Giant radioactive russian spy death

[GinandTonic]

Russian ex-spy makes death-bed accusation of Putin following being poisened with radiation after investigating the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Spoiler :

Radiation hunt after spy death

Police probing the death of the Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko have called in experts to search for radioactive material, the Home Office has said.

Mr Litvinenko's death, in a London hospital on Thursday, is believed to be linked to the presence of a radioactive substance in his body, it said.

The Metropolitan Police are said to be looking for any residual material at a number of locations.

The Kremlin has denied Mr Litvinenko's claims that it was involved.

A further statement will be made at 1500 GMT when the Health Protection Agency holds a news conference.

'Sheer nonsense'

Friends have said Mr Litvinenko was poisoned because of his criticism of Russia.

In a statement dictated before he died, the 43-year-old accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of involvement in his death.

Mr Litvinenko had recently been investigating the murder of his friend, Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, another critic of the Putin government.

Mr Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated the Kremlin's earlier dismissal of allegations of involvement in the poisoning as "sheer nonsense".

Before Mr Litvinenko's death, police said they suspected "deliberate poisoning" was behind his illness.

Investigators have been examining two meetings he had on 1 November - one at a London hotel with a former KGB agent and another man, and a later rendezvous with Italian security consultant Mario Scaramella, at a sushi restaurant in London's West End.

Mr Litvinenko, who was granted asylum in the UK in 2000 after complaining of persecution in Russia, fell ill later that day.

In an interview with Friday's Telegraph newspaper, former KGB bodyguard Andrei Lugovoi said he had met Mr Litvinenko at the Millennium Hotel in Grosvenor Square but vigorously denied any involvement in the poisoning.

Mr Scaramella, who is involved in an Italian parliamentary inquiry into Russian secret service activity, said they met because he wanted to discuss an e-mail he had received.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6180682.stm

 

[Peri]

As much as I want to blame Putin for this, it could yet be a set up to make him look bad.

 

[luiz]

I blame Putin. He does seem to have a taste for poisoning his political enemies.

 

[Rambuchan]

I blame Putin. He does seem to have a taste for poisoning his political enemies.

I'll jump the gun before evidence comes out as well. It seems the shootings were getting too blatant for Putin's liking. But he was lucky this guy died. The other prominent poisoning case I can think of survived and ended up leading a "velvet revolution" in the Ukraine.

 

[Taliesin]

I'm disappointed that the Russians couldn't come up with something more imaginative, like ricin-tipped umbrella guns.

 

[Trajan12]

There was another anti Putin reporter who died. Suspicious...

 

[luiz]

I'm disappointed that the Russians couldn't come up with something more imaginative, like ricin-tipped umbrella guns.

Actually radioactive sushi strikes me as extremely creative. The Russians still have it.

 

[NKVD]

Seems russian spies are pretty popular this month...

Canada caught one last week...Can't wait to hear from his trial...

 

[Hitti-Litti]

I blame Putin about this. It can't be random if Politkovskaja has been shot few times in the head, and Litvinenko gets poisoned when rumours say that he knows the killer of Politkovskaja.

Hrr... not much more than 100km to Russia...

 

[Sidhe]

Actually radioactive sushi strikes me as extremely creative. The Russians still have it.

Not just creative but it's never been used to deliberately poison someone before so there was little chance that he would survive. It's pretty monstrous but it is creative. It does look like it's the work of the Russian government, after all it's not easy to get hold of polonium, I doubt a mafia organisation(another suggestion) Could cleanly get hold of some without creating a trail; is it Putin? Most likely, but I'm not going to say for sure. I do quesiton however why it was necessary to kill him so obviously and so publicly, after he was dead it's pretty likely this would come out, it does beg alot of interesting questions.

 

[Taliesin]

Hmm, I missed the radioactive sushi bit. (I'd read about this yesterday, before that detail was available, so I didn't bother reading the OP.)

I retract my criticism, Mr Putin.

 

[Cuivienen]

I'll jump the gun before evidence comes out as well. It seems the shootings were getting too blatant for Putin's liking. But he was lucky this guy died. The other prominent poisoning case I can think of survived and ended up leading a "velvet revolution" in the Ukraine.

That revolution was Orange. The Velvet Revolution was Czechoslovakia.

I would be inclined to blame Putin as well. There's no one powerful in Russia who would want to "make Putin look bad", and I really can't see any of Putin's enemies elsewhere bothering with such an elaborate plot.

 

[EdwardTking]

I do quesiton however why it was necessary to kill him so obviously and so publicly, after he was dead it's pretty likely this would come out.

This is simply TERRORISM, to intimidate any other critics.

 

[Sidhe]

This is simply TERRORISM, to intimidate any other critics.

A sound possibility it could be true, you can't rule out stupidity. Trouble is as has been shown before it doesn't work if it's this public, people are too contrary to be cowed like that. It's like a murder mystery, first you kill one person then another finds out the truth and speaks out so you kill them, then another, untill eventually you end up with alot of dead bodies and in a world of trouble. I just think it unlikely that Putin would do it this publicly or obviously, surely it's better if people just go missing?

Poisoning this way, would only serve well if it actually cowed people, it seems likely to achieve the opposite. Which is why I think there's alot of interesting questions here. The idea that someone is trying to frame Putin or make him look bad cannot be dismissed. Mind you the most obvious answer is that he just didn't realise the implications of his actions, but who knows: let's call in Sherlock Holmes on this one. Yes Watson that's just what they wanted you to think but observe the results, who had the most to gain from such an event

 

[Taliesin]

I suppose it's conceivable that there be an independent operator in the KFSB who's carrying this out, without Putin's involvement, in order to serve his own interests.

Possibly a giant space laser is involved.

 

[Sidhe]

I suppose it's conceivable that there be an independent operator in the KFSB who's carrying this out, without Putin's involvement, in order to serve his own interests.

Possibly a giant space laser is involved.

Could be? Although if one is involved, then you'd of thought they'd of just ionised the dude from space leaving no trace.

Besides only mad scientists have death rays, and oops.. I've said too much!

 

[luiz]

Apparently Litvinenko dictated a letter to a friend of his on 21/11, that is, two days before he died. He seemed pretty confident on his belief of who was behind his poisoning:

I would like to thank many people. My doctors, nurses and hospital staff who are doing all they can for me, the British police who are pursuing my case with vigour and professionalism and are watching over me and my family.
I would like to thank the British government for taking me under their care. I am honoured to be a British citizen.

I would like to thank the British public for their messages of support and for the interest they have shown in my plight.

I thank my wife Marina, who has stood by me. My love for her and our son knows no bounds.

But as I lie here I can distinctly hear the beating of wings of the angel of death.

I may be able to give him the slip but I have to say my legs do not run as fast as I would like.

I think, therefore, that this may be the time to say one or two things to the person responsible for my present condition.

You may succeed in silencing me but that silence comes at a price. You have shown yourself to be as barbaric and ruthless as your most hostile critics have claimed.

You have shown yourself to have no respect for life, liberty or any civilised value.

You have shown yourself to be unworthy of your office, to be unworthy of the trust of civilised men and women.

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.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Litvinenko#Poisoning

 

[Riesstiu IV]

I blame video games. If our children weren't exposed to violence in strategic games like Civilization or the Total War series, which allow players to kill spies and suppress the population, Mr. Litvinenko would be alive today.

 

[CaptainF]

Russians don't play around.

As Stalin said, "Death solves everything. No man, no problem."

 

[Sidhe]

Russians don't play around.

As Stalin said, "Death solves everything. No man, no problem."

Using Stalin as an example of how killing people works is not likely to give you much credibility You could argue that Stalinism sowed the seeds of communisms destruction, you could argue alot of things about it, in fact it's a non-sequitor.