May 28, 2007

Current Headlines 12 of 12

There is a great deal of intrigue, speculation and facts in the media. In this post, I will try to provide a characterization of this work, research and opinion.

Lugovoy Accuses MI6, Berezovsky, Russian Mafia of Poisoning Alexander Litvinenko Charles Ganske, Real Russia Project, revisits the Andrei Lugovoi interview, and provides links to support some of the accusations.

Police Seize Drafts of Books on Putin Douglas Birch, Breibart, reported that Russian journalist, Vladimir Pribylovsky, said law enforcement officials searched his apartment and carted off computers that contained draft chapters of two books he was writing about President Vladimir Putin. Pribylovsky has been working with Yuri Felshtinsky, a historian and author living in the United States. The working titles for the books are "Putin's Comrades," and "Operation Successor." Felshtinsky co-authored a book, "Blowing Up Russia," with Alexander Litvinenko.

Lavrov Says Britain Politicizing Litvinenko Case, HULIQ is quoting Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, as saying that "instead of a professional inquiry, we're seeing an attempt to turn the criminal case into some sort of a political campaign."

Russia says Litvinenko visited Chechnya to kill for Berezovsky
Russian News & Information Agency NOVOSIT quotes a senior Russian official, who said there is strong evidence that Alexander Litvinenko visited Chechnya to eliminate witnesses linking tycoon Boris Berezovsky to terrorist warlord Shamil Basayev.

British secret service involved in Litvinenko killing, says suspect The Times Online, Nico Hine's article provides links to multimedia, background and related links on the latest Lugovoi interview, including Richard Beeston's Times Online article, Claim by Claim: Lugovoy's Theories examined.

Britain Rejects Chaika's Lugovoi Offer Jim Heintz, in The Moscow Times reports that Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika's offer to prosecute Andrei Lugovoi in Russia, was rejected by British Attorney General Lord Goldsmith.

Litvinenko `Rebellion' Poses Awkward Questions: Cannes Roundup Bloomberg film critic, Iain Millar, writes that filmmaker Andrey Nekrasov made a powerful and incendiary intervention on behalf of his late friend Alexander Litvinenko, when his documentary "Rebellion: The Litvinenko Case" screened yesterday at the 60th Cannes Film Festival.

Litvinenko film maker's Finland home burgled Reuters reports on a break-in at the Finnish holiday home of Russian movie director Andrei Nekrasov, whose documentary on murdered Russian exile Alexander Litvinenko was shown at Cannes film festival.

Russia and the rule of law: Poisoning case underscores Europe's doubts International Herald Tribune's Steven Lee Myers writes an excellent essay on Vladimir Putin's Russia. If recent history is any guide, Russia will not fare well, and the consequences could be profound, deepening the political, diplomatic and social rift between Russia and its European neighbors. In proceeding after proceeding, Russia's actions have withered under the scrutiny of international justice. As a result, the very concepts of law and justice have become touchstones for larger fears about how Putin amasses and uses power, and whether he is returning Russia to habits that brought Europe grief in the past.

The amorality of the Putin regime, Jim Hoagland, Washington Post Writers Group, writes that Russia's refusal to extradite the prime suspect in the polonium poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in London last November reveals the essential amorality of the Putin regime and its false narrative of recent history.

I Spied for Britan But You Have Abandonded Me David Paul, Daily Express, reports that the fugitive, former KGB double agent in hiding, in Britain, Victor Makarov, tells how he fears being the next target for assassins who poisoned defector Alexander Litvinenko.

Death of a dissident: Moscow's murky assassins Diplomatic Editor Anne Penketh, Daily Independent, reminds us that Russia's sinister spies are back in the spotlight, but suggests that they never really left us.

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