by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Dec 1, 2006
All Rights Reserved.

ying in London of polonium-210 poisoning Nov. 25, former FSB spy Alexander Litvinenko blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him “barbaric and ruthless.” Litvinenko was a vociferous Kremlin critic, especially of Putin for his six-year siege on Russia's free press. When 48-year-old Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was gunned down Oct. 9 in the lift of her apartment building, Litvinenko sought to uncover the link to Putin and the Kremlin. Politkovskaya was an outspoken critic of Russia's crackdown in the breakaway Chechen republic, supporting Chechen independence. Considered among Russia's most well-respected journalists, Politkovskaya was regarded a heroine inside Russia's shrinking journalistic community. While calling the killing “disgustingly cruel” and promising to find the killers, Putin's remarks revealed some unexpected clues.

      Waiting three days after her murder, Putin offered a revealing analysis of Politkovskaya's death. “The level of her influence on political life in Russia was very minor,” said Putin, raising disturbing questions about the possible extent of his role and the government's cover-up. Most of Russia's Mafia-style contract killings go unsolved, despite promised rewards and official condemnations. When Putin shut down Russia's last independently owned TV network NTV and exiled its owner Boris Berezovsky in June 2001, concerns were raised about Putin's assault on Russia's free press. While Politkovskaya's murder may go unsolved, it seems strangely linked to Litvinenko's murder. Britain's Scotland Yard needs all the help it can get solving Litvinenko's polonium-210 poisoning. Radiation was found on two British Airways jets at London's Heathrow airport, both traveling to-and-from Moscow.

      British authorities couldn't confirm the radioactivity found on the jets was polonium-210, the lethal substance found in Litvinenko's body. British Home Secretary John Reid, chairing COBRA, Britain's emergency committee, confirmed that the planes were part of scientific tests into Litvinenko's murder. Looking into Litvinenko's death, Scotland Yard tracked down security expert Mario Scaramella, who was one of the last people to meet with former spy before he fell ill. Scaramella flew from Rome to London and met with Litvinenko Nov. 1 in a Sushi Bar, a former colonel with Russia's Federal Security Service [FSB], formerly the KGB. British and Russian media reports indicate Litvinenko was involved in smuggling nuclear material—something not confirmed. While regarded as a “suspicious death,” Scotland yard was investigating a possible political hit.

      British Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed grave concern about the growing possibility of the FSB doing its dirty work in the U.K. “The police investigations will proceed, and I think people should know that there is no diplomatic or political barrier to that investigation,” Blair told reporters in Denmark. “It is obviously a very, very serious matter indeed. We are determined to see what happened and who is responsible,” referring not only to Litvinenko's death but the radioactivity found on British Airways jets. Smuggling radioactive isotopes into the U.K. raises red flags in a country already hit by terrorism July 7, 2005. Scaramella told Scotland Yard he showed Litvinenko confidential e-mails identifying the possible killers of Russian journalist Ana Politkovskaya and other potential assassination targets, including Litvinenko, establishing the government's motive.

      Media reports implicating Litvinenko in nuclear smuggling may have originated from the FSB, diverting British authorities off the real motive. If Scaramella helped Litvinenko establish Putin's link to Politkovskaya's death, it's no wonder the Kremlin concluded Litvinenko must be liquidated. Putin's paradoxical response three days after Politkovskaya's murder indicates he's playing his cards close to the vest. Promising to find and punish her killers doesn't jibe with Politkovskya's well-known Kremlin criticism. Politkovskya was acutely aware of Putin's relentless attack on Russia's free press and attempt to re-impose Soviet-style tyranny. Putin called any suggestion about his involvement in Litvinenko's murder “political provocation.” Pro-Kremlin lawmakers blamed Litvinenko's death on a plot to trash the Kremlin—something so preposterous it boomerangs back on Putin.

      Establishing a convincing link between Politkovskaya's death and Litvinenko's won't be easy. Smuggling polonium-210 and poisoning Litvinenko in the U.K. throws cold water on Anglo-Russian relations. On his deathbed, Litvinenko blamed Putin for the “barbaric and ruthless” killing, knowing his former employer finally got even. British authorities found radiation at Litvinenko's north London flat, the sushi bar where he met Scaramella, a hotel where he went on Nov. 1, and now on two British Airways jetliners. Litvinenko, 43, told British police he was poisoned Nov. 1 while investigating the murder of Russian journalist Ana Politkovskaya. Litvinenko's father Walter told police his son “fought this regime and this regime got him.” Unlike Polikovskaya, who was gunned down like a dog, poisoning Litvinenko with highly enriched polonium-210, made Putin and the Kremlin radioactive.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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