The Litvinenko Affair and the Jump to Conspiracy
Today’s Kommersant has a detailed report on the Litvinenko Affair. Most reports now concede that Litvinenko was not poisoned by thallium because his symptoms don’t match the poison, but do agree he was poisoned by something and by someone. The rapid deterioration of his health doesn’t suggest otherwise. The speculation about who did it has centered around two theories. The first theory suggests that Litvinenko was poisoned by former FSB associates perhaps seeking revenge for his accusations that the FSB is responsible for the 1999 Moscow apartment bombings. The second points the finger directly at the Kremlin because of Litvinenko’s open criticism of its policies and Putin personally. Some may collapse these two theories into one with the assumption that the FSB does not act without the Kremlin’s blessing. Such an assumption is a presumptuous because it doesn’t account for possible rouge and ..read more
