Col. Alexander Litvinenko

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20 November to 9 December 2006

In the Polonium Poison Mystery, an Odd Italian Footnote

… On Nov. 1, the day Mr. Litvinenko is believed to have been poisoned, Mr. Scaramella and the former spy met at a sushi bar in London. And at the moment, Mr. Scaramella is not considered a suspect….(New York Times, 9 Dec 06)

Prime suspect - or key witness?

When Andrei Lugovoi, the Russian businessman who has found himself at the centre of the polonium-210 poisoning case, was last week described as a former KGB agent, one of his old friends could scarcely conceal his amusement. “There is no such thing as a former KGB agent,” chuckled Badri Patarkatsishvili, a Georgian entrepreneur who has employed Mr Lugovoi as security consultant, on and off, for 13 years.  It was inevitable that Mr Lugovoi should find himself under suspicion once Alexander Litvinenko announced, on his deathbed, that they had met before he fell ill. When tests showed contact with polonium-210 it seemed an open-and-shut case.…(Guardian, 8 Dec 06)

Lawyer Denies Litvinenko’s Contact Kovtun in Critical Condition

Dmitry Kovtun, a contact of poisoned Russian ex-FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko, is in satisfactory health and media reports he is in critical condition are wrong, a lawyer told Reuters on Thursday. Russia’s Interfax news agency reported earlier that Kovtun, who met Litvinenko in London on the day he fell ill, was in a coma from radiation poisoning. “Doctors have classified Kovtun’s condition as critical,” Interfax quoted its source as saying….(MosNews, 8 Dec 06)

Cancer risk for bar staff who served spy

Seven bar staff who served the poisoned spy Alexander Litvinenko face an increased risk of cancer after testing positive for the radioactive substance that killed him. The staff at the Millennium Hotel have been told there is a small long-term risk to their health after being exposed to polonium 210….(Telegraph, 8 Dec 06)

Stroll that went nowhere

The Russian academic Julia Svetlichnaja, who met Litvinenko and received more than 100 emails from him, reveals his erratic behaviour prevented his accusations being taken seriously - until it was too late….(Sydney Morning Herald, 8 Dec 06)

Questioning of key witness in Litvinenko case begins

Russian and British investigators have started questioning a key witness in the case of Russian security service defector Alexander Litvinenko's murder by radiation poisoning, a source close to investigators said Friday….(RIA Novosti, 8 Dec 06)

Confusion envelops Litvinenko even as he goes to the grave

…As his body was laid to rest in the same north London cemetery where Karl Marx lies buried, there was an argument between mourners as to whether the ceremony should be non-denominational or Muslim and a disagreement about whether he had really converted to Islam. …(Guardian, 8 Dec 06)

7 London Bar Workers Test Positive for Radiation

…In London, attention swung back on to the Pine Bar of the Mayfair Millennium Hotel, in Grosvenor Square close to the American Embassy, where Mr. Litvinenko was reported to have met Mr. Kovtun and another Russian contact, Andrei K. Lugovoi, on Nov. 1….(New York Times, 8 Dec 06)

Russian Tied to Ex-Spy Also Ill From Radiation

…Dmitry Kovtun, a business consultant who met with Alexander Litvinenko on Nov. 1 at a bar in the Millennium Hotel in London, suffered a severe health breakdown from radiation exposure, according to the reports. He had earlier been interviewed by Russian investigators, with detectives from Scotland Yard present as well….(Washington Post, 8 Dec 06)

Intrigue grows in case of ex-spy's poisoning

…As friends and colleagues gathered to recite eulogies, sing hymns and, once again, denounce the Russian government — which many blame for his death — the intrigue picked up yet another layer: The Russian news agency Interfax announced that a key witness and possible suspect in the case had fallen into a coma in a Moscow hospital hours after being questioned by British investigators. A lawyer involved in the case denied the report….(LA Times, 8 Dec 06)

That Murder in London

The poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, renegade Russian spy and fierce critic of Vladimir Putin's government, is everywhere being called a mystery….(Washington Post, 8 Dec 06)

Litvinenko Friend, Chechen Separatist Zakayev Slams West for Backing Putin’s Regime

…Chechen separatist Akhmed Zakayev, a close friend of Litvinenko, accused Western countries of helping to strengthen a “criminal regime” in Moscow by their failure to stand up to President Vladimir Putin. He linked Litvinenko’s suspected murder in London last month to the authorization given by Russia’s parliament in July for Putin to send soldiers or special forces anywhere in the world to fight those whom Moscow sees as terrorists…(MosNews, 7 Dec 06)

Litvinenko contact 'is in coma'

A Russian businessman who met the former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko on the day he fell ill is now in a coma, Russia's Interfax agency reports. Dmitry Kovtun, a security expert, met Mr Litvinenko at a bar in London's Millennium Hotel on 1 November….(BBC, 7 Dec 06)

'Spy hotel' workers test positive

Seven workers at a hotel where murdered ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko held a meeting have tested positive for low levels of radioactive polonium-210. A Russian businessman who met Mr Litvinenko in the Pine Bar of London's Millennium Hotel has fallen into a coma, Russia's Interfax agency reports….(BBC, 7 Dec 06)

Questioning of key witness in ex-spy murder case postponed

…Andrei Lugovoi is one of at least two Russians who met with Litvinenko in London November 1, the day he fell ill… In late November, Lugovoi visited the British Embassy in Moscow and said he was willing to help Scotland Yard investigate the Litvinenko case….(RIA Novosti, 7 Dec 06)

Gaidar says foes of Kremlin may have wanted him dead

Former Russian premier Yegor Gaidar said on Thursday enemies of the Kremlin probably tried to kill him during a trip to Dublin last month in an attack he likened to something from a "political thriller."…(Reuters, 7 Dec 06)

Businessman Questioned in Ex-Spy’s Poisoning

…The new discoveries — especially in the Moscow embassy — appeared to suggest the possibility that Mr. Lugovoi had been exposed to polonium, though how and exactly when remain inconclusive. He is now hospitalized in Moscow, as is Mr. Kovtun…(New York Times, 7 Dec 06)

Poisoning Case Will Be Treated As Murder
British authorities announced Wednesday that they are officially treating the fatal poisoning of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko as murder and have found traces of a radioactive substance at the British Embassy in Moscow….(Washington Post, 7 Dec 06)

Spy death was murder say police as poison case takes fresh twist

…Police have been following the trail across London left by Dimitri Kovtun and his close friend, Andrei Lugovoy. It includes a number of locations where polonium-210 has been found. Mr Kovtun was interviewed by Russian prosecutors yesterday in the presence of the British detectives, who arrived in Moscow on Monday. He and and Mr Lugovoy were in the same Moscow clinic last night being tested for contamination by polonium-210…(Times Online, 6 Dec 06)

Poison spy case 'treated as murder'

…In a statement, Scotland Yard said: "Detectives investigating the death of Alexander Litvinenko have reached the stage where it is felt appropriate to treat it as an allegation of murder….(Guardian, 6 Dec 06)

Litvinenko Case Called Murder

AbdullaevBritish investigators are now treating the poisoning death of former Federal Security Service agent Alexander Litvinenko as murder….(Moscow Times, 6 Dec 06)

Contact says secret Russian groups poisoned ex-spy

An Italian contact of poisoned former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko accused "clandestine organizations" from Russia that were not under direct control of the Kremlin of targeting his dead friend….(Reuters, 6 Dec 06)

Witness questioned in spy death case

...Interfax news agency reported that British and Russian investigators on Tuesday and Wednesday interrogated Dmitry Kovtun, one of at least two Russian businessmen who met Litvinenko in London's Millennium Hotel on Nov. 1, hours before he fell ill. Kovtun and an associate, Andrei Lugovoi, have told the Russian media they went to London as part of a group of Moscow soccer fans, and met briefly with their exiled countryman to discuss business matters. Later, they attended a match between CSKA Moscow and Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in north London. Both men have told reporters in Moscow that someone is trying to frame them in Litvinenko's death….(AP, 6 Dec 06)

Spy Case Key Witness To Answer Questions

Andrei Lugovoi, a key witness in the radiation poisoning case of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, will meet with British investigators on Wednesday, a business associate said.  Vyacheslav Sokolenko, who has cooperated with Lugovoi in business ventures, told The Associated Press that the meeting would take place, but declined to state the time or place..."I have been officially informed that our meeting with Scotland Yard detectives will take place today and proceed with the participation of employees of the Russian Prosecutor General's Office," Lugovoi was quoted as saying….(CBS/AP, 6 Dec 06)

Who's Who in the Litvinenko Case...(CBS Report)

Traces of Polonium Found at London Stadium

Traces of the radioactive isotope polonium-210 have been detected at a London stadium that hosted a soccer match attended by a key figure in the probe of the fatal radiation poisoning of a former Russian spy, a British official said Wednesday. The key figure, Andrei Lugovoi, who is hospitalized in Moscow and being tested for possible polonium contamination, was to be interviewed by British investigators Wednesday, according to a Russian news agency report confirmed by a Lugovoi associate….(AP, 6 Dec 06)

Russia Should Carry Out Own Probe Into Litvinenko’s Death — Official

Russia should carry out its own investigation into the poisoning death in London of former intelligence agent Alexander Litvinenko, the deputy justice minister was quoted by a newspaper in Moscow as saying, Agence France-Presse reported. Given that Litvinenko was a Russian citizen, as well as having British citizenship, “our security agencies should not be indifferent to what happened,”…(MosNews, 6 Dec 06)

Scotland Yard barred from interviewing jailed ex-FSB officer

… Defense lawyers for Mikhail Trepashkin, who was found guilty in 2004 of divulging state secrets and is now serving a four-year sentence, said Monday he is prepared to give evidence in the high-profile case to the British security services. "Trepashkin is serving a sentence for treason, therefore we cannot allow him to contact foreign security services," the Federal Penitentiary Service spokesman, Alexander Sidorov, said….(Guardian, 5 Dec 06)

Litvinenko's death: leaks, versions, rumors

The stories of crime and spy writers Arthur Conan Doyle, Georges Simenon and John le Carre pale before the intricate plot of Alexander Litvinenko's death puzzle. Russian defector Litvinenko, an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin's administration and a close associate of exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky, died in a London hospital November 23. His body was found to contain a lethal dose of polonium 210, a radioactive isotope….(RIA Novosti, 5 Dec 06)

Russia won't extradite suspects

Russia will not extradite suspects in the Alexander Litvinenko case to Britain, its chief prosecutor has said…In what is likely to be seen as a setback for Scotland Yard's investigation into Mr Litvinenko's death, Mr Chaika said it would be "impossible" for British investigators in Moscow to arrest Russian citizens in connection with the case….(Guardian, 5 Dec 06)

Ex-Russian Premier Departs Hospital

Former Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar was released from a hospital in Moscow Monday evening following a mysterious illness that raised suspicions of another poisoning after a former KGB agent died in London from ingesting a radioactive substance….(AP, 5 Dec 06)

Radiation test at embassy in Moscow

…A team of radiation specialists, who have traveled to Moscow from Britain, are conducting tests on one room at the embassy. It is reported to be where Andrei Lugovoi gave a statement about his meeting with Mr Litvinenko on the day he was allegedly poisoned in London to Britain's deputy ambassador….(Guardian, 5 Dec 06)

British Police Take Poisoning Inquiry to Moscow

… Although Russian officials have pledged to cooperate in the inquiry, their irritation over the case showed through in official comments. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Monday against "politicizing this issue" and "speculations on this subject."…(Washington Post, 5 Dec 06)

Litvinenko Converted to Islam at Deathbed

Alexander Litvinenko requested to be buried according to Muslim tradition after converting to Islam on his deathbed, his father said….(Toronto Daily, 4 Dec 06)

Revealed: Litvinenko's Russian 'blackmail plot'

The FBI has been dragged into the investigation of Alexander Litvinenko's death after details emerged that he had planned to make tens of thousands of pounds blackmailing senior Russian spies and business figures. The Observer has obtained remarkable testimony from a Russian academic, Julia Svetlichnaja, who met Litvinenko earlier this year and received more than 100 emails from him. In a series of interviews, she reveals that the former Russian secret agent had documents from the FSB, the Russian agency formerly known as the KGB. He had asked Svetlichnaja, who is based in London, to enter into a business deal with him and 'make money'….(Observer, 3 Dec 06)

British police face diplomatic minefield as they take spy poison investigation to Russia

…A team of nine anti-terrorism officers from London's Metropolitan Police left for Moscow as part of their investigation into the death of Litvinenko, an ex-KGB agent turned fierce critic of the Kremlin. Litvinenko died at a London hospital on Nov. 23, poisoned by the rare nuclear isotope polonium-210….(AP, 4 Dec 06)

Spy probe detectives fly to Moscow

…The Scotland Yard officers are planning to interview a number of potential witnesses in the inquiry, including those who met Mr Litvinenko on the day he was allegedly poisoned with the deadly toxin polonium 210….(Guardian, 4 Dec 06)

Gaidar did not know ex-spy Litvinenko

The press secretary of former acting Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar denied Monday information circulated by French media that Gaidar allegedly met with ex-FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko November 1…..(RIA Novosti, 4 Dec 06)

Russia no longer producing polonium-210

…An unidentified spokesman for the Federal Agency for Nuclear Power in Moscow said Monday that the only facility capable of producing the isotope was closed two years ago, the Novosti news agency reported….(UPI, 4 Dec 06)

Radioactive spy Islamic convert?

Reports that KGB defector Alexander Litvinenko converted to Islam before his mysterious poisoning with radioactive polonium 210 is raising suspicions that he may have been involved in a plot to smuggle the deadly substance to terrorist groups willing to pay millions even for a gram….(World Net Daily, 4 Dec 06)

Ex-Putin bodyguard was also murdered

A former bodyguard to Russian President Vladimir Putin was murdered with a poison that produced symptoms remarkably similar to those that killed former spy Alexander Litvinenko, it emerged yesterday….(Sunday Times, 4 Oct 06)

Russian Ex-Spy Lived in a World of Deceptions

The tangled tale of Alexander V. Litvinenko, the maverick Russian K.G.B. agent turned dissident who died of radiation poisoning last week, has seized the headlines recently, but its roots can be traced to a late spring evening in Moscow in 1994….(New York Times, 3 Dec 06)

Former Russian spy's book attracting high Internet bids

Sale of the 2002 book co-written by the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko who died of suspected radioactive poisoning  are selling on the Internet at up to 30 times their original price….(Agence France-Presse, 3 Dec 06)

Friend Names Suspect in Spy Poisoning

Britain's senior law enforcement official said Sunday an inquiry into the death of a former KGB agent had expanded overseas, and a U.S.-based friend of the former agent said he told police the name of the person he believes orchestrated the poisoning….(AP, 3 Dec 06)

Polonium, $22.50 Plus Tax

…polonium 210 can show up in everything from atom bombs, to antistatic brushes to cigarette smoke, though in the last case only minute quantities are involved. Iran made relatively large amounts of polonium 210 in what some experts call a secret effort to develop nuclear arms, and North Korea probably used it to trigger its recent nuclear blast….(New York Times, 3 Dec 06)

Breathe It or Buy It

Two Others Test Positive for Radiation, British Officials Say

The radioactive substance that killed former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko has contaminated his wife and an Italian security consultant he met the day he fell ill, British officials and a Litvinenko family friend said Friday….(Washington Post, 2 Dec 06)

Russian spy contact says poisoned over shared secrets

An Italian contact of poisoned former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko said he believed both were targeted with a radioactive substance because of secrets they shared….(Reuters, 2 Dec 06

More Victims and Allegations in the Poisoning Probe
An Italian security expert and Litvinenko's wife have both tested positive for the same radiactive substance that killed the former Russian spy, while a letter from a jailed Russian spy claims that Moscow is behind the attacks…(Time Magazine, 1 Dec 06)

Litvinenko contact tests positive for radiation

An Italian terrorism expert who met the Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko on the day he was allegedly poisoned has also tested positive for the radioactive isotope polonium 210, it emerged today. Mario Scaramella, who has been in hiding since Mr Litvinenko died, met the former spy in a London sushi restaurant just hours before he fell ill. Experts believe the fact that the academic, a contact of Mr Litvinenko, has also tested positive for polonium 210 indicates that the poison was delivered at the restaurant….(Guardian, 1 Dec 06)

Trail Narrows to "Rogue Elements" in Moscow

Although involvement by the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin has been ruled out, officials believe the perpetrators would have needed access to government nuclear facilities to obtain samples of polonium 210, the radioactive substance that was used to poison the former spy. "Only the state would have access to that material," one official told the Guardian…A Thursday report mentioned a licensed US vendor who sells trace amounts of the dangerous radioactive element on the Internet for $69 per sample and mails it through the US Postal Service or UPS….(Spiegel, 1 Dec 06)

Ex - Spy Claims Litvinenko Was Targeted

A former Russian security service officer said he warned a former KGB agent who was fatally poisoned in London about a government-sponsored death squad that intended to kill him and other Kremlin opponents….(AP, 1 Dec 06)

Litvinenko case 'frightening glimpse' of nuclear risk

…British atomic scientists believe they have identified the nuclear plant which made the polonium, the isotope that killed Litvinenko, and specified the British Airways flight on which it was carried from Moscow to London on October 25. Clear traces of the radiation had been found on the floor and the light switch of a room in London's Millenium Hotel where Litvinenko met two Russian contacts on November 1, the day he fell ill….(DPA, 1 Dec 06)

British Find Radiation at 12 Locations

…The four newly disclosed sites include two hospitals where former spy Alexander Litvinenko was treated, the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in central London and a car found in north London, according to Scotland Yard. Police released no further details about the car; Litvinenko lived in north London, and radiation was also discovered in his home….(Washington Post, 1 Dec 06

Prodi to sue over allegations of KGB links

The suspicious death of a former Russian agent in London was enmeshed in alleged dirty tricks in Italian politics on Friday after Romano Prodi, Italy’s prime minister, announced legal action against people linking him to the KGB, the former Soviet intelligence service. The main person who has made this accusation, which Mr Prodi rejects as utterly unfounded, is Mario Scaramella, a self-styled expert on Soviet espionage in Italy….(Financial Times, 1 Dec 06)

Academic's radiation test positive

… As the post mortem examination started on the body of Mr Litvinenko, it was revealed Mario Scaramella had tested positive for a significant quantity of the deadly radioactive toxin polonium 210, sources said. He is the first person to test positive since Mr Litvinenko's death sparked a radiation alert….(Guardian, 1 Dec 06)

FBI Joins Investigation of Poisoned Spy

…British authorities requested the involvement of the FBI, agency spokesman Richard Kolko said. FBI experts in weapons of mass destruction will assist with some of the scientific analysis, he said….(AP, 30 Nov 06)

Former Soviet spy's autopsy poised to begin

…The web of intrigue surrounding the apparent assassination of former Soviet spy Alexander Litvinenko, on 23 November, appears larger and more complex than ever on Thursday, as the inquest into his death opens in London. UK authorities are currently tracing many thousands of people who may unwittingly be at risk, after coming into contact with the radioactive material suspected of poisoning Litvinenko. This now includes the 33,000 passengers and 3000 aircrew that flew on any of the 221 flights that the five planes made between 25 October and 29 November...Adding to the international drama, former Russian prime minister Yegor Gaidar is currently in a Moscow hospital recovering from a suspected poisoning thought to be connected to the death of Litvinenko…(New Scientist, 30 Nov 06)

Russia's Interest in Litvinenko

The recent death of a former Russian intelligence agent, Alexander Litvinenko, apparently after being poisoned with polonium-210, raises three interesting questions. First: Was he poisoned by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor to the KGB? Second: If so, what were they trying to achieve? Third: Why were they using polonium-210, instead of other poisons the KGB used in the past? In short, the question is, what in the world is going on?...(Stratfor, 30 Nov 06)

Russian jet held at Heathrow as spy death case unfolds

…John Reid, the Home Secretary, said that the Boeing 737-400, leased by the private Russian airline Transaero, was one of at least five planes that Scotland Yard detectives investigating the death of the former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko fear may have been contaminated….(Times Online, 30 Nov 06)

Italian contact says didn't poison Russian spy

An Italian contact of Alexander Litvinenko denied on Thursday he had poisoned the former Russian spy and said British police were looking elsewhere in the murder investigation. Mario Scaramella, who is under British police protection, met Litvinenko on November 1 at a London sushi restaurant where traces of the deadly poison Polonium 210 were also found….(Reuters, 30 Nov 06)

Doctors suspect Ex-Russian PM was poisoned
Doctors treating former Russian prime minister Yegor Gaidar in a Moscow hospital believe he was probably poisoned, a Russian newspaper reported Thursday, amid fears the case might be linked to the unsolved deaths of a Russian ex-spy and a top journalist…(Agence France-Presse, 30 Nov 06)

Gaidar Ill With Mystery Ailment

Gaidar, 50, fell ill one day after former KGB officer and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko died in London from apparent radiation poisoning...Unified Energy Systems chief Anatoly Chubais, who presided over President Boris Yeltsin's privatization program and is a friend of Gaidar, said doctors believed Gaidar's illness might not be natural, linking the incident to Litvinenko's death and the murder last month of journalist Anna Politkovskaya….(Moscow Times, 30 Nov 06)

Poison claim over former PM's illness

The killers of Alexander Litvinenko were last night accused of attempting to poison a former prime minister of Russia while he attended a conference in Ireland. The startling accusation was made after Yegor Gaidar, the architect of the country's market reforms, fell suddenly ill just after speaking at a special academic meeting in Maynooth University, just outside Dublin….(Scotsman, 30 Nov 06)

Russian ex-PM has mystery illness

Former Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar is being treated in a Moscow hospital after falling violently ill on a trip to Ireland on 24 November….(BBC, 30 Nov 06)

Probe of Spy's Death Finds Radiation on 2 British Jets

…All three affected planes flew on the London-Moscow route, but they also made a total of more than 220 flights that landed in Barcelona; Athens; Stockholm; Vienna; Istanbul; Madrid; Larnaca, Cyprus; and the German cities of Dusseldorf and Frankfurt, airline officials said. The airline posted on its Web site, http://www.britishairways.com, a full list of flights made by the grounded aircraft dating back to Oct. 25…(Washington Post, 30 Nov 06)

Poison Of Ex-Spy For Sale On The Web

The radioactive material that killed a former Russian spy in Britain can be bought on the Internet for $69. Polonium-210, which experts say is many times more deadly than cyanide, can be bought legally through United Nuclear Scientific Supplies, a mail-order company that sells through the Web. Chemical companies sell the Polonium-210 legally for industrial use such as removing static electricity from machinery…(Information Week, 29 Nov 06)

KGB Spy Killed to Bury Chechnya Secrets

Anna Politkovskaya, a fierce critic of the war in Chechnya, was murdered — contract-style — in early October, the latest in a series of killings of journalists in Russia under President Vladimir Putin. Now, Robert R. Amsterdam, an international attorney, a lawyer for jailed Russian businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and a Russian specialist, reveals to NewsMax that the murder by poison in Great Britain of Alexander Litvinenko, Russian ex-spy and journalist, is more of the same…Investigators of the Litvinenko murder reportedly said Litvinenko had uncovered "startling" new material about the Yukos affair….(News Max, 29 Nov 06)

Italian in Russian spy case not contaminated

… Mario Scaramella, who is under police protection in London, met Litvinenko on Nov. 1 at a London sushi restaurant where traces of the poison were also found….(Reuters, 29 Nov 06)

KGB Spy Killed to Bury Chechnya Secrets

Anna Politkovskaya, a fierce critic of the war in Chechnya, was murdered — contract-style — in early October, the latest in a series of killings of journalists in Russia under President Vladimir Putin. Now, Robert R. Amsterdam, an international attorney, a lawyer for jailed Russian businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and a Russian specialist, reveals to NewsMax that the murder by poison in Great Britain of Alexander Litvinenko, Russian ex-spy and journalist, is more of the same…Investigators of the Litvinenko murder reportedly said Litvinenko had uncovered "startling" new material about the Yukos affair….(News Max, 29 Nov 06)

Chubais links ex-PM mystery ailment to journalist, ex-spy death

Russia's electricity giant head and architect of the 1990s reforms said the mystery illness of his reformer colleague was linked to the recent killings of an investigative journalist and an ex-spy. Former acting Premier Yegor Gaidar's daughter said her 50-year-old father started vomiting and fainted at a conference in Dublin Friday and remained unconscious for three hours. Gaidar was in a grave condition, and doctors have not identified the reason yet. "Yegor Gaidar was on the verge of death November 24," said Chubais…(RIA Novosti, 29 Nov 06)

Italian in Russian spy case not contaminated

… Mario Scaramella, who is under police protection in London, met Litvinenko on Nov. 1 at a London sushi restaurant where traces of the poison were also found….(Reuters, 29 Nov 06)

Minister speaks out on spy death

A foreign office minister has given his reaction to the murder of ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko….(BBC, 29 Nov 06)

Blair Pledges to Pursue Probe of Ex-Spy's Death

Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday that "there is no diplomatic or political barrier in the way" of investigating the mysterious fatal poisoning of a former Russian spy in London and that he planned to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the matter "at any time that is appropriate."…(Washington Post, 29 Nov 06)

Billionaire Ally of Dead Spy Issues Statement

Boris A. Berezovsky, an exiled Russian billionaire and fierce opponent of the Kremlin, confirmed Tuesday that the police found radioactive traces in his office after the death last week of his close associate, Alexander V. Litvinenko, who was poisoned by radiation….(New York Times, 29 Nov 06)

Second Russian in poison mystery

The intrigue surrounding the radiation poisoning of a former KGB agent in London last week has taken another twist, with the disclosure that former Russian prime minister Yegor Gaidar is in hospital with a mysterious illness that his friends say could be another poisoning…..(Australian, 29 Nov 06)

Russia's Gaidar Ill in Hospital with Mystery Ailment

Yegor Gaidar, architect of Russia's market reforms, was being treated in a Moscow hospital on Wednesday after coming close to death with a mystery ailment during a visit to Ireland, friends and family said….(Reuters, 29 Nov 06)

Top Russian Reformer Sees Plot Behind Ex-PM’s Illness

Anatoly Chubais, head of Russian power monopoly Unified Energy Systems of Russia doubts that the ailment affecting Russian economist and politician Yegor Gaidar was caused by natural factors…(MosNews, 29 Nov 06)

Mystery illness hits former Russian PM

Yegor Gaidar, Russia’s former prime minister and the architect of the country’s market reforms, last week suffered a sudden, unexplained and violent illness on a visit to Ireland, a day after Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB spy, died in London from an apparent radiation poisoning….(Financial Times, 28 Nov 06)

Traces of radioactive poison are found in Russian exile's office

…They are using his mobile telephone records and closed-circuit television cameras to plot his route as he met wealthy Russians, business partners and nuclear experts on the day that he fell ill. It appears that he left a trace of the radioactive isotope nearly everywhere he visited. It has been found at seven locations, including the two hospitals where he was treated….(Times Online, 28 Nov 06)

Graphic: polonium trail

Britain Tracing Poison That Killed Spy

The British government began tracking radioactive hotspots in London on Monday to trace the poison that killed a former KGB agent, and three people who reported possible symptoms of contamination underwent testing….(AP, 28 Nov 06)

Former KGB Spy's Italy Contact in UK Custody

An Italian academic who met former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko the day he became ill from radiation poisoning is under protective custody in London and undergoing medical tests, a legal source said on Tuesday….(Reuters, 28 Nov 06)

Litvinenko: Reid statement in full

Here is Home Secretary John Reid's full statement to the Commons about the death of Russian ex-agent Alexander Litvinenko.....(BBC, 27 Nov 06)

Murdered ex-spy brought secret document to Israel weeks before death

Debka reports last Saturday that Alexander Litvinenko, the murdered Russian ex-spy and journalist, had visited Israel in the weeks before his murder to pass a dossier to former Yukos Oil second-in-command Leonid Nevzlin. Nevzlin, a Jewish Russian billionaire who fled his native country when it became apparent that the government was targeting Yukos Oil owners and executives….(Israel Insider, 27 Nov 06)

Nuclear fallout: Alexander Litvinenko died in agony. Who killed him, and why?

The ex-KGB agent had many enemies, including his former spy colleagues and the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.....(The Independent, 27 Nov 06)

Phillip Knightley: Ignore the conspiracies. Spies never forgive a traitor

...For my money, the circumstantial evidence points to the FSB, who took over the KGB's role and for whom Litvinenko once worked......(The Independent, 27 Nov 06)

3 SENT FOR TESTS AFTER EX-SPY DEATH - NEW TRACES OF POLONIUM 210 FOUND

THREE people are having radiological tests after showing sickness symptoms in the aftermath of the nuclear poisoning of Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko. And, this afternoon, Scotland Yard revealed they had found traces of polonium 210 - the poison which killed Litvinenko - at other locations around London......(Mirror, 27 Nov 06)

Obituary: Alexander Litvinenko

Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian security officer who has died in a London hospital after apparently being poisoned, was a fierce critic of Russia's government.....(BBC, 27 Nov 06)

Britain’s Spy Mystery: A Slow Death by Poison

…In the case of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian spy who died in a London hospital on Thursday night, the most confounding questions were also the most basic. Who gave it to him and when? And how did they get this particular poison?.....(New York Times, 26 Nov 06)

Alexander Litvinenko

Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko was born in 1962 in Voronezh, south of Moscow. After high school and extended service in the Soviet Army (in which his grandfather was an officer), he graduated from the Interior Forces Military Academy, joining the KGB in 1988.....(Times of London, 25 Nov 06)

Poisoned ex-spy said Russia agent watched him

…Litvinenko, 43, alleged that a Russian Foreign Intelligence Service chief previously stationed in London had been assigned by Moscow to watch him, Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported. He named the agent in charge of monitoring him as Viktor Kirov. A man called Anatoly V. Kirov worked at the Russian Embassy in London, where he was listed as a diplomat, until late last year….(LA Times, 26 Nov 06)

A Rare Material and a Surprising Weapon

If substantial amounts of polonium 210 were used to poison Alexander V. Litvinenko, whoever did it presumably had access to a high-level nuclear laboratory and put himself at some risk carrying out the assassination…(New York Times, 25 Nov 06)

Brits Probe Ex-Spy's Radioactive Death

Scotland Yard detectives on Saturday traced the final steps of a former KGB spy turned Kremlin critic after officials determined he was poisoned by a rare radioactive substance….(AP, 25 Nov 06)

AP Video Report: Former Russian Spy Dies

Radioactive Poison Killed Ex-Spy

Former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko was fatally poisoned by a radioactive substance, traces of which were found in his urine, at his home and at a London restaurant and hotel he visited the day he became ill, according to the British health department. It called the case "unprecedented" in Britain….(Washington Post, 25 Nov 06)

London Riddle: A Russian Spy, a Lethal Dose

…The cause of his death was so unusual, so baffling and so chilling that a senior British official called it “unprecedented.” The government called a high-level meeting restricted to the most senior ministers — codenamed Cobra — and the Russian ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Office. Rebutting the accusations of foul play, Russian officials hinted at a devious conspiracy to discredit President Putin….New York Times, 25 Nov 06)

Poisoned Russian implicates Putin in statement dictated before death

…The statement, read to reporters outside the hospital where Alexander Litvinenko died late Thursday, accused the Russian leader of having "no respect for life, liberty or any civilized value. You have shown yourself to be unworthy of your office, to be unworthy of the trust of civilized men and women," Litvinenko said in a statement read by his friend Alex Goldfarb. "You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr. Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life."… Putin's government and the Russian security services denied involvement. "A person's death is always a tragedy," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Helsinki, Finland, where Putin is attending a summit with European Union leaders….(AP, 24 Nov 06)

AP Video Report: Former Russian Spy Dies

EX-SPY LITVINENKO KILLED BY RADIACTIVE POISON

The killing of Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko took a new twist this afternoon when it was found he had been poisoned with a radioactive substance. Doctors examining his body detected a large amount of alpha radiation - probably a substance called polonium 210 - which would be extremely harmful if ingested….(Mirror, 24 Nov 06)

Radioactive Substance in Ex-Spy's Body

…Litvinenko, a vociferous critic of the Russian government, suffered heart failure late Thursday after days in intensive care at London's University College Hospital battling a poison that had attacked his bone marrow and destroyed his immune system….(Mayesville, 24 Nov 06)

'The bastards got me, they won't get us all'

The poisoned Russian spy breathed defiance at the Kremlin as the effects of a mystery cocktail pushed him towards his death last night. “I want to survive, just to show them,” Alexander Litvinenko said in an exclusive interview given just hours before he died....(Times of London, 24 Nov 06)

Spy's dying words: 'bastards got me'

Litvinenko, a fierce critic of Putin, first began to feel ill on November 1, after having tea with two Russians at a central London hotel, followed by lunch at a London sushi bar with an Italian academic….(Sydney Morning Herald, 24 Nov 06)

'Promise me you won't go back to Russia - or you will be the next'

The Russian film maker recalls his final conversations with Alexander Litvinenko this week....(Times of London, 24 Nov 06)

Spies with history as poison experts

Old habits die hard. Even if the hand of the FSB (KGB) is never proven in the case of Alexander Litvinenko, Russian intelligence services retain an unhealthy interest in developing obscure drugs and chemicals that can kill without trace....(Times of London, 24 Nov 06)

Russian media reticent on ex-spy

Russian broadcasters have been offering their audiences limited coverage of the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in a London hospital.....(BBC Monitoring, 24 Nov 06)

Denials fail to solve Moscow mystery

Businessman says he, 2 others, met Russian ex-spy

A Russian former intelligence officer was quoted in a newspaper on Friday as saying he and two other men met ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko in a London hotel on November 1, the day before Litvinenko complained of feeling unwell….(Reuters, 24 Nov 06)

Poisoned ex-spy warns Putin from beyond grave

…But relations have been strained in recent years over what Western governments call Moscow's slide toward authoritarianism….(Reuters, 24 Nov 06)

Mystery Grows as Former Russian Spy Dies

The former Russian spy who fell gravely ill early this month, apparently after being poisoned, died Thursday night after suffering a heart attack, the authorities said…(New York Times, 24 Nov 06)

Poisoned Litvinenko Blames Kremlin in Last Interview Before Death — Paper

In his last interview the poisoned former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko said that the hit on him had been ordered from the Kremlin, The Times daily reported on Friday. “I want to survive, just to show them,” Alexander Litvinenko said in an exclusive interview given just hours before he died….(MosNews, 24 Nov 06)

Dead spy points finger at Putin

…In his last statement, which he dictated and signed two days ago when he realised he was dying, Alexander Litvinenko, a former Lieutenant Colonel in the FSB, the successor to the KGB, said it was "the time to say one or two things to the person responsible for my present condition": "You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life. May God forgive you for what you have done, not only to me but to beloved Russia and its people."…(Times Online, 24 Nov 06)

Probe as former Russian spy dies

…Alexander Litvinenko, 43, died in intensive care at London's University College Hospital despite the medical team doing "everything possible" to save his life. There had been a major deterioration in his condition overnight on Wednesday, when he suffered a heart attack and failed to recover...Confirmation of his death - a tragic climax to the spy thriller-style saga of Cold War era espionage - came as Mr Litvinenko's last, prophetic words were disclosed. "They got me, but they won't get everybody," he told his friend and film-maker, Andrei Nekrasov, according to The Times. "I want to survive, just to show them."…(Guardian, 24 Nov 06)

Litvinenko’s Business Contact Denies Role in Poisoning Plot

Andrei Lugovoi, the former Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB) operative and the businessman now reported by the Western media to be linked to the poisoning and death in the UK of his former colleague Alexander Litvinenko, refuted those allegations in an exclusive interview to Russia Today.….(MosNews, 24 Nov 06)

Poisoned Litvinenko Blames Kremlin in Last Interview Before Death — Paper

....“I want to survive, just to show them,” Alexand