A British Citizen: Putin must prove by deeds he is not linked to Litvinenko’s murder

The Times ^ | November 25, 2006 | Staff

[MadIvan]

Alexander Litvinenko’s final testament, released after his death on Thursday evening, is deeply moving. It is also political dynamite. He thanked the hospital that battled to save him. He thanked his friends and the British authorities and paid tribute to the country that had granted him citizenship a month before his death. And dramatically accusing President Putin of having no respect for life, liberty or any civilised value, he said the Russian leader may have succeeded in silencing one man, “but a howl of protest from around the world will reverberate in your ears for the rest of your life”.

His death could not have come at a more awkward time for Mr Putin, who was meeting European Union leaders at an annual summit in Finland. During a tense press conference, he attempted to play down the case, offering condolences to the family but accusing Mr Litvinenko’s associates of playing politics with his death. But although his hosts did not bring up the murder in the talks on Russia’s long-term relations with the EU, it has strengthened suspicions of Mr Putin’s authoritarian administration and added to the ugly list of political murders and harassment of opponents that has heightened EU concern over Russia.

Those who should be pressing Moscow hardest to explain its role in this squalid assassination are the British police. This must now be a murder investigation. The hospital discovery that Mr Litvinenko was probably killed with polonium 210, a radioactive isotope, points to a sophisticated plot and to assassins able to obtain a substance not readily available except to those with considerable backing. The suspicion must fall on the FSB, the successor agency to the KGB. It had motive, means and opportunity. In exile in London, Mr Litvinenko, himself a former FSB agent, taunted and mocked the present head of Russia’s spy agency as well as Mr Putin. Goaded into a vendetta against a traitor, they may well have reacted as Henry II’s knights did on imagining their King’s desire to be rid of Thomas à Becket.

Two other factors increase the suspicion. First, the Russian parliament recently voted specifically to allow the FSB to undertake assassination missions abroad fighting terrorism. In doing so, it widened the definition of terrorists to include those who gave moral support to Chechen rebels and others seeking to undermine the State. FSB operatives, freed from any constraint, may well have seen Mr Litvinenko in that category.

Secondly, the FSB, though politically accountable, has been given an almost free hand by the President, who grew up in that same culture. It had no need to seek permission from the top. It knew that Mr Putin needed to maintain plausible deniability of all its actions. At the same time, it could easily point — as it now has — to the murky world of Russian exiles, some of whom are unsavoury characters and who are widely believed to have had links with organised crime groups while enriching themselves in Russia.

That murky world aside, Mr Putin has been deeply embarrassed by the murder. His open quest to make Russia respected again around the world is not helped by accusations of running a gangster state. He must, therefore, offer British investigators full co-operation and total access to all those they might want to question. A refusal or even prevarication must be taken as evidence of complicity. Nor should Russia be given the impression that this is a small episode that will be forgotten in a few weeks. Any policy of trying to tough it out should be met with an even tougher response from Britain. Mr Litvinenkno was a citizen of this country. His murder is an affront to our laws, our democracy and our way of life.

[He Rides A White Horse]

His open quest to make Russia respected again around the world is not helped by accusations of running a gangster state.

It's what a gangster does.

[A. Pole]

But the Russians have done many stupid things in the past. They are a spooky people.

There are plenty of crazy people from Russia in London. The investigation should start there.

[He Rides A White Horse]

.....as the media debates whether Syria is responsible for six assassinations in two years.

[1066AD]

The peace sign is palm outward. The sign in the photo is the British equivalent of the raised finger ...

[SevenofNine]

OH OKAY so it what we here in the US consider giving person THE BIRD LOL!

[He Rides A White Horse]

I always thought they were telling me that I was 'number 1'.......must reevaluate.

[tyke]

Actually Bush and Cheney have been critisizing Putin every step of the way. From the Ukraine, the Baltics, Georgia, Belorusia...

"I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue.

"I was able to get a sense of his soul.

"He's a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country and I appreciate very much the frank dialogue and that's the beginning of a very constructive relationship,"

George W. Bush, June 16th, 2001.

[FreeReign]

George W. Bush, June 16th, 2001.

From that point Bush and Cheney have been critisizing Putin for any bad Putin actions every step of the way. From the Ukraine, the Baltics, Georgia, Belorusia...

I bet you can't name any of the criticisms? But you remember those meaningless remarks that you cite at the start.

[GarySpFc]

The following is an excerpt.

Notorious Oligarch Berezovsky Reveals Plans for Coup in Russia

Wanted Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky has gone public with his plans to seize power in Russia by force. The London-based oligarch said in an interview with the Ekho Moskvy radio station Wednesday that he had been working on the coup plan for 18 months.

Berezovsky, a notorious critic of Putin’s regime, said he aimed to replace the “anti-constitutional regime” in Russia.

::snip::

Today’s regime would never allow a fair election, Berezovsky added, so the only way out is a coup.

“There is only one way out — a coup, a forced seizure of power,” he said.

The oligarch said he had plenty of supporters.

Continued

[dixiechick2000]

"You don't send your thugs here and kill our citizens and expect to get away with it, Pooty my lad. There will be consequences."


Bump that, Ivan!
I hope y'all are deadly serious about "consequences".

[kinoxi]

Who owns mosnews.com?

[GarySpFc]

Who owns mosnews.com?

Maybe it is the same people who own the BBC 'Coup' charge for Russian tycoon

You might try Googling "Berezovsky coup Russia," and checking the 41,200 hits for yourself.

[kinoxi]

I don't see the connection with the man who has been murdered and your links. Please explain it to me.

[quesney]

Would someone explain to me how someone managed to get a radioactive substance into Britain -- and explain to me how it is a terrorist wouldn't be able to do the same, say with a dirty bomb or nuke?

[GarySpFc]

I don't see the connection with the man who has been murdered and your links. Please explain it to me.

1. Russia and the UK were very close to coming to an extradition treaty agreement. This would put the entire Berezovsky gang under and increased risk of deportation to Russia, or having to relocate to another country at the very least.

2. Letvineko just happened to live right next door to Chechen terrorist Zakayev, who like Letvineko is on the payroll of Team Berezovsky. Even the Dr. who came out earlier in the week and claimed Thallium poisoning works directly for Berezovsky.

3. Russian officials seem to have finally noticed the pattern of these things happening when Putin is having meetings at overseas events. Almost every one of these relates to EU meetings. This goes back to the terrorist attacks on the Moscow subway and two aircraft a few years back as well as the Klebnikov, Politskaya and now Letvineko.

Now read American Journalist Shot Dead in Moscow
Klebnikov wrote a Forbes article in 1996 on Russian magnate Boris Berezovsky, calling him a "powerful gangland boss" behind whom "lies a trail of corpses." Berezovsky, an influential adviser at the time to then-President Boris Yeltsin, sued the magazine in Britain, calling the article a "series of lies."

Klebnikov went on to write a book on Berezovsky titled "Godfather of the Kremlin: Boris Berezovsky and the Looting of Russia," a prosecutorial-style account of the magnate's rise to riches and power. The book said Yeltsin's Russia was ruled by a "kleptocracy" and was "one of the most corrupt regimes in the world." Berezovsky later fell out with Yeltsin's successor, Vladimir Putin, and fled to Britain to avoid what he said were politically motivated corruption charges.

Berezovsky withdrew the lawsuit last year after Forbes acknowledged that there was no evidence the tycoon had ordered the 1995 murder of television journalist Vladislav Listiev or any other killing. Forbes said at the time that it made no financial settlement to end the suit.

Notorious Oligarch Berezovsky Reveals Plans for Coup in Russia

Maybe this will help you make the connection.

[kinoxi]

I am inherently against the russian system you defend. I am neither socialist nor totalitarian in belief.

[M. Espinola]

The slithering Putin propagandists continue having the audacity showing up on FR attacking everyone who dares questions their vicious 'Kremlin leader'.

[GarySpFc]

I am inherently against the russian system you defend. I am neither socialist nor totalitarian in belief.

I applaud you for being against evil communism. I fought against the monsters in Nam, and would fight against them again. However, the Russian government is not communist. Yes, they do some things we do not like, but they are not communist. When we invaded Afghanistan they helped us secure 13 bases in 5 countries and they provided overflight rights over Russia to those bases, and they have continued to provide those rights. They furnished us tanks, Russian tank crews, helicopters, Russian helicopter crews, and supplies for the Norther Alliance. See Russia in multi-million arms deal with Northern Alliance. Their actions have help save many American lives. They have also continued to help us in the GWOT, and someday in the future when the history is written will surprise many, because it is far different than what you are hearing in the media.

The individual posting the cartoons is a conspiracy theorist, has never been there, and is simply a little bitter, hate filled man. He is one of the group on Free Republic who believes the fall of the Iron Curtain was a KGB ruse, which is a denial of Ronald Reagan's victory. This individual equates being conservative with believing his conspiracy theory. I have provided Jim Robinson with solid evidence of my being a conservative Republican. I served in the Army Special Forces during Nam. One of the individuals in my SF Association told me earlier this month he paid his own way to proudly march in the military parade in Red Square. That man won America's highest award, the Medal of Honor. These conspiracy theorists call me a traitor. I wonder if they would do the same thing in labeling this Special Forces MOH winner a traitor.

Two years ago the conspiracy theorists on Free Republic were railing against Russia for fighting the poor little Chechens. At that time I started fighting them, because I knew for a fact they were lead, financed, and supported by al-Qaeda. I was severaly mocked then by the conspiracy theorists. A couple of Freeper Special Ops individuals even posted supporting what I was saying, and the CTs ignored them. However, I have been proven to be right, and the American government now admits the Chechens were lead by al-Qaeda.

I am NOT saying Putin and the SVR did not have anything to do with the murders. The point I am making which you are overlooking is that Berezvosky had more reason to kill Anna Polikovskaya, Alexander Litvinenko, and Paul Klebnikov than Putin. The cartoon man simply cannot allow for this possibility, because it will not support his conspiracy theory. The UK is threatening to throw Berevosky out of the country due to his repeated statements he is going to overthrow the Russian government. Even the American government wants to question Berevosky in the death of Paul Klebnikov. Just keep an open mind and examine the evidence when it becomes available.

[GarySpFc]

The conspiracy theorists have railed time after time at the re-installation of statues of Stalin as a sure sign communism is returning to Russia. When a monument of Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt was unveiled by a sculptor depicting their meeting at Yalta they started howling again. The sculptor suggested it should be installed in Crimea, but the citizens there rejected it. He then suggested it should be installed in Moscow, and the cries from the conspiracy theorists continued. However, the citizens of Moscow rejected it. The sculptor then stated it was going to be installed in Volgograd, the city formerly known as Stalingrad. The howls went up again that that this was proof positive communism had returned to Russia. My wife is from Volgograd, and so we contacted friends in Volgograd, who in turn contacted the man in charge of Volgograd's memorial, and I have included their response below. There are currently 3 statues of Stalin in all of Russia, two are in Siberia, and one in Moscow minus the nose.

“Gary,

Yesterday I checked the information about Stalin monument in the Internet. I could not find much information on our local server (Volgograd.ru) but I read one post there. It says that the monument was built by a famous sculptor Tsereteli. First he wanted his statue to be erected in the Crimea (Ukraine) but people were against it especially Tatars (there are a lot of them there and the Ukrainian government listens to their opinion). Then Tsereteli wanted to give the statue to Moscow as a gift but Moscow thanked him for the gift and said no. Now the sculptor is talking to Volgograd government people (mostly to communists) and wants the statue to be erected in Volgograd. It is funny that the person who is responsible for all statues and monuments in the city (the one who decides if the monument will be placed in the city or not) has no idea about the statue of Stalin in Volgograd as he said in the interview to some local newspaper. Communists try to solve this question by themselves.

Kindest regards,
Alla”



The statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky, founder of the Cheka was torn down in 1991, on and the hammer and sickle was replaced over the Kremlin by the red, white, and blue flag of Russia. One November 5, 2005, the Moscow police at the request of RETIRED police officers restored a bust of Dzerzhinsky, in a courtyard near where the original statue stood. Note, this was a bust and not the original statue. In another 5 to 10 years, when the 60 and over former police officers are dead the bust of Iron Felix will be quietly removed. Likewise, Putin has been putting out feelers the last 3 or 4 years to quietly bury Lenin.

[AdmSmith]

I guess that the wet job was done by operatives in GRU or Zaslon mentioned in this article about the Baghdad kidnapping of four Russian embassy employees:




The Kremlin's response to the deaths was dramatic, with President Putin ordering Russia's secret services to "destroy" those responsible. FSB head Nikolai Patrushev promised that these instructions would be carried out "no matter how much time and effort is required" (Interfax, June 28). Putin immediately issued a resolution that called for granting Russia's president the right to deploy armed forces and special-purpose units outside Russia to prevent "international terrorist activity." Despite opposition concerns of a return to Stalinist tactics, the Russian Duma passed the legislation unanimously on July 5, followed by the unanimous approval of the upper house on July 7. There is no expiration date for the extraordinary powers. According to the chairman of the council's Defense and Security Committee, Viktor Ozerov, the special services will conduct their operations abroad in secret, with the president having the option of revealing such activities to the Russian public "when necessary" (Itar-Tass, July 7).

President Putin claims that the new legislation is in line with Article 51 of the UN Charter, which refers to "the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations." Bush administration legal experts have cited the same article as permitting "anticipatory" self-defense and used it to justify the assassination of al-Qaeda member Ali Qaed Sinyan al-Harthi in Yemen in 2002. Putin added that the charter does not say that the aggression must originate with another state (RIA Novosti, July 7). Russia first announced a new policy of using pre-emptive military force against external threats in October 2003.

Besides the GRU (Russia's military intelligence agency), another candidate for the job of eliminating the murderers is a subunit of the Foreign Intelligence Service known as Zaslon (Shield), created in 1998 and composed of at least 300 military veterans (Izvestia, July 4). Both Zaslon and the GRU had a presence in Baghdad before the 2003 U.S. invasion and have ties to former members of Iraqi intelligence. There is no reason to attribute special skills to Russia's present secret services in this type of operation. Their last attempt in this field, the successful assassination of Chechen ex-president Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev in 2004, was nevertheless so ineptly handled that the agents responsible were quickly arrested and considerable international embarrassment resulted for Moscow.

http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2370064