Assassins

A look at the events surrounding the 2006 poisoning of a former Russian security officer in Great Britain.

In November, 1998, Alexander Litvinenko, a former lieutenant colonel of the Russian security service or FSB, along with several former colleagues, publicly stated that their superiors had instigated an assassination attempt on a Russian tycoon and oligarch. Following his subsequent arrest and failed trials, Litvinenko fled to London where, having been granted asylum, he worked as a journalist and writer, as well as acting as a consultant for the British intelligence services.

Eight years later, Litvinenko’s past caught up with him when he was assassinated in London. On November 1, 2006, Litvinenko was suddenly taken ill and hospitalized. He passed away twenty-two days later. Significant amounts of a rare, highly toxic element were subsequently found in his body. Before his death, Litvinenko had said, “You may succeed in silencing one man, but the howl of protest from around the world, Mr. Putin, will reverberate in your ears for the rest of your life.”

Author Boris Volodarsky, who was consulted by the Metropolitan Police during the investigation and remains in close contact with Litvinenko’s widow, details the events surrounding Litvinenko’s murder. Volodarsky updates the story, referring to the findings of the official British inquiry, on the release of which Prime Minister David Cameron condemned Putin for presiding over “state sponsored murder.”

The author proves that the Litvinenko’s poisoning is just one of many. Some of these assassinations or attempted assassinations are already known; others are revealed by him for the first time.