Caught between the Millstones
The case of Litvinenko
David Dastych - When you compare a today's BBC report based on Yuri Shvets interview to the explanations of Dmitri Kovtun and the statement of Alex Goldfarb (below), there is a principal controversy: Shvets claims Litvinenko was poisoned by Po-210 on November 1, during his meeting with 2 or 3 Russians at the Millennium Hotel in London.
Kovtun and Lugovoy claimed in their interviews to the Russian and German media that the poisoning of Litvinenko and the contamination of them by Po-210 happened earlier, on October 16, when they visited the London office of a security company Erinys International Ltd. It looks like these two Russian ex-agents (Kovtun, Lugovoy) are trying to put the blame on Erinys International, to exculpate themselves from a supposed treating of Litvinenko to a cup of tea (with Po-210) at the Millenium Hotel, on November 1, 2006. After this last meeting Litvinenko fell ill and he was admitted to a hospital. Probably, if he were poisoned on October 16, he might get ill before their November 1 meeting.
If the statement of Yuri Shvets is true (that Litvinenko was killed "over a dossier" of a prominent Kremlin's associate), then Dmitri Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoy might act on orders of somebody from the FSB or the Kremlin. But there is no proof of it, however. There is a dirty game going on on both sides. The Kremlin's associates try to put the blame for the assassination on "rogue elements" or on Berezovski, or on nuclear traders etc.
They deny any engagement of the Russian officialdom and Intelligence in the murder of Alex Litvinenko, a vocal critic of Putin and his regime, linked to Berezovski's political opposition network. Putin himself and his power elite (siloviki) had plenty of reasons to get rid of a man, who did everything possible to compromise them. But they (the Putin's associates) must have fully realized that the assassination would be blamed on the Kremlin and would seriously damage the reputation of the present Russian regime.
What one could do in such an embarassing situation? Probably the Kremlin power elite would resort to using of some "outsiders", who were defectors from the Russian secret services or Putin's critics. Could Kovtun and Lugovoy become the "hit men"? Probably. If they agreed to poison Litvinenko, then their natural refuge would be Russia and their claims of being "seriously radiated with Po-210", and their stay in hospitals during the Moscow part of the British investigation could be a good excuse to avoid a direct questioning by the British investigators. Moscow also stated officially that the Russian government would not allow extradiction of the Russian citizens, eventually involved in the plot against Litvinenko.
On the other hand, a powerful group of the exiled oligarchs, most distinctively represented by Boris Berezovski, had plenty of reasons to get rid of a "much too loose" ex-agent, Litvinenko, who began to act on his own. They might take advantage of Litvinenko's "business associations". They knew that this man wanted to make a lot of money in short time and that he could enter into any lucrative deal, proposed to him . If Litvinenko could be lured into a criminal activity, involving illicit nuclear trafficking and trade, then it could be easy to kill him, puting the blame on Putin's mob.
The very curious background of the whole "Litvinenko's affair" is that Litvinenko himself could make a suitable victim to both sides: the Kremlin clique and the oligarchs' opposition based abroad. The poor Sasha put his finger on Putin before dying. And that was expected of him. But probably he wasn't aware before that he got himself between the millstones of the power-struggle for the future of Russia.
As about 78 per cent of the present political elite in Russia is composed of the former KGB/GRU operatives, they want to decide about the future of their country. For the most, they are nationalistic, anti-Semitic, greedy and ruthless. They might split into fractions, fighting each other, but on the whole, they have common interests, which are contrary to the interests of the exiled oligarchs, predominantly Russians of Jewish origin. Some of the foreign-based oligarchs, like Roman Abramovich, cooperate with Putin and his close circle. But most of the other ones oppose Putin and his Kremlin ruling group.
The assassination of a minor opposition figure, like Litvinenko, with the use of a very expensive killing agent (Po-210), causing contamination and spreading public fear, could be a thundering "shot" in a "war" for the future of Russia and for the control over the Russian resources. Sasha Litvinenko was not the first victim in this war. But he was made a very popular victim, after his terrible death. It looks like this war (which is not a "turf war" in the American meaning of this term) is going to intensify now, in Russia and beyond Russia.
Read these extractes:
The Moscow Times, December 14, 2006
But Litvinenko's friend, Alex Goldfarb, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that he was certain Litvinenko had been in perfect shape the morning before his meeting with Kovtun and Lugovoi, because a car in which he had driven the day before was later found to be free of radiation.
Russians Say Their Radiation Exposure Occurred During Earlier Trip to London
Peter Finn and Mary Jordan, Washington Post Foreign Service, Thursday, December 14, 2006; Page A20
Two key figures in the poisoning of former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko said in news media interviews Wednesday that they had been contaminated with radiation in London earlier than is widely supposed. This, they contended, explains a trail of polonium-210 later left in Hamburg by one of the men.
The recent discovery of traces of the radioactive isotope in places Dmitry Kovtun visited during a stopover in Hamburg while en route from Moscow to London in late October has been cited by German authorities as potentially incriminating, on grounds that he may have carried the substance from Moscow to London.
Litvinenko 'killed over dossier'
Litvinenko’s killers used polonium worth USD 10m
Wake Up by J. R. Nyquist
David Dastych - When you compare a today's BBC report based on Yuri Shvets interview to the explanations of Dmitri Kovtun and the statement of Alex Goldfarb (below), there is a principal controversy: Shvets claims Litvinenko was poisoned by Po-210 on November 1, during his meeting with 2 or 3 Russians at the Millennium Hotel in London. Kovtun and Lugovoy claimed in their interviews to the Russian and German media that the poisoning of Litvinenko and the contamination of them by Po-210 happened earlier, on October 16, when they visited the London office of a security company Erinys International Ltd. It looks like these two Russian ex-agents (Kovtun, Lugovoy) are trying to put the blame on Erinys International, to exculpate themselves from a supposed treating of Litvinenko to a cup of tea (with Po-210) at the Millenium Hotel, on November 1, 2006. After this last meeting Litvinenko fell ill and he was admitted to a hospital. Probably, if he were poisoned on October 16, he might get ill before their November 1 meeting.
If the statement of Yuri Shvets is true (that Litvinenko was killed "over a dossier" of a prominent Kremlin's associate), then Dmitri Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoy might act on orders of somebody from the FSB or the Kremlin. But there is no proof of it, however. There is a dirty game going on on both sides. The Kremlin's associates try to put the blame for the assassination on "rogue elements" or on Berezovski, or on nuclear traders etc.
They deny any engagement of the Russian officialdom and Intelligence in the murder of Alex Litvinenko, a vocal critic of Putin and his regime, linked to Berezovski's political opposition network. Putin himself and his power elite (siloviki) had plenty of reasons to get rid of a man, who did everything possible to compromise them. But they (the Putin's associates) must have fully realized that the assassination would be blamed on the Kremlin and would seriously damage the reputation of the present Russian regime.
What one could do in such an embarassing situation? Probably the Kremlin power elite would resort to using of some "outsiders", who were defectors from the Russian secret services or Putin's critics. Could Kovtun and Lugovoy become the "hit men"? Probably. If they agreed to poison Litvinenko, then their natural refuge would be Russia and their claims of being "seriously radiated with Po-210", and their stay in hospitals during the Moscow part of the British investigation could be a good excuse to avoid a direct questioning by the British investigators. Moscow also stated officially that the Russian government would not allow extradiction of the Russian citizens, eventually involved in the plot against Litvinenko.
On the other hand, a powerful group of the exiled oligarchs, most distinctively represented by Boris Berezovski, had plenty of reasons to get rid of a "much too loose" ex-agent, Litvinenko, who began to act on his own. They might take advantage of Litvinenko's "business associations". They knew that this man wanted to make a lot of money in short time and that he could enter into any lucrative deal, proposed to him . If Litvinenko could be lured into a criminal activity, involving illicit nuclear trafficking and trade, then it could be easy to kill him, puting the blame on Putin's mob.
The very curious background of the whole "Litvinenko's affair" is that Litvinenko himself could make a suitable victim to both sides: the Kremlin clique and the oligarchs' opposition based abroad. The poor Sasha put his finger on Putin before dying. And that was expected of him. But probably he wasn't aware before that he got himself between the millstones of the power-struggle for the future of Russia.
As about 78 per cent of the present political elite in Russia is composed of the former KGB/GRU operatives, they want to decide about the future of their country. For the most, they are nationalistic, anti-Semitic, greedy and ruthless. They might split into fractions, fighting each other, but on the whole, they have common interests, which are contrary to the interests of the exiled oligarchs, predominantly Russians of Jewish origin. Some of the foreign-based oligarchs, like Roman Abramovich, cooperate with Putin and his close circle. But most of the other ones oppose Putin and his Kremlin ruling group.
The assassination of a minor opposition figure, like Litvinenko, with the use of a very expensive killing agent (Po-210), causing contamination and spreading public fear, could be a thundering "shot" in a "war" for the future of Russia and for the control over the Russian resources. Sasha Litvinenko was not the first victim in this war. But he was made a very popular victim, after his terrible death. It looks like this war (which is not a "turf war" in the American meaning of this term) is going to intensify now, in Russia and beyond Russia.
Read these extractes:
The Moscow Times, December 14, 2006But Litvinenko's friend, Alex Goldfarb, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that he was certain Litvinenko had been in perfect shape the morning before his meeting with Kovtun and Lugovoi, because a car in which he had driven the day before was later found to be free of radiation.
Russians Say Their Radiation Exposure Occurred During Earlier Trip to LondonPeter Finn and Mary Jordan, Washington Post Foreign Service, Thursday, December 14, 2006; Page A20
Two key figures in the poisoning of former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko said in news media interviews Wednesday that they had been contaminated with radiation in London earlier than is widely supposed. This, they contended, explains a trail of polonium-210 later left in Hamburg by one of the men.
The recent discovery of traces of the radioactive isotope in places Dmitry Kovtun visited during a stopover in Hamburg while en route from Moscow to London in late October has been cited by German authorities as potentially incriminating, on grounds that he may have carried the substance from Moscow to London.
Litvinenko 'killed over dossier' Litvinenko’s killers used polonium worth USD 10mWake Up by J. R. Nyquistsfux - 19. Dez, 08:10 Article 3065x read
