonel in the Russian secret service and a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin, was seriously ill under armed guard at a London hospital last night.

Alexander Litvinenko defected
to Britain six years ago

A close friend of Mr Litvinenko said last night: "Alexander has no doubt that he was poisoned at the instigation of the Russian government." He has been living at a secret address in London with his wife and son because he feared he might be targeted by political opponents.

Mr Litvinenko is thought to have been poisoned with thallium, a colourless and odourless liquid that is often used to kill rats. It has been used in previous murder attempts of political opponents.

Sources close to the investigation said last night that the poison has attacked Mr Litvinenko's central nervous system and there are fears that he will never make a full recovery. His condition was described last night as "serious but stable".

The crime invoked memories of the murder of Georgi Markov, 49, the prize-winning Bulgarian author and broadcaster, who was poisoned as he waited with commuters on Waterloo Bridge in 1978. Mr Markov felt a pain in his thigh and three days later he was dead: the murder weapon was an umbrella, partly developed by the KGB, which fired a pellet the size of a pinhead, containing the poison ricin.

Mr Litvinenko defected to Britain six years ago but only became a British citizen last month. He is regarded as a traitor in his native Russia and friends suspect the FSB of trying to murder him.

He went to meet the woman journalist at Itsu on November 1 after she claimed to have information about the shooting of Miss Politkovskaya, also a fierce critic of President Putin. The next day, Mr Litvinenko complained of feeling unwell and was admitted to hospital. It was thought he had nothing more than a serious stomach upset but in recent days his condition has deteriorated. Friends say the journalist may have been a genuine contact but that political opponents may have discovered the venue for their meeting and slipped the poison into his meal or drink.

Tatiane Assis, the manager of Itsu, said that two detectives visited the restaurant yesterday. "They asked if we had CCTV. We said we didn't and they left without explaining why they had called." There is no suggestion that the restaurant, or its staff, had anything to do with the poisoning.

[cardinal4]

Deja Vu-the KGB used the Bulgarians to kill a critic in England a few years back. The poison was in the tip of an umbrella, that was used to inject the poison into the defector whose name escapes me...

[cardinal4]

Jeez, that'll teach me not to read the whole article! The articles mentions the whole Bulgarian story..

[tarator]

Deja Vu-the KGB used the Bulgarians to kill a critic in England

The dissident that was assassinated (Georgi Markov) was a Bulgarian and most likely KGB's role was limited to granting a permission to the Bulgarian Communists to kill him. Markov (formerly an aparatchik himself) had been annoying the Bulgarian dictator for a while.

[Just mythoughts]

WOW. Prayers for him.

[AmeriBrit]

Why was I immediately reminded of 'slick' and Arkanside?

[Let's Roll]

Is this the same poison they used on the Ukrainian leader?

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Murdering political opponents is a very old if not too accepted use of ruthless powers. Going back into the past it accounts for the deaths of various Roman Emperors and Renaissance princes, among many others.

It looks like Putin is not the democrat that many had hoped for, but he is a true alumnus of the KGB.

[ROTB]

Didn't they try to poison someone a few years back? I remember him saying, "Take a look at my face!"

[kayak]

ping

[Woodman]

If I remember correctly, it was Ricin on a bb sized pellet. It was a long slow and painfull death. Several times there have be Ricin concerns in the WOT.

[SevenofNine]

I think Vlady seen the end of Casino the movie sometime it better without witnesses

[TChad]

The body mistakes thallium for potassium, and permits it to pass into cells.

This guy is very lucky to be alive.

[EagleUSA]

Why was I immediately reminded of 'slick' and Arkanside?
-----
Yes, the ole KGB mob hunts down its opposition. Not Arkancide, but Rodina-cide.... :-)

Red Storm Rising --- won't be too long before we are staring at the U.S.S.R. all over again.

[TChad]

Didn't they try to poison someone a few years back? I remember him saying, "Take a look at my face!"

Yuschenko.

[mutley]

"If I remember correctly, it was Ricin on a bb sized pellet. "

Actually, it was much more of an engineering feat than that. It was a hollow sphere, about the size of a pinhead, with about five or six holes in it. The ricin was deposited inside the sphere, then coated with melted sugar to seal the holes. The little projectile was gas propelled, when coming into contact with the guy's leg. After, the sugar would dissolve, and the poison would be released. Quite clever, actually.

I wish I could get a job designing and building these clever gadgets for use against badguys.

[mkjessup]

You can take the Pooty-Poot out of the KGB, but you can't take the KGB out of the Pooty-Poot.

[M. Espinola]

"Red Storm Rising --- won't be too long before we are staring at the U.S.S.R. all over again."

How many more critics will be murdered on Putin's orders? We need to stop playing games with this Kremlin killer. This is like Stalin all over again in more respects then this latest assassination.

Russian defector poisoned in London 'on orders of Moscow'

[monkapotamus]

[EagleUSA]

We need to stop playing games with this Kremlin killer.
-----
True BUT....we need a President and a Congress that is will to do it. I don't see either anywhere....