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.

Current Headlines 8 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.

Another dead Putin body Anna Akhmatova, in her blog atLargely, reports on the assassination of Maksim Kurochkin on March 27. She says that Kurochkin may have been considering revealing what he knew about the workings of the Russian Club and any dirty tricks used during the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election in return for his freedom. One unsolved mystery that derives from the campaign is determining who is responsible for poisoning candidate Viktor Yushchenko.


Spy Murder Shakes Russian Émigrés Flooding Britain With Cash, Stephanie Baker-Said in Bloomberg reports on the wave of Russian wealth, and Russian intrigue, that is washing over a metropolis that some call "Londongrad". The London influx, which began after the Soviet Union collapsed, represents the third great wave of Russian émigrés in the past century. Anti-communist White Russians fled to London and Paris after the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. In the Brezhnev-era '70s, tens of thousands of Russian Jews left for Israel. This is an excellent background piece.

Enemy of the state, Oksana Chelysheva, Guardian Unlimited, writes about imprisoned Mikhail Trepashkin. He was one of a group of FSB officers who, in a 1998 press conference, announced that they had been instructed to carry out a series of assassinations, but had refused to follow orders they regarded as criminal. Alexander Litvinenko was also among them. Trepashkin resigned from the FSB in 1998, stayed in Russia and became a lawyer. He took part in the independent commission investigating the 1999 explosions in apartment buildings in Moscow and other cities, representing the Moscow victims in court.

Russian prosecutors arrive in London to discuss Litvinenko deathThe International Herald Tribune reports that a delegation of Russian prosecutors, headed by Alexander Zvyagintsev, a deputy Russian prosecutor general, arrived in London, Monday, March 26, to pursue investigation of the Litvinenko murder.

Ex-KGB spy on hunger strike in U.K., demands defector pension The Russia News & Information Agency NOVOSTI reports that Viktor Makarov, former Russian KGB spy, has gone on a hunger strike in Britain, demanding a decent defector's pension from the government for passing secrets to British intelligence during the Cold War.

Girls in radiation tests after spy assassination The Harborough Today reports on two students that are being tested for Polonium-210, after they stayed in the same hotel room, the night after it was used by the people suspected of poisoning Alexander Litvinenko, last October. Traces of Polonium-210 were subsequently found in the room.

Friend of poisoned ex-FSB officer accuses Moscow of exploiting his wife in a media campaign Axis Information and Analysis is reporting that Alexander Goldfarb accused Moscow on Thursday of exploiting the dead man's ex-wife in a KGB-style campaign to blacken his name.

Polonium poisoning claim investigated by Irwin Mitchell This press release references the Polonium Victims Support Group, the Health & Safety Executives report and attorneys Conrad Murray and Sallie Booth, representing victims.

Russian's account further clouds a poisoning mystery Steven L Myers and Alan Cowell, International Herald Tribune report that Dmitri Kovtun's version of events, outlined in his most extensive and detailed interview, illustrates the starkly divergent view of the Litvinenko affair as seen from Moscow. It also suggests that sorting out the truth may ultimately be impossible, given the complex, secretive web of associations that bind Russia to its willing and unwilling exiles in London. Kovtun maintains that they (British police) have it backward, maintaining that Oct. 16 was the day that Litvinenko exposed him to the poison, polonium 210. "I am far from thinking that something was premeditated," Kovtun said. "I think things that were not premeditated were happening."

Polonium killers poisoned me too UK's Daily Express includes an exclusive interview by Lucy Johnson, with Steve Atkins, a guest at the Millennium Hotel, who unwittingly drank from the same cup laced with radioactive Polonium 210 which killed the 43-year-old former KGB agent, in the Pine Bar.

The Litvinenko Affair

THE LITVINENKO AFFAIR: A CHRONOLOGY, SOME TENTATIVE CONCLUSIONS, AND SOME SPECULATIONS Published on CDI Johnson's Russia List, Prepared by Edward W. Walker with help from members of the Berkeley Program in Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies Working Group on Political Developments in the FSU, UC Berkeley. This is the most comprehensive Litvinenko resource document on the Internet.

ERINYS UK, Ltd.; TITON International Ltd.; and RISC Management

Erinys UK, Ltd. and Titon International Ltd., 25 Grosvenor Street, What do we really know about them? Why does the Polonium-210 trail take us to 25 Grosvenor Street? What was Alexander Litvinenko doing for Erinys UK and Trition International? Is it a coincidence that Boris Berezovsky owns 25 Grosvenor Street, London W1K 4QN, as part of his extensive property portfolio.
What about RISC Management? There were traces of Polonium-210 there, too.

ERINYS International Ltd. Erinys is a British security company with an unparalleled reputation for delivering professional services under the most demanding of conditions, to a client base representative of the world’s leading corporations, and governments. Managed by industry recognized and respected personnel, the Group has regional offices and an operational footprint on 3 continents. With global experience in nationwide security projects, personal protection, training and site security, the Company has unique operational expertise in the petroleum, construction and mineral extraction industries. Erinys International and its subsidiaries have built a small but prestigious client base encompassing predominantly the petroleum, mining, power generation and telecommunications industry.

Erinys Ltd.
25 Grosvenor Street
London W1K 4QN
United Kingdom

Erinys' corporate management includes:
Jonathan Garratt
Michael Hutchings MA, MBA, psc, DipM MCIM
Fraser Brown
Peter Roberts LLB (Hons) FCCA
Maj Gen John Holmes DSO, OBE, MC
Jonathan Eldridge MA, Erinys Africa
Shindi Poonia, Erinys Iraq

Erinys can provide a global personal protection service, indigenous or expatriate, encompassing overt high threat environments through to more covert scenarios requiring tact and discretion. Operatives, male and female, are fully trained and, where applicable, their weapon handling skills and counter-surveillance techniques are current. In all cases individuals act within the law of the country in which they are deployed and abide by appropriate regulatory requirements. In addition to personnel protection, Erinys offers a range of electronic measures, including electronic counter-measures, to help counter the threat to an individual and or his business.



TITON International Ltd. Titon International Ltd is an independent Business Intelligence Company providing a wide range of bespoke security and intelligence services to the commercial world both in the UK and Overseas. All Titon services are necessarily discreet and precisely tailored to the client’s requirement, client confidentiality is of paramount importance to us and is always guaranteed. Titon is conveniently based in Mayfair, central London. The Group also has associates in Geneva, Moscow, Houston and Bangkok as well as strong links into the Middle East and Africa.

The Titon Group Comprises: Titon International Ltd, Titon Computer Security and Forensics Ltd (TCSF), and Titon Vetting Services Ltd (TVS). The Group Chief Executive is a recently retired Director of UK Special Forces, who in 2003/04 headed Project Unicorn for the Metropolitan Police. The aim of the Project was to consider what the commercial sector in London could do to help the UK Counter-Terrorist effort. The Head of the Investigative Branch of the Company is a commercial investigator with some 15 years experience at management level. In addition to his investigative skills he also has considerable experience in the gaming industry. Other members of staff are similarly experienced.

Titon International, Ltd.
25 Grosvenor Street
London W1K 4QN
United Kingdom

Titon Services include (1) Investigative investigations, due diligence for/on companies/deals/proposals, asset tracing, measures to counter industrial/commercial espionage and intrusion; (2) Individual pre employment screening, office security awareness for high level personal assistants, stalking and harassment, high value matrimonial investigations; (3) Electronic IT security assessments, including IT forensic investigation, IT incident response, electronic counter measures, communications security; and (4) Casino Gaming Security Design and policy, procedures, training, and investigations.


RISC Management a London based company, provides cost effective risk assessment, corporate intelligence and security services. Our in-house multi-disciplinary team of professionals and technical experts deliver vital information, intelligence and strategic advice to clients enabling them to make sound judgments and decisions about their activities. We work with clients worldwide, using our highly developed and extensive global network of associates and commissioned operatives. RISC has built up unrivaled knowledge and experience in the management of risk in the competitive international business environment. Working as an outsourced provider, we add value to our client operations by offering up-to-date information about risk in a specific industry and the relevant management process within it. As well as helping clients at a strategic planning level, we offer on-the-ground operational support, including project management capability and resources. Our services are particularly valuable to organizations taking investment decisions for projects planned in locations where existing knowledge and experience of risk is limited or uncertain. The key to our business approach is innovative thinking and knowledge sharing with clients, finding speedy solutions to sometimes complex problems and issues.

RISC Management
No. 1 Cavendish Place
London W1G 0QF
United Kingdom

Possible explanations:

Exclusive: Murdered ex-KGB officer was working for British security company Larisa Alexandrovna, in The Raw Story, published December 6, 2006, describes the employment relationship between Alexander Litvinenko and ERINYS. This is an excellent article.

Litvinenko was consulting two British security companies
Alexander Litvinenko was working for a British security firm at the time of his death, The Raw Story, an alternative news nexus, reports, referring to “two well-placed British sources who wish to remain unidentified”. The two separate British sources have confirmed that Litvinenko was working on contract for Erinys International Ltd. The office of this security and risk management company was among the 12 to 24 polonium contamination sites in the Piccadilly area of London identified by British authorities.

According to one of the sources, Erinys is trying to break into the Russian [security and intelligence] market and Litvinenko was the front man introducing them to all sorts of people. The source expanded that the reason Litvinenko was meeting at Erinys' offices around the time of his contamination was to broker a deal of some sort with a Russian security start-up being created by Andrei Lugovoy and Dmitry Kovtun. An American intelligence official suggested that Litvinenko was trying to get Erinys a security contract with one of the state-owned energy firms and speculated that this could be a reason why the FSB might have allegedly assassinated Litvinenko, The Raw Story writes.

Some US intelligence experts believe that Litvinenko was lured into the meetings by Kovtun and Lugovoy on the pretext of helping Erinys extend its interests in Russia, while others believe there was a genuine and legitimate business relationship with no sinister motive behind the meetings. British authorities, however, have refrained from commenting on the questions surrounding Erinys and Litvinenko’s employment with the firm, online site marks.

Nev Johnson, one of the two Foreign and Commonwealth Office press officers with responsibility for intelligence, primarily MI6, explained to The Raw Story that the continuing probe makes it difficult to confirm or discuss the issues surrounding the case. "The ongoing investigation into the death of Mr Litvinenko precludes providing background details about his activities and location prior to his death," said Johnson. "To do so might seriously compromise the police investigation and any criminal prosecution which might be undertaken."

In its turn the Financial Times has learned that Litvinenko was paid as a consultant for information on Russian businesses, by Titon International, a London-based business intelligence company. Titon’s website says it “provides a wide range of bespoke security and intelligence services to the commercial world”. A senior executive with Titon International told The Financial Times that Litvinenko had worked for the company and that its offices in London had been closed by police after traces of polonium-210 radiation had been found. There is no suggestion that Litvinenko was poisoned in the building, paper adds.

Litvinenko and Titon International Larisa Alexandrovna, at-Largely blog is the first (on December 13, 2006) to connect-the-dots between Erinys and Titon.

Search for killer of ex-spy a daunting task Kevin Cullen, The Boston Globe, reported that "...like others who surfaced here after working in the Russian secret services, Litvinenko carved out a new career by helping steer British-based businesses toward the Russian market. A former US Marine now working for an international security firm said Litvinenko was on the payrolls of at least two security firms. The former Marine, speaking on the condition he was not identified, said Litvinenko and other former KGB and FSB officers sell themselves as consultants, able to guide legitimate companies through the Byzantine business world in Russia where the legitimate and illegitimate merge."

Erinys' Document Leaker? Larisa Alexandrovna, in her blog, at-Largely, as the question, "Now if it is true that the dossier was "deliberately leaked" then would it also not follow that someone at the "British company" may have done the leaking in an attempt to force a business deal?"

On the Trail of Mr. X LaRussophobe reports that "Apparently, a British firm called Titon International may have hired Litvinenko to perform a due diligence investigation of Victor Ivanov prior to Titon's client commencing a major transaction with Aeroflot, and when the dossier turned over by Litvinenko turned up dirt on Ivanov, the deal was queered. Litvinenko then showed the dossier to Lugovoi, a Kremlin double agent who turned the material over to Ivanov, resulting in the Kremlin-connected oligarch deciding to strike down Litvinenko. Apparently, they were motivated not only by the lost value of the deal, but even more importantly by the information contained in the dossier and the possibility of future such outbreaks of information (which might expose high-level corruption). Obviously, the firm that hired Titon is in a position to say whether it received a dossier from Titon on Ivanov and whether it queered a deal with Aeroflot or not. Apparently, so far Titon is not revealing the name of its client." This is a most interesting report, which underscores the importance of pursuing a Erinys-Titon coincidence or conspiracy theory.

Update on Litvinenko laRussophobe confirms in this updated story that Litvinenko was employed by Titon (which has a sister company, Erinys) International to perform due diligence background checks on Russian officials, company officers and owners for investors, information reported by Larisa Alexandrovna at At Largely and by Litvinenko's colleague Yuri Shvets to the BBC's Tom Mangold (and if Shvets's previous information of a $100,000 contract with Titon is true, then Litvinenko was hardly "penniless," as Julia Svetlichnaja-Svetlichnaya claimed, by the way)

Revisit the Polonium-210 Trail

Britain's Home Secretary John Reid reported that 24 sites had been investigated for Polonium-210 contamination, and that 12 of them had shown traces of radioactivity. "It is at very low levels in some cases, at higher levels in others, though none of them, we think, is a health hazard of any significance," Reid said. The investigation also includes five aircraft, two of which have been confirmed to be contaminated. [Click on map to enlarge]

More Polonium Contamination In London AJ Strata, the Strata-Sphere blog, provides an updated lost of Polonium-210 contaminated sites in London. The article has links to another contaminated hotel, restaurant, and witness, Andrei Sidelnikov.

Litvinenko Inquiry Centers on 12 Sites, 5 Airplanes NPR Radio, Bob Gifford reports on All Things Considered (audio) on the contaminated sites in London, with links to three other related NPR stories.

London radiation locations CBC News provides an interactive map for visiting the London and German contamination sites. Pop-up windows include photographs and descriptions of the sites. A very good resource.

Polonium-210 Contamination Information and Updates The Health Physics Society (HPS) provides resources for Polonium-210 contamination information and updates. The site includes links to each of the Health Protection Agency (HPA) updates.

Order Of Contamination AJ Strata, Strata-Sphere blog, summarizes contamination sites and provides the comparative contamination of people close to Alexander Litvinenko.

Polonium-210 Contamination Sites:
Alexander Litvinenko home, 140 Osier Cresent-Muswell Hill
Millennium Hotel London Mayfair, 44 Grosvenor Square, W1K 2HP
Millennium Hotel Fourth floor room
Millennium Hotel Pine Bar
Erinys UK, Ltd. and Titon International Ltd., 25 Grosvenor Street (West End)
58 Grosvenor Street (West End)
Itsu Sushi bar, Piccadilly Circus
RISC Management, Cavendish Place
Best Western Premier Shaftesbury Hotel, Piccadilly
Parkes Hotel, Knightsbridge
Sheraton Parklane Hotel
Pescatori Restaurant, Dover Street
Emirates Stadium
Interpark House, 7 Down Street, Mayfair
Heathrow Airport
University College Hospital
Barnet General Hospital
Zakayev's automobile in N. London
British Airways Aircraft G-BZHA Boeing 767
British Airways Aircraft G-BNWB Boeing 767
British Airways Aircraft G-BNWX Boeing 767
Transaero Boeing 737
Erzberger Street, Hamburg Germany
Haselau Germany
British Embassy, Moscow Russia

Update - Information about Public Health Issues Related to Polonium-210 Contamination in the United Kingdom An Official CDC Health Update, summarizes the CDC's involvement in the Litvinenko Polonium-210 contamination case. It reports that the CDC contacted 160 Americans in 20 states for radiation testing.

Agencies announce progress on the Litvinenko remediation process The London Resilience site provides a series of Q&A for Polonium-210 contamination.

The Polonium Trail - With Updates AJ Strata, The Strata-Sphere provides a comprehensive synopsis of the Polonium-210 trail. The essay contains multiple resource links.

The Blackmail “kompromat” Theory

There is another theory regarding Alexander Litvinenko's death, that it was his plans to blackmail powerful people, including oligarchs, corrupt officials and sources in the Kremlin. I will try and provide a representative sampling of articles here, on this possibility.

'I can blackmail them. We can make money' The Guardian Unlimited, Mark Townsend, Jamie Doward and Tom Parfitt, describe Alexander Litvinenko as no stranger to risk. Over the summer months, the former Kremlin spy began finalizing an extraordinary business proposition that may prove the most compelling motive yet for murder.

Putin on the Throwback, Why are all the Russian reporters dying? Nikolas Gvosdev, in The National Review, writes about the trail of suspicious deaths and murders and attacks leads primarily to journalists and intelligence specialists, people who by training and profession gather secrets, people who were uncovering evidence of corruption at both the regional and federal levels; hidden crimes, human-rights abuses, shady deals, or sometimes just what the Russians call “kompromat”, the “compromising material” which can be used to embarrass or blackmail rivals, all the things that entrenched interests in both the government and the business communities never want exposed to the light of day.

Was he on the verge of unmasking a master spy at the heart of the Italian government? Jason Lewis with the Daily Mail, writes that a mysterious agent who leaked British defence secrets to the Russians is now at the centre of the hunt for the murderer of Alexander Litvinenko. Investigators believe Litvinenko may have been killed to protect the agent, codenamed Uchitel, 'The Teacher', by his former KGB paymasters.

Revealed: Litvinenko's Russian 'blackmail plot' Mark Townsend, Jamie Doward, Tom Parfitt, and Barbara McMahon, write in The Guardian Unlimited, the story of Julia Svetlichnaja in which she reveals that Alexander Litvinenko asked her to enter into a business deal with him and 'make money. He told me he was going to blackmail or sell sensitive information about all kinds of powerful people, including oligarchs, corrupt officials and sources in the Kremlin,' she said. 'He mentioned a figure of £10,000 that they would pay each time to stop him broadcasting these FSB documents. Litvinenko was short of money and was adamant that he could obtain any files he wanted.'

Current Headlines 7 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 Businessman (Dmitry Kovtum) to Help German Prosecutors in Litvinenko Poisoning Case Mosnews reports that Dmitry Kovtum has indicated a willingness to return to Hamburg for questioning in the Polonium-210 smuggling case. His attorney, Wolfgang Vehlow, added that Kovtun has permanent residency in Germany and considers Hamburg a home.

Heavy-handed Putin Jonathan Strong, American Thinker, writes that President Vladimir Putin increasingly has been imitating his Soviet predecessors of a bygone communist era. Dissidents, spies, "undesirables", and people just in the wrong place at the wrong time frequently "disappeared" in the former Soviet Union. Murder and intimidation remain tactics of security services in the Russian Federation. Particularly since Putin has reigned, power has been consolidated in the presidency and in Moscow.

Litvinenko’s children hit at Hollywood film plan Mark Franchetti and David Leppard, The Times, interviewed Alexander Litvinenko's children and wife from his first marriage. Natalia Litvinenko said, “One’s first motherland is one’s family, Sasha betrayed his family, then the FSB, then his country, then his religion. But this does not change the fact that his death is a terrible tragedy and that we love him deeply.”

Russian Journalist Seeks Asylum in United States The St. Petersburg Times reports about a female Russian journalist who claims to have been poisoned twice, harassed and assaulted. The article references a second Russian journalist, Alexander Kosvintsev, who fled to Ukraine and sought asylum there, last month.

Russian secret servicemen to question some 100 British citizens as part of former FSB officer’s poisoning investigation Axis Information and Analysis, Eurasian Secret Services Review, reports on Alexander Zvyagintsev's request to interview 100+ people in London.

Chechen Connection and PO-210 Smuggling

There is a theory connecting Alexander Litvinenko to Chechnya and an alleged Polonium-210 smuggling plot. I will try and provide a representative sampling of articles here, on this possibility.

Akhmed Zakayev: Litvinenko’s Chechen Connection John Fenzel describes for the reader, a fascinating relationship between Alexander Litvinenko and Akhmed Zakayev, the Foreign Minister of Chechen republic government-in-exile.

New wrinkle in Litvinenko's death The Online Journal, Wayne Madsen writes about several smuggling theories, including a Chechen press release reference to "the weapon" may have been hinting at a project to build a radioactive "dirty bomb" by Litvinenko. London's Observer surmised as much in a December 3 report: "Among the theories that remain open is that the poisonings were an accident that happened while Litvinenko tried to assemble a dirty bomb for Chechen rebels. Those who know him believe he was crazy enough to attempt such a thing and, in the past week, some have implicated him in the smuggling of nuclear materials from Russia."

Litvinenko Assassination Theory Just About Eliminated AJ Strata, Strata-Sphere, writes an convincing essay on the smuggling theory. This is an excellent background piece. The title says it all!

German Police Suspect Polonium Smuggling Ring Charles Ganske of Real Russia Project, report that German police suspect that Alexander Litvinenko and his associate Dimitry Kovtun were involved in smuggling polonium out of Russia. German detectives found traces of polonium in Dimitry Kovtun's apartment in Hamburg,

Did Litvinenko And Berezovsky Support Chechyan Terrorists? AJ Strata, in his blog, Strata-Sphere makes the case for a Chechen connection. I always wondered why the Chechen terrorists, just a day after Litvinenko died, named him a martyr for the Chechen cause. It was one of the indicators that Litvinenko was more likely smuggling Po-210 to Putin’s enemies than being the target of a Po-210 armed Putin assassin. How a Russian could become a Muslim martyr while living in London. Quite impressive. Now it seems there may be first hand knowledge out of Chechnya of Berezovsky’s personal hand (with Litvinenko) in allying with those trying to topple Putin and the Russian government.

Interim Chechen president’s claims undermine search for truth in Politkovskaya case Reporters Without Borders responds to Chechnya’s acting President Ramzan Kadyrov's claim, that he was personally present at meetings at which Boris Berezovsky compromised himself and that Berezovsky, aided by Alexander Litvinenko, had financed Chechen separatist fighters with the aim of destroying Russia.

Ridiculous News Media On Litvinenko’s Poisoning AJ Strata, in his blog, Strata-Sphere, asks the obvious question: This was not an assassination. That young, central asian man who flew to London with Kovtun and disappeared the same day all the Po-210 left London sounds like a Chechen, monitoring the final movements of all the Po-210 that made its way through London last October. There are amounts of Po-210 spread all over London, Hamburg and Moscow that would kill Litvinenko many times over. How is it this assassination effort got more Po-210 on the rug of a hotel room than they ever got into Litvinenko after ‘multiple’ tries? Forget the assassination theory. If the trail and the poisoned people are simply the debris from handling (and mishandling) the Po-210, then the big questions is what was the amount of Po-210 that was being smuggled that left this trail?

As AJStrata Predicted: Litvinenko Poisoned In Hotel Room! AJ Strata, in his blog, Strata-Sphere writes that “Friends of the ex-spy” are also possible associates who could be involved in the smuggling of Po-210 through London and possibly to Russia. The fact is every time Lugovoi traveled to London to meet Litvinenko and the British security firms Litvinenko worked for, Po-210 ended up contaminating multiple rooms. There are excellent resource links to this blog.

Litvinenko 'smuggled nuclear material' Cahal Milmo, Peter Popham and Jason Bennetto with The Independent, report on a conversation that Mario Scaramella had with Alexander Litvinenko on November 1, 2006, that he (Litvinenko) had organized the smuggling of nuclear material out of Russia for his security service employers.

Chechnya's ghosts loom large in the death of former spy Danica Kirka explores Alexander Litvinenko's conversion to Islam in this NC Times article. Litvinenko was moved by the immense suffering of Muslims in Chechnya. Another theory suggested conversion may have been an act of moral redress, for the injustice Muslims feel globally. "For Litvinenko, his conversion meant that he associated his struggle for justice with the struggle of the Islamic communities worldwide and in Russia in particular," said Geidar Dzhemal, the head of Islamic Committee of Russia, the leading Islamic advocacy group in Russia.

New wrinkle in Litvinenko's death Wayne Madsen, on the propagandamatrix blog, analyzes the Chechen connection, including the possibility of a smuggling accident.

Current Headlines 6 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.

Why Are Putin's Enemies Dying? Ben Bolton, NewsMax, revisits the coincidence-conspiracy question. He reviews the unsolved assassinations (or attempts) of Paul Joyal, Alexander Litvinenko, Yuri Shchekochikin, Paul Klebnikov, Yan Serguinin, Viktor Yushchenko, Anna Politkovskaya, Andrei Kozlov and Movladi Baisarov.

THE KREMLIN'S LONG SHADOW Bryan Burrough, Vanity Fair investigates in the April 2007 issue, the murder in London last November of former K.G.B. agent Alexander Litvinenko. The case had all the elements of a spy thriller: an exotic poison, an exiled tycoon, and plenty of hidden agendas. But can the polonium 210 that killed Litvinenko be traced back to Moscow?

Dead reporter 'had Kremlin secrets' Adrian Blomfield, The Age, provides a motive for the assassination of Kommersant journalist, Ivan Safronov. He was working on a story that claimed the Kremlin was secretly providing Syria with missile systems.

Suspicions still swirling about Russian bombs The Hamilton Spectator revisits the connections between Alexander Litvinenko's assassination, the Ryazan apartment bombings in Moscow and the Chechnya War, as described in Litvinenko's book, Blowing Up Russia: Terror from Within.

KGB expert who accused Russian authorities in poisoning of ex-FSB officer found shot near his home in America AXIS Information and Analysis, reports on the attempted murder of Paul Joyal, just days after he accused the Russian government of involvement in the poisoning of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko. In an interview broadcast last Sunday on "Dateline NBC," Joyal also accused the Russian government of trying to silence its critics. "A message has been communicated to anyone who wants to speak out against the Kremlin: If you do, no matter who you are, where you are, we will find you, and we will silence you in the most horrible way possible," Joyal said.

Prominent Russian defense correspondent dies in mysterious fall The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports on the suspicious death of Kommersant journalist, Ivan Safronov. A former colonel in the Russian Space Forces, Safronov, 51, wrote about military and space issues for Kommersant. Most recently, he had written about changes in the defense leadership and problems in military training that had led to the deaths of young soldiers. He also wrote about defense technology and military testing failures that often went unacknowledged and unreported by the army.

Who's killing Putin's enemies? Michael Specter writes in The Guardian's Observer Magazine, that Putin has presided over a staggering economic boom in the six years since he took control of the Kremlin. Meanwhile, a dozen of his critics have been assassinated and the country's vast natural resources are in the pockets of a chosen few. The two-part essay reports on the corruption and gangsterism gripping Russia.

The Last Days of a Secret Agent, NBC Dateline NBC Dateline's Justin Baldins reports on the Litvinenko investigation, and includes an interactive and video link regarding the 'conspiracy theories' surrounding the assassination.

The Polonium 210 Fallout A.J. Strata, in his blog, Strata-Sphere, revisits the Polonium-210 contamination pattern. The essay also includes a link to the latest Health Protection Agency (HPA) report.

Berezovsky ordered murders of Litvinenko, Politkovskaya - Kadyrov. The ITAR-TASS News Agency quotes Chechnya's acting president Ramzan Kadyrov as knowing that Boris Berezovsky was the one who had placed the murder contracts on former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko in London and investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya in Moscow.

Russian investigator in ex-spy Litvinenko’s case meets with Scotland Yard in London AXIS Information and Analysis reports that Russia's top prosecutors earlier ruled out that Lugovoi, whom British media have called the key suspect in the Litvinenko case, could be extradited to the U.K., saying he was a Russian citizen and could not be tried elsewhere.

Litvinenko, Scaramella, Guzzanti and Mitrokhin Commission

Resources:
The Mitrokhin Archive, by Vasil Mitrokhin and Christopher Andrew





The Mitrokhin Archive II, by Vasil Mitrokhin and Christopher Andrew






The Sword and the Shield, The Mitrokhin Archive by Vasil Mitrokhin and Christopher Andrew






Sen. Paolo Guzzanti's blog Italian

The Mitrokhin Commission Report, 5 April 2004 Italian

The Mitrokhin Commission Report, 23 March 2006, Minority Report Italian

The Mitrokhin Inquiry Report United Kingdom

Mitrokhin Archive Wikipedia[photgraph of Vasil Mitrokhin]





Recent Headlines:

Limarev e il falso Guzzanti European Tribune, de Gondi, has written an historical essay that connects Sen. Paolo Guzzanti, Evgueni Limarev, Alexander Litvinenko and the Mitrokhim Commission. This is a fascinating work, and due to reference links, a good resource as well.

Le Plot Thickens, Again: Russians going after Nevzlin Larisa Alexandrovna, in her blog, at-Largely, decribes the relationship between Alexander Litvinenko, Mario Scaramella and the Mitrokhin Commission.

The Litvinenko murder: Scaramella - The Italian Connection The Independent provides an Italian biography for Mario Scaramella and identifies the recently published telephone transcript between Scaramella and Senator Paolo Guzzanti, President of the Mitrokhin Commission, regarding Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

Italian tests positive in KGB case Italy Magazine reports that Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema said that Scaramella had never had “any relationship with the Italian secret services, apart from two occasions in which he contacted the heads of (civilian intelligence agency) Sisde, who immediately told him not to try contacting them again”.

The strange case of Mario Scaramella Geoff Andrews, openDemocracy, skillfully weaves the story line of Mario Scaramella, Alexander Litvinenko, Senator Paolo Guzzanti and The Mitrokhin Commission together, providing background and intrigue along the way.

Fixing Fox de Gondi, European Tribune, is a detailed article which demonstrates the political relationship between Sen. Paolo Guzzanti and Mario Scaramella.

The Secret Life of Mario Scaramella Alexander Stille, Slate, describes Mario Scaramella as "a kind of Rosencrantz or Guildenstern of the Litvinenko tragedy, a minor character who sheds a highly revealing sidelight on the larger drama while also illuminating a different and very Italian tragedy."

What Did Litvinenko Know/Say/Do that Cost Him His Life?

Below are links to some of Alexander Litvinenko's work:
1. Litvinenko's Book: Blowing Up Russia: Terror From Within

2. FSB Involvement in the 1999 Russian Apartment Bombings

3. Russian Secret Services' Links With Al-Qaeda

4. Litvinenko's Video Interview , The Frontline Club, the Murder of Anna Politkovskaya

5. The Kremlin Pedophile

6. About "Nord-Ost", Zakayev and terrorist activity of FSB

7. Putin and the drug trade in Russia

8. Colonel Alexander Litvinenko Signed the Appeal for an Interim un Administration in Chechnya

9. Litvinenko's Book: Lubyanka Criminal Group

10. Backlight: In Memoriam Aleksander Litvinenko


Political Biography
1. In his book Blowing up Russia: Terror from Within, Litvinenko describes that he had established personal relations with Berezovsky during the investigation of the July 1994 attempt on the businessman.

2. Russian observers and the politicians close to the present Russian regime say that Litvinenko and his closest associates on service had been Berezovsky’s “agents of infulence” in the FSB.

3. The specified sources pointed out that Litvinenko and his comrades, in 1996-1998, tried to discredit a number of the high-ranking FSB officers, with an aim of their subsequent replacement by people, loyal to Berezovsky.

4. In the book Blowing up Russia: Terror from Within Litvinenko confirms that he collected compromising information on some high-ranking officers and tried to convey it to the top leadership, in particular, to Putin. But as he said, he did it for the sake of suppression of the criminal activity in the ranks of the FSB.

5. In November 1998, Litvinenko and four of his colleagues held an unprecedented press conference, having accused the FSB and their direct supervisors, of alleged practice of extrajudicial liquidations and physical pressure upon businessmen and political figures. They declared, in particular, that one year prior to that they had received an order on Berezovsky's elimination. Two years later, one of the closest fellows of Litvinenko and a participant of the abovementioned press conference, Viktor Shebalin, publicly announced that it had been “a planned-in-advance action of Litvinenko, under direction of Boris Berezovsky”.

6. In the autumn 2000, together with his family, Alexander Litvinenko secretly left Russia. Through Ukraine and Turkey, he arrived in England. In May 2001, Litvinenko was granted political asylum there and he was under trusteeship of the local law enforcement bodies.

7. In Britain, Litvinenko began an active propaganda campaign against the Russian leadership and the FSB. He accused Russia’s secret services of organizing the explosions in apartment houses in Moscow in the autumn 1999, and in ties with the Al-Qaeda, and also in the wide-range criminal activity, such as participation in the international Afghan drug traffic.

8. In 2001 the first book by Litvinenko (in the co-authorship) was published in the United States, under the title Blowing up Russia: Terror from Within.

9. In 2002, the second book by Litvinenko, Lubyanka’s Criminal Grouping, was published in the US.

10. Litvinenko often spoke that his life and the life of his relatives had been endangered. He told that the first attempt at him took place in December 1997 after he and his colleagues had refused to carry out the order on Boris Berezovsky's liquidation.

11. He said he knew of 32 Russian spies working in England.

12. He traveled to Israel weeks before he died to hand over a dossier on the Yukos oil affair, in which the company’s former chairman, Mikhail Khodorovsky, has been imprisoned for tax evasion, to Leonid Nevzlin, an exiled oil tycoon.

13. In Moscow, a city given to conspiracy theories, people could speak of little else: Putin had acted to silence a vocal traitor; no, Putin’s enemies did it, to destroy the image of the Kremlin and gain leverage in the 2008 Presidential campaign; Putin’s allies did it, so that they could use the affair as a convenient excuse to ignore the constitution and secure him a third term; the “Jews” did it, because Litvinenko had converted to Islam; Muslim extremists did it, because Litvinenko had reneged on a promise to supply parts for a dirty bomb; Berezovsky did it, to embarrass Putin. The Kremlin even suggested that Leonid Nevzlin, a wealthy oil executive who fled Russia and lives in Israel, might have been involved. The New Yorker, Kremlin, Inc, by Michael Specter.

14. Yuri Shvets, a former KGB agent now based in the United States, said he and Litvinenko had worked together providing confidential background information for international companies before possible investment in Russia. Shvets told the BBC his friend was poisoned after an eight-page dossier complied by Litvinenko, which allegedly contained sensitive material, was leaked to the unnamed figure in Moscow.

15. "At one point, Litvinenko's old boss, Maj. Gen. Yevgeny Khokholkov said, 'If I ever see him in my doorway, I will kill him with my own hands.' And he put his two hands together as if he was smashing the neck, as if it was a piece of pipe, or a baguette. And then he just said, 'I'm joking, of course.' But it was clear he was not joking. They hated him so much." as told by Yuri Felshtinsky. The Seattle Times

Opinions:
1. Alexander Litvinenko: Blackmailer, Smuggler, Gangster Extraordinaire by Antiwar.com Justin Raimondo

2. Yuri’s quest to uncover the truth lives on Anne Simpson, of The Herald, writes about Yuri Felshtinsky, a historian specializing in Russian secret services, who co-authored writing Blowing Up Russia: Terror from Within with Alexander Litvinenko.