Current Headlines 11 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.

So. Who Was Really Silenced By Polonium? the Atlantic Free Press, provides an update on Mario Scaramella. Copy Dude provides excellent links to his resources. The article includes excerpts from a letter, purportedly written by Mr. Scaramella's friend, Georgia, ‘Today I embraced a man who had nothing left of Mario. No life, no enthusiasm, no character . . . They have killed Mario. My Mario is no more. Today I have seen a small, fragile, weak person, frightened, defeated… I write to you crying from the pain and the anger: I would have preferred he was dead than to see him destroyed in this way.’

Portrait of a perfect murder BBC News, Nicola Cook, poses the question, Most murderers are unaware of even the simplest clues that might give them away. But by thinking like a forensic scientist, is the "perfect" murder possible? Alexander Litvinenko in referenced in the essay regarding forensic science.

Ayman al-Zawahiri: Echoes of Alexander Litvinenko Sean Osborne, Northeast Intelligence Network, publishes exerpts from the Litvinenko interview, published in the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, July 16, 2005 issue, "Ayman al-Zawahiri trained at a Federal Security Service (the former Russian KGB) base in Dagestan in 1998. He was then transferred to Afghanistan where he became Osama Bin Laden's deputy. I was working in that section at the time and I can confirm the fact Zawahiri was not the only link between the FSB and Al-Qaeda." Ayman al-Zawahiri responds by saying, Yes, America, every time you see, read or hear about a new communication coming from Ayman al-Zawahiri know you that his words are in the service of the Russian regime of Vladimir Putin. There are several excellent links to related resource material, following the article.

Row over Litvinenko's radioactive house Steven Shukor, BBC News, provides an update on the contamination status of the townhouse at 140 Osier Cresent, Muswell Hill, north of London. Boris Berezovsky is quoted as saying, "It's not that I don't want to help (with the costs of decontaminating the former residence of Alexander Litvinenko, and property that he owns). I am helping them but I disagree that we are responsible for this. Those responsible for the murder should pay for any damage, as well as compensate all those affected by this terror attack in London."

Russia, Risks and Politics

In Russia almost everything is political and almost everything potentially carries political risk.

This warning pretty much sums up the situation in Putin's Russia. The Kremlin's Hand in The Conference Sector quote comes from a Financial Times article, published in the The Moscow Times. For foreign investors these are rich but dangerous waters. Even large groups are not immune from arbitrary actions, as Royal Dutch Shell found when it was pressed to sell control of the Sakhalin-2 scheme to Gazprom. Even companies not involved in strategic sectors may be hurt in the crossfire. Investors who think they can avoid political risk are fooling themselves. In Russia almost everything is political and almost everything potentially carries political risk.

Arrest Warrants for Andrei Lugovoi, Dmitri Kovtun and Vyacheslav Sokolenko

Britain to arrest ex-KGB agents - murderers AXIS Information and Analysis is reporting that Scotland Yard detectives are expected to issue arrest warrants against three former KGB officers suspected of poisoning ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. Warrants are expected to be issued against Andrei Lugovoy, Dmitri Kovtun and Vyacheslav Sokolenko within the next few weeks.

Andrei Lugovoi a former Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB) operative and millionaire who met with Alexander Litvinenko on the day he fell ill (1 November). He had visited London at least three times in the month before Litvinenko's death and met with the victim four times. In 1987 Lugovoi joined the KGB's 9th directorate which provided security for top state officials. He was a platoon commander for five years and then served as a commander in the Kremlin regiment's training company. In 1991 he was transferred to the personal security unit until his resignation at the end of 1996. During his time in the KGB he provided security for Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar, the head of the presidential administration Sergey Filatov and Foreign Minister Andrey Kozyrev. Lugovoi went on to work in the private security business. For several years he was head of security at the private television company ORT, then owned by Boris Berezovsky and Badri Patarkatsishvili. In 2001 Lugovoi was arrested and charged with organizing the escape of Nikolai Glushkov, a former deputy director-general of Aeroflot arrested in 2000 on fraud charges. Lugovoi's company Pershin is involved in private security, soft drinks and wine, and is said to be worth £100 million.

Dmitri Kovtun a Russian businessman, business partner with Andrei Lugovoy, and ex-KGB agent, met Alexander Litvinenko several times in London, the last time hours before Litvinenko fell ill. Kovtun graduated from military school in 1985, before graduating in 1986 with Andrei Lugovoy, from the prestigious army college, the Moscow Command School. Lugovoy recalled that the two of them had grown up in the same apartment block from the age of 12, while their fathers served in the Soviet Ministry of Defence. Kovtun spent the rest of the 1980s serving in Czechoslovakia and then Germany. Following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, he remained in Germany, living there for a total of 12 years. He married a German national, although they are now separated. He retains a German residence permit, although he no longer conducts any business in Germany. He now works in consulting, helping Western companies to access Russian markets. It was for this reason, he explained, that he was interested in meeting Litvinenko, who had “serious contacts with serious English companies” interested in operating in Russia. Kovtun confirmed that he had first been introduced to Litvinenko by Lugovoy on 16 October.

Vyacheslav Sokolenko, another business partner of Andrei Lugovoy and Dimitri Kovtun. Sokolenko works for Devyatyy Val (Ninth Wave), a group of private security firms based in Moscow. Dmitri Kovtun also works for Devyatyy Val, and with Sokolenko, run the company.

A Russian-language website bearing the name of Devyatyy Val reveals the group’s slogan as “Spirit of Perfection”. The group comprises three security firms: Stolitsa-Shchit (Capital Shield), Garde-Iks and Orion, as well as the Lentus consultancy and a training facility. The website says the company was founded in 1993. Devyatyy Val is also a member of a Moscow-based association of private security firms, Devyatichi (Men of the Ninth). The association takes its name from the KGB’s ninth department, which protected top Communist Party officials during the Soviet era. Lugovoy served in this unit from 1987 until the fall of the Soviet Union.

Is Vyacheslav Sokolenko the answer to the question, "Who is Vladimir?" Is Vladimir actually Vyacheslav(aka Volodya )? (1) Vladimir was described as a “tall, taciturn sharp-featured Russian in his early forties”. (2) Vladimir accompanied Andrei Lugovoy to the hotel. (3) Litvinenko told officers that he was suspicious of “Vladimir”. (4) Vladimir was careful to disclose nothing about his identity or why he had turned up at a private get-together. (5) Vladimir apparently pressed Litvinenko to join him in a cup of tea. (6) Vladimir said little during the brief meeting.

Current Headlines 10 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.

Russian Executives Skip U.K. Forum After Putin `Ban' (Update 1) Sebastian Alison and Svenja O'Donnell, Bloomberg, report that Russian business leaders, including the head of state oil company OAO Rosneft, pulled out of the annual Russian Economic Forum in London at the last minute, after what one executive called an "unofficial and maybe official ban" by President Vladimir Putin.

The Big Question: Who is Boris Berezovsky, and why does Russia want him back? The Independent, Mary Dejevsky profiles Boris Berezovsky and the politics of political asylum.

Diplomatic chill threatens over anti-Putin 'plot' Sydney Morning Herald's, Terry Macalister, Ian Cobain and Simon Tisdall reported that (1) Russia's ambassador to Britain, Yury Fedotov, warned that bilateral relations would inevitably suffer if prompt action was not taken against Boris Berezovsky; (2) that British authorities had begun a second inquiry into Berezovsky's comments, with the Home Office's border and immigration agency investigating whether they could undermine his refugee status; and (3) The British company Shell put a brave face on a final deal signed on Wednesday to hand over a 50 per cent stake in Sakhalin-2, the world's largest oil and gas export project, to Russia's state-owned gas company Gazprom.

Prosecutors Demand Berezovsky Extradition, Kommersant reports that Russia’s Prosecutor General Office is seeking to extradite Boris Berezovsky from Britain and to strip him of the political refugee status. The respective warrant for Berezovsky’s extradition has been sent already. “I’ve signed today an international warrant raising the issue of Berezovsky extradition and drawing attention that it is inadmissible to use the status and the country of residence as a foothold for provocative actions against Russia,” Russia’s Prosecutor General Yury Chaika told Interfax Monday.

Berezovsky Plans Russian Revolution to Oust Putin (Update1)
Russia Assails U.K. `Double Standards' on Berezovsky (Update2) Henry Meyer, Bloomberg, is chronicling the dialog and posturing between the UK and Russia, over Boris Berezovsky's recent public call for the violent overthrow of President Vladimir Putin.

Russia Charges Exiled Tycoon of Urging Violent Coup Against Putin Kevin Sullivan and Peter Finn, Washington Post, report on Moscow's response to Boris Berezovsky's calling for the violent overthrow of the Putin government.

Number of spies in UK returns to cold war levels Richard Norton-Taylor and Matthew Taylor, Guardian Unlimited report that the number of Russian intelligence agents based in London has reached cold war levels, reflecting the Kremlin's growing interest in London's dissident community, according to British security sources. Counter intelligence officers say there are now 30 agents operating out of the Russian Embassy and trade mission - with the possibility that many more are working undercover for outside agencies across the capital. Sources say the Russians are keeping an eye on technological advances in the UK as well as monitoring senior figures within London's exile community.

'I am plotting a new Russian revolution', Guardian Unlimited, Ian Cobain, Matthew Taylor and Luke Harding report that Boris Berezovsky has told the Guardian he is plotting the violent overthrow of President Putin from his base in Britain after forging close contacts with members of Russia's ruling elite.

Litvinenko case witness said he could be detained by German police The Russia News & Information Agency NOVOSTI reports that Russian businessman and former security service agent Dmitry Kovtun said in an interview with Hamburger Abendblatt daily, that he could be detained in Germany if he travels there for questioning, and even extradited to the U.K. where he is considered the main suspect in the murder investigation.

Report: Russian businessman says Litvinenko was 'very nervous' at London meeting The International Herald Tribune reports that Dmitry Kovtun described Alexander Litvinenko as looking "very nervous" when he arrived for a meeting in London last November.

Theory On Litvinenko Polonium Trail AJ Strata in his blog, StrataSphere, presents two separate, but related theories on the Litvinenko assassination. First, Strata skillfully presents a historical perspective of Polonium-210 smuggling through Iran and Turkey. He links previously published sources, including: American Thinker, Edward Jay Epstein, Iran Watch, BBC News, Center for Nonprolifeation Studies, Today's Zaman, Regnum News Agency. The second perspective, credits Crossfile War, with connecting Boris Berezovsky with the Paris Club of Industrial Investors; Chiasso, Switzerland; Knighthood and the Court of St. James; the discovery by British police of traces of polonium-210 in the Mayfair office of Berezovsky; and the liquidation of Alexander Litvienko.

Current Headlines 9 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. The investigation has regained heightened visibility due to Russian Investigators in London , the new book, The Litvinenko File: The True Story of a Death Foretold , and a mystery person Pyotr, accusing Boris Berezovsky of conspiracy in the assassination of Litvinenko.

Riddle Wrapped in Cabbage and Put in a Doll Kevin O'Flynn, of The Moscow Times, provides a review of Alexander and Natalya Pankov's new book, Breakfast with Polonium. Mr. O'Flynn suggests that "Breakfast with Polonium" is well-crafted pulp fiction that speeds along despite the fact it hangs on more spy cliches and stereotypes than a Russian riddle, wrapped in a cabbage and then hidden inside a matryoshka doll.


The Laboratory 12 poison plot The TimesOnline prints an excerpt from Martin Sixsmith's new book, The Litvinenko File: The True Story of a Death Foretold. It decribes Laboratory 12 (also known as Kamera-the room) and the similarities between the assassination of Roman Tsepov and Alexander Litvinenko. KGB's Poison Factory, the Kamera

Litvinenko Foundation Refuses Aid to Lugovoy, Kovtun Kommersant reports that Andrey Lugovoy and Dmityry Kovtun plan to seek compensation from the Litvinenko Justice Foundation. Alexander Goldfarb responded by saying that, “These two individuals deserve not a compensation but a life sentence.”

Alexander Litvinenko Killed for Being Friends with Chechens Kommersant describes the London interviews between Boris Berezovsky, Akhmed Zakaev and Alexander Otvodov. Zakaev, believes that Litvinenko might have been killed for cooperating with Chechen authorities. “He was a member of the Committee for investigating war crimes in Chechnya created by Aslan Maskhadov. Litvinenko submitted names of generals guilty of violence against peaceful civilians, and provided documents that compromised Russian authorities, to us.” Russian investigators asked Zakaev about Badri Patarkatsishvili.

Litvinenko Killed Over Blackmail Attempt?
Litvinenko Not The First Faked Allegation Against Putin?
Berezovsky Buying Silence? Once again, AJ Strata, The Strata-Sphere, is providing the best analysis of the Litvinenko mystery. The essays are thorough, but equally important are the views expressed by his blog readers. Strata begins by questioning Berezovsky's motives for offering to compensate those who may have been contaminated. Then he reminds the reader that the polonium-210 trail leads to Berezovsky's desk, literally. He poses the question whether Berezovsky used Litvinenko as a prop to frame President Vladimir Putin.

New theory under consideration in Litvinenko murder case This ITAR-TASS article provides more detail of the mystery witness, Pyotr's interview and background data. The article quotes Pyotr as suggesting that Litvinenko might have been poisoned as one of two witnesses of a bluff that ensured Russian exiled tycoon Boris Berezovsky a political asylum in Britain.


Secret Witness in Litvinenko Case Identified, The Kommersant article discloses that Vladimir Teplyuk, who also lives in Great Britain, was to give evidence linking Berezovsky to the killing of Litvinenko, allegedly because Litvinenko knew details of the scheme Berezovsky used to receive political asylum in Great Britain. Teplyuk told Russian television journalists that he knew Litvinenko, who tried to get him to pose as an FSB agent sent to Britain to kill Berezovsky. When he refused to do so, psychotropic drugs were slipped into his coffee and a falsified confession was recorded, which Litvinenko later provided to a London court.

Mystery witness implicates Berezovsky in Litvinenko murder Russian News and Information Agency NOVOSTI, details the Rossiya television interview with mystery person Pyotr (who appeared with his face hidden and voice disguised), suggests Boris Berezovsky was involved in the assassination of Litvinenko.

Sixsmith lifts lid on Litvenko murder Press Gazette reports that Martin Sixsmith exposes the key Russian players, most of whom he has known over the years, to give us the answer to the perplexing question: Who killed Litvinenko? The book, The Litvinenko File: The True Story of a Death Foretold, is due out April 6 and published by MacMillan.


Russian tycoon says he was queried in Litvinenko case Alan Cowell, International Herald Tribune, reports on interviews between Russian investigators and Boris Berezovsky and Akhmed Zakayev. In the article, Berezovsky announces the creation of a Litvinenko Justice Foundation, to be aimed at aiding investigations into Litvinenko's death, preventing "in the future the same terror attack" and helping compensate those who suffered psychological, physical or material harm in the case.

Polonium-210 public health investigation – supporting overseas countries and territories involved The Health Protection Agency held a special conference in London March 27, to share the public health experience of the Polonium-210 incident with front line colleagues from across the world. Details of the 52 overseas countries and territories involved in the public health are included in the report.