The British police was quick to find traces of radiation at three London locations: in his Muswell Hill home, at a hotel in Grosvenor Square, and at the sushi restaurant where he had had lunch earlier that day. Traces of polonium-210 have also been found in a former Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky’s office in London, which was immediately sealed up by the police, SkyNews channel reports.
Litvinenko’s wife, Marina, was sent for a radiological probe. Fortunately, her health is in no immediate danger, "Gazeta.Ru" reports. Health officials asked all guests of the hotel and restaurant to undergo medical examination, and several people already applied. The sushi restaurant owner soon announced that all of his employees were in perfect health and high spirits. Litvinenko’s two direct contacts – Italian Mario Scaramello and Russian Andrei Lugovoi – aren’t experiencing any health problems, either, as they willingly confirm in TV interviews.
Still, judging by the British media reports, Londoners are swift to imagine things: they are in panic, government members included. Even newspeople sound slightly hysterical, and one can hardly blame them: those insidious Russians poison people with radiation! In London! In bright daylight!
Hot on the trail, Britain’s elite emergency council, the COBRA Committee met on three successive days to discuss the Russian dissident’s poisoning. Sensational reports are mushrooming, including dramatic revelations about kilos of radioactive materials stolen in Russia weekly, while mysterious spokespeople for British special services make delicate “national terrorism” hints. Some of them allege that the “poisonous cocktail” Litvinenko ingested, an “advanced special service development,” could only be concocted by a powerful nuclear nation. Incidentally, according to Dr. E. Velikhov, an internationally-known nuclear physics expert and director of the Kurchatov Nuclear Center, 210Po can be procured from several specialized medical centers in London. The local media seem too modest to mention it, though.
And – an unprecedented appearance – Home Secretary John Reid spoke to the British Parliament, even though the official investigation into Litvinenko’s death had not been initiated then. He tried to dispel rumors and reassure the public.
Speaking to the MPs, Reid confirmed that the former FSB officer was poisoned to death by 210Po, and that its traces were found at several locations, including in the office of Litvinenko’s friend Boris Berezovsky. Reid also said British officials had no information of the Russian Federation’s involvement in the murder. The British government had already requested the Russian government’s assistance in the investigation of the case, as Litvinenko’s death was classified as “suspicious.”
And, suspicious it truly was. Moreover, the deceased FSB defector was a highly suspicious person when he lived, and had fishy contacts. It was not by chance that some British media offered different versions of Litvinenko’s poisoning, suggesting his dubious business partners were involved – certain oligarchs possibly aggrieved against the former FSB officer, or some Chechen avengers of blood and other exotic characters.
A Russia TV channel added spice to this tangled story reporting that a certain London PR agency is taking an active part in covering the scandal, generously paid by Boris Berezovsky.
Leonid Nevzlin, another Russian exile on the Interpol’s most wanted list, gave Litvinenko’s case a new twist as he tuned in. It appeared that the ex-FSB agent had found certain compromising materials about the Kremlin’s unseemly role in the Yukos case and was murdered for an attempt to hand the papers over to Nevzlin.
In this situation we find it appropriate to quote a much respected eye-witness, well-known Russian human right champion Sergei Kovalev. Commenting on Litvinenko’s personality in one of his interviews, Kovalev pointed to his obvious emotional imbalance. Litvinenko must have let his feelings run away with him, he got confused in his own investigations and eventually failed to tell the truth from lies.
Another interesting fact relates to that deathbed statement of Litvinenko’s, in which he accused President Putin of his murder. It was handed to the media by Litvinenko’s family and friends, including one Alex Goldfarb, head of a human rights fund and another of Berezovsky’s associates.
Mr. Goldfarb sounded very emotional as he explained to the reporters that Litvinenko had dictated it to him three days before, lying on his deathbed, and signed it with a shaking hand. But on the same day, the disconsolate friend said in another interview that the sick Litvinenko’s condition was so poor in his last few days, he was hardly aware of where he was and could hardly talk. So doesn’t Mr. Goldfarb mean Litvinenko could have been talked into signing anything, disoriented as he was?
Britain is in turmoil. Conservatives demand a parliamentary hearing; special services are hunting Russian spies and radioactive substance dealers, while the media are puffing up sensations and unnerving the public. It all fits into the good old scheme: diplomatic pressure and psychological manipulation. The next step would be to set up a boycott on Russia, just like in Cold War times. There is little wonder this scheme is unwinding on the eve of the Russia-EU summit in Finland, during the difficult Energy Charter talks and in the run-up to elections in Russia.
Those who personally know Boris Berezovsky often note his love of play. They say this master of political provocation is especially fond of multimove games, when three birds could be killed with one stone. In this case, one move helped get rid of his overemotional friend and his irksome financial demands; blame his death and Anna Politkovskaya’s murder on the hated Kremlin (highly annoying his personal foe Vladimir Putin along the way) and give his western partners a good occasion to accuse Moscow of “nuclear terrorism.” The Yukos issue was added to make the “explosive cocktail” even stronger; Chechnya, Nevzlin, Zakayev, etc. were dragged in for the same reason.
Unfortunately, such stories easily find appreciative audiences in western societies these days. Some people in London might sincerely believe in the Kremlin’s “insidious plans,” and would wear a gas mask and a CW-protection kit next time they venture a walk in Piccadilly. And Litvinenko would be seen as a true human rights champion of the same scale as Andrei Sakharov or Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
It’s a pity the compassionate English people fail to see the obvious: this much ado, all the accusations thrown at the Kremlin are based on the tales of people in Berezovsky’s entourage, whom he supports financially. Those witnesses have not provided a single fact to support the “Russian trace” version of Litvinenko’s “mysterious death.” However, the lack of evidence and court decisions doesn’t stop the democratic-minded English people from blaming everything on Russians.
To our regret, Europe is poorly informed about Russia and the Russians. For a very long time they heard nothing but terrifying tales about us. Mass stereotypes die hard, especially when no one seems really interested in rooting them out.
By granting political asylum to former Russian radical adventurers, criminals, terrorists and defectors, London creates a nourishing environment for stories like Litvinenko’s. Wise people see that the Kremlin would benefit the least from this clumsy attempt on an obscure defector’s life. Whenever there is a murder, the old “qui bono” question has to be asked.
The scope of Boris Berezovsky’s personality and resources is well-known in Russia. By an unlucky train of events, people related to him die every year, including politicians, journalists and special service agents. It is worth noting that each of the deaths has political implications and directly torpedoes the prestige of Russia and its government.
For the past few years, Berezovsky has been using London as a launch-pad for his consistent fight against the Kremlin. His goal is to unseat Putin and his team. The disgraced oligarch has mentioned on various occasions that he would not stop short of doing it by force. Well, there is enough violence going on indeed.
It was back in 2005 that Russia’s foes posted a statement on the Internet saying they planned to offer up a “sacral sacrifice” on the “altar of freedom.” No one paid much attention then; however, even the victim’s name was mentioned – Anna Politkovskaya. Now Litvinenko is dead, too. Who’s next?
