Alexander Litvinenko. The man who solved his murder

Public hearings in the case of Alexander Litvinenko have ended in London. The trial was described as the most knowledge-intensive in the history of British justice. A final report has been published, in which Andrei Lugovoy and Dmitry Kovtun are quite definitely named as direct perpetrators of the murder, and the Russian authorities and personally President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin are involved in this crime.

Discussion of this event continues throughout the world. Almost no one doubts the very fact of the crime: Litvinenko was poisoned with the radioactive isotope polonium-210, which was delivered and mixed into drinking by Lugovoy and Kovtun. The motives were debatable, as well as how and how it is connected with the Russian state.

In Russia, where the media coverage of the process is very limited, many people did not understand some questions:

To what extent are the studies carried out, on which the conclusion is based, correct, and whether a different interpretation of the data obtained is allowed;
- whether the defendants themselves understood what they were dealing with;
- what does the wording "apparently" (probably) in the accusation against the Russian authorities mean and how well-founded these accusations are?

We will try to clarify these issues, focusing primarily on the scientific and technical aspects of this case.

Data from British and Russian scientists

When studying not only the final report, but also the materials presented to the investigation, the enormous amount of work done by British specialists is striking. Determinations of the radioactivity of polonium were carried out in many tens of places - thousands of measurements, many of which were verified by independent organizations using different equipment. In the event that the data was in doubt, they double-checked.

Judge Robert Owen, when questioning witnesses, scrupulously examined any, even completely insignificant discrepancies in the announced figures. Most of the data was analyzed by a team of scientists led by John Harrison, a renowned and respected medical radiologist.

Both German and Russian scientists were involved in this work. In particular, the case file contains a report of a group of researchers from the Institute of Biophysics of the FMBA (now the A.I.Burnazyan Center), the Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry named after A.I. V.I. Vernadsky RAS, Radio Institute named after V.G. Khlorin.

The methodology and the research carried out are described in detail and clearly. The conclusion of the committee of Russian experts - well-known specialists in this field - indicates that all the items presented by D. Kovtun and the details of his chair contain significant amounts of polonium-210, and this product is not natural, but of technogenic origin (see Fig. 1) ... Traces of contamination on Kovtun's personal belongings are primary, but it is unlikely that polonium from these things could cause significant harm to people who came into contact with these things. The level of contamination is quite consistent with that observed in similar samples by British specialists (but in the bathrooms of the rooms where Lugovoy and Kovtun stayed, and in the places of poisoning, the activity of polonium was much higher).

Alpha spectrum of a sample from Kovtun's chair containing a characteristic peak of polonium-210. Measured by Russian experts.

There are also materials from the 6th clinic of the FMBA (now also the A.I.Burnazyan Center), where Lugovoi and Kovtun were examined, and the analyzes were provided to the British side. As a result, it was found that there is 1000 times less polonium in Kovtun's body, and 10,000 times less in Lugovoi's body than in Litvinenko's. These data of Russian specialists are extremely important. Based on them, it is possible to refute the well-known version of the Russian prosecutor's office, Russian media and the defendants themselves - that Lugovoy and Kovtun were contaminated with polonium from Litvinenko (see below).

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has attracted another Russian organization for the examination - the Laboratory for the Analysis of Microparticles.

The reports of Russian scientists contain data that two weeks after Kovtun's arrival in Russia, when he entered for examination, 14 thousand Bq were washed off his hands. And the total amount of polonium inside his body was estimated by British experts at 4 million Bq based on Russian data. After the November 1 poisoning, Litvinenko left contact traces only at the level of a few, tens - up to two hundred Bq (the main activity was inside the body).

The polonium found in the bodies of Kovtun and Lugovoi is not enough to pose a major threat to their lives, but too much for Litvinenko to transmit through physical contact. Such an amount could have entered the organisms of Lugovoy and Kovtun only as a result of contact with the original, primary product with a high concentration of polonium.

What did Lugovoy and Kovtun understand and what did they not understand?

This question is constantly being asked. Did Lugovoy and Kovtun really think they were feeding Litvinenko with vitamins? Of course, it is difficult to give an exact answer to this question, but there are indications that they generally represented what they were dealing with.

According to testimony, Kovtun was looking for a cook who would help him poison one bad person with a very expensive poison. And Kovtun did call the chef recommended to him.

After all three attempts at poisoning - October 16 (Lugovoy, Kovtun), October 26-27 (Lugovoy), and November 1, 2006 (Lugovoy, Kovtun) - the remains of unused polonium were destroyed in the toilet rooms: they were poured into the sink, into the toilet, thrown into the garbage a bucket, wrapped in towels and thrown into the wash. In these places, a huge amount of polonium was found.

Lugovoi and Kovtun came to the final meeting on November 1 earlier and ordered tea. Apparently, they placed polonium in a kettle (there were no cameras in this place). After that, one by one, they went to the toilet and washed their hands - polonium was found on the dryer. Then Litvinenko came and was asked to drink tea. Polonium was later found in large quantities in the teapot. At the end of the meeting, Lugovoi's wife and eight-year-old son approached, and he invited him to shake hands with Uncle Sasha. Was Lugovoi ready to endanger his son's health? But Lugovoi could have been informed that the poison used is really dangerous only if ingested. Whether it is radioactive or not is irrelevant in this case.

In general, the preparation and execution of the assassination attempt were performed extremely carelessly. (Kovtun later complained to his ex-mother-in-law: “These idiots seem to have poisoned us all.” What kind of “idiots” - he did not specify.) The manufactured source used for poisoning was obviously placed in an insufficiently sealed capsule, the amount of polonium was clearly excessive ... The people who operated with this source did it inaccurately.

The remains that really needed to be destroyed (otherwise there was a chance to establish the origin of the polonium) were thrown away right there, in hotels. This created a significant threat to others (at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel, for example, a towel was found, on which, after washing, the activity of polonium 17 million Bq was found only on 1 cm2).

Perhaps they were sure that no one would find anything. But from the material of the investigation, it can also be assumed that this is due to relaxation and disorder: Lugovoy and Kovtun surprised the hotel staff with the amount of alcohol they drunk, pretentious clothes, obvious excess of jewelry, asked the hotel administrator to recommend a place (brothel) to them to have fun with the girls. There is no time for careful implementation of radiochemical procedures.

During the examination of Litvinenko, it was found that about 4.4 billion (Bq) polonium-210 (26.5 μg) got inside his body orally (through the mouth), which was distributed throughout the body (while the initial amount was at least 8.3 bln Bq). The highest concentration was found in the liver and kidneys, and, for example, the urine contained about 2000 Bq / ml at the time of poisoning.

This means: to get contaminated with polonium from Litvinenko, Lugovoy would have to ingest about 200 ml of his urine, and sweat - 2 liters. Kovtun - even more. This is clearly not possible. We must pay tribute to Lugovoy: in his speech on January 21, 2016, he no longer spoke about this absurd version. He said that he had "no information about who killed Litvinenko." Previously, this crime was also attributed to "British special services", Boris Berezovsky ...

What, in fact, was meant? It is obvious that some well-equipped people (preferably in spacesuits) secretly received polonium-210 from Russia (or from some completely unknown place), poisoned Litvinenko and managed to contaminate Lugovoy and Kovtun and their numbers in such a way that it strictly corresponds to all logic their actions and so as not to leave any other traces of polonium anywhere and at the same time remain unnoticed. Why the least suitable radionuclide, polonium-210, which is very difficult to detect (it is recorded only on an open surface), was used for provocation is completely incomprehensible.

The court, having at its disposal a sufficient amount of scientific data, testimony of witnesses, recordings from video cameras, etc., did not find any grounds for this hypothesis. It should be noted that the judge was extremely careful in cases where the evidence was not obvious. Thus, Vyacheslav Sokolenko, Lugovoy's business partner, a former KGB officer who was also present in some episodes, was not charged with any charges, as well as a number of other characters.

Andrei Lugovoi himself (recall, he is a State Duma deputy from the LDPR faction) associates the whole process exclusively with political motives. Earlier, answering the question about the poisoning, he spoke about the legality of flights of Russian Tu bombers near England. Now he explains everything by the aggravated situation with Ukraine: the annexation of Crimea, downed by a Malaysian Boeing, etc. Apparently, this reasoning is quite attractive for the LDPR supporters.

Where are the traces of the investigation?

Arguments about the involvement of the Russian authorities are mainly related to the identified motives, which are considered in aggregate (Litvinenko's “betrayal” of the FSB interests; Litvinenko’s publications that are offensive to Putin; the breakdown of a large contract that was lobbied by the director of the Federal Drug Control Service Viktor Ivanov, Litvinenko's soon-to-be testimony to the Spanish prosecutor's office about the Russian mafia and its connection with Russian statesmen).

In the opinion of the British side, the Russian state bodies obstructed the investigation in every possible way and did not provide the necessary data. In addition, the firm position of the Russian state in protecting Lugovoy and Kovtun, providing them with material and moral benefits and legal support, even when their guilt, in fact, was no longer in doubt, speaks volumes. Russia refused to discuss the issue of extradition of Lugovoy and Kovtun as inconsistent with the Constitution, although in other cases such an opportunity was found.

We will not discuss the validity of these charges here. However, some of the arguments about the involvement of the Russian state relate to the origin of polonium, which can only be produced under government control.

The only large producer of polonium-210 has recently been and is the All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics, Sarov (VNIIEF) with its Avangard production unit, and irradiation at the reactor was carried out at the Mayak PA, Ozersk. Most of the polonium produced is supplied to the United States for static relief supplies and some other purposes.

Where did the polonium that poisoned Litvinenko come from? The judge approached this issue very carefully and critically. He rejected the argument of experts that polonium-210 was extremely expensive for private use. In an interview with the scientific director of VNIIEF, Academician Radiy Ilkaev, the latter cited the figure of $ 10 million for an annual contract. But a British investigation found that 2,500 billion Bq of polonium-210 was sold in 2006 for $ 20,000, which appears to be the typical commercial price of the product.

Thus, it turns out that the amount used for poisoning at this price will cost only about $ 70. (The official monopoly supplier of polonium-210 abroad in 2006 was TENEX, whose general director was V. A. Smirnov, former chairman cooperative "Lake" and a member of the well-known company "SPAG"). Of course, the very manufacture of a source, prepared for use as a poison, costs much more. However, the developers asked for a high price for this "very expensive poison" clearly "for conspiracy", as the famous hero of the novel "The Twelve Chairs" by Ilf and Petrov said.

The judge also stated that it was not possible to determine the origin of polonium-210 through the purity of the product (“fingerprint” theory). The available amount of material and background characteristics prevented the researchers from doing this.

At the same time, he agreed with the arguments that if polonium were extracted from a huge number of sources produced in the United States, this could not go unnoticed and it would not be possible to practically achieve the high purity of the product, which was in reality.

Finally, the question was discussed whether any other organization, besides VNIIEF (Avangard), could produce such an amount of polonium-210. This radionuclide, in principle, can be obtained, for example, at other reactors in Russia, India, Canada and many other places. According to experts, the production of such an industrial amount of polonium requires a special program and a reactor tuned in a certain way. Nothing is known about the existence of such programs. However, here the judge was extremely strict in his judgment: if this is possible in principle, then he cannot rule it out.

As a result, from a technical point of view, the Russian origin of polonium has not been rigorously proven, although it appears to have taken place, and few experts doubt it.

Thus, British justice has demonstrated the severity of judgment, clarity and objectivity in this complex case.

Boris Zhuikov,
radiochemist, doctor of chemical sciences, head of laboratory at INR RAS

In London. The ex-FSB officer fled to the UK in 2000 and received a British passport shortly before his death.

The first reports about the serious illness of 43-year-old Litvinenko in the British media appeared in mid-November 2006. Feeling ill on 1 November, he was admitted first to Barnet Hospital in London and then transferred to University College London Hospital. Symptoms of the disease were nausea and vomiting, yellowing of the skin, hair loss and bone marrow damage.

Initially, experts suspected that Litvinenko had been poisoned with thallium, but then specialists from the British Health Protection Agency found in Litvinenko's body a "significant" amount, according to them, of the radioactive element polonium-210.
Litvinenko died on the evening of November 23. On December 7, he was buried in Highgate Cemetery in north London.

The police initially qualified his death as "suspicious", but after a while it began to be considered a "murder", and the case was taken up by specialists from the anti-terrorist unit of Scotland Yard.

Potential poisoners of Litvinenko have been named as a huge spectrum of people and organizations, ranging from the Russian authorities and the FSB to Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky, who lived with refugee status in the UK.

Litvinenko's autopsy was carried out by two pathologists - one recruited by the Litvinenko family, and one independent, under increased caution due to high levels of radiation. However, the authorities have not released any official conclusion on the causes of death and the results of the autopsy. The coroner then explained that out of respect for the feelings of the deceased's family, the autopsy results will be classified until the end of the police investigation and the resumption of official hearings on the cause of death. In the event of a criminal case on murder, the materials with the autopsy results were also to be handed over to the defense.

The only official confirmation of his death is the statement by the UK Crown Prosecution Service that Litvinenko "died in a London hospital from acute radiation sickness; he was found to have ingested a lethal dose of polonium-210, a highly radioactive substance."

The official police investigation of Scotland Yard continued. On January 31, 2007, the London police transferred the investigation into Litvinenko's murder to the UK Crown Prosecution Service. The Russian authorities were conducting their own investigation into the incident.

In the course of the investigation in the "Litvinenko case", the name of the Russian businessman and former FSB officer Andrei Lugovoi emerged. Scotland Yard investigators found that the businessman flew from Moscow to London three times from October 16 to November 1 and met with Litvinenko four times. One of the meetings was held in the presence of his business partner Dmitry Kovtun.

As part of the investigation, British detectives in Moscow, where they participated in the interrogation of Andrei Lugovoi, whom Litvinenko had met on the day of the poisoning, Lugovoi's wife, businessman Dmitry Kovtun and others.

On May 22, 2007, the head of the Crown Prosecution Service, Ken MacDonald, made a statement that, based on the materials of the police investigation, his department intends to bring charges of murder by radioactive poisoning to Andrei Lugovoy and demand that Russia extradite him for his trial in the UK.

On May 25, 2007, the UK sent to Moscow a request for Lugovoy's extradition, a warrant for his arrest, a list of charges against him and a summary of the evidence in accordance with the European Convention on Extradition.

Moscow responded with a refusal to London's request, arguing that the Russian constitution prohibits the extradition of Russian citizens to foreign states, while not excluding the possibility of a trial over him in Russia. The Russian side announced that it is ready to investigate the death of Litvinenko jointly with British colleagues.

Andrei Lugovoi denied the charges against him, calling them politically motivated. In April 2012, British experts tested Lugovoi's testimony on a polygraph in Moscow and confirmed his innocence in Litvinenko's death.

For several years, the Litvinenko case was conducted, designed not to name the perpetrators, but to establish the circumstances of the death. During preliminary inquest hearings, it became known that Litvinenko was a registered and paid agent and employee of the British Foreign Intelligence Service.

Today, the High Court of London ruled in the Litvinenko case: Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun were found guilty of poisoning the ex-intelligence officer, who, according to Judge Robert Owen, were state agents, acting, possibly, in the interests of Vladimir Putin, and their actions “probably were approved ”by Nikolai Patrushev, at that time the head of the FSB.The court's decision was expected, since the main and most reliable witness - the radioactive trace of polonium - spoke in favor of this verdict. But what was the motive of the killers? There is no complete clarity on this issue in the court's decision.

Meanwhile, the main version of the reasons for the murder of Litvinenko is considered to be an attempt to prevent his testimony for the Spanish prosecutor's office in the case of the Russian mafia - while working for the FSB, Litvinenko specialized in organized criminal groups. In some mediait is reported that the Spanish case was largely based on Litvinenko's testimony, but this is a mistake - as reportedTheInsider Prosecutor Jose Grinda, he really intended to interrogate Litvinenko, but a week before the scheduled interrogation of Litvinenko, he was poisoned. Thus, if the aim of the murderers was to prevent his testimony, the murder was successful.

In this materialTheInsiderexplains what exactly Litvinenko was supposed to inform the investigation, and for the first time publishes testimony about the mafia's connections with Vladimir Putin of another witness, also mysteriously killed.

Litvinenko's interrogation at the Spanish Special Prosecutor's Office for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime was scheduled for early November 2006, where it was assumed that the Russian would pass on valuable information on the case of the “Russian mafia”. As Litvinenko's friend, head of the International Foundation for Civil Liberties Alexander Goldfarb, explained to The Insider, relatives knew about the planned trip to Spain, since Litvinenko canceled it right from the hospital bed, but what kind of meeting it was, they did not know then. But he knew Andrei Lugovoi, whom Litvinenko considered his friend and fully devoted to his affairs. Lugovoi knew that Litvinenko was working in Spain on the Russian mafia case, and admitted this at a press conference in Moscow in 2007. Lugovoi was supposed to accompany Litvinenko in November to meet in Madrid with “his partners,” Goldfarb said. As we now know, Lugovoi managed to prevent this meeting, after which he returned to Russia and became a deputy of the State Duma.

Now that the Spanish case has been made public (The Insider is about it), it is known that the backbone of the international criminal group in Spain, headed by Gennady Petrov, has become the Tambovskaya gang, associated with a number of high-ranking Russian officials, including the deputy head of the Federal Drug Control Service Nikolai Aulov, the head of the IC Alexander Bastrykin and even Vladimir Putin - the investigation suggests that it is the Russian president who appears in the wiretapping under the nickname "Tsar". But all this information was collected independently of Litvinenko.

Then what did Litvinenko want to tell you about?

Spanish journalists Pablo Muñoz and Cruz Morsillo, in their book A Thief's Word: The Russian Mafia in Spain, cite an interview with a Spanish intelligence official who attended a July 1, 2006 meeting with Litvinenko.

“Litvinenko helped us, first of all, determine the place of each individual in the hierarchy of organized crime,” says one of those present at the meeting with Litvinenko. - He did not give us a lot of specific data that would help in the ongoing investigations, but for us these meetings were very useful to get a more global vision of Russian crime. We understood to what extent the mafia is infiltrated in the power of this country. We realized that the things that we thought to be associated with people of a much lower level were actually beyond imagination. "

First of all, the agents asked Litvinenko what he could say about Zakhar Kalashov - then this name interested them more than others (the case against Kalashov was opened in 2005 as part of Operation Wasp). Litvinenko replied: “He is one of the most important. Born in Georgia, has a Russian passport, has provided important services to the GRU, and maintains good relations with the Kremlin. Among other tasks, he was entrusted with the smuggling of weapons to the Kurds in order to put pressure on Turkey. "

As for Tarieel Oniani, another criminal authority accused in Spain in the same case, Litvinenko told Spanish agents: “I received a lot of information about him, about his crimes, collected enough evidence to put him behind bars. I wanted to arrest him, but my superiors in the FSB ordered to keep him free. " When the agents asked who was defending Oniani, Litvinenko replied: "Many of my bosses, including the senior FSB command in Moscow, as well as the head of the Interior Ministry police ..."

He provided the trafficking of heroin from Afghanistan, which was organized by the group of Vladimir Putin, which also includes Mikhail Cherny (Izmailovskaya OCG) and mafia leaders ...

The agents asked Litvinenko to list politicians who, in his opinion, belong to the Russian mafia “Khokholkov, who was one of the highest ranks in the FSB, provided heroin traffic from Afghanistan organized by a group of Vladimir Putin, which also includes Mikhail Cherny (Izmailovskaya organized criminal group) and mafia leaders Vyacheslav Ivankov (aka Yaponchik) Salim Abdulaev and Gafur Rakhimov, ”the authors quote Litvinenko.

Litvinenko continued to sprinkle names, striking the imagination of Spanish agents. In particular, he spoke about the operation to withdraw millions of dollars of the IMF loan into the pockets of the Russian mafia with the participation of "Roman Abramovich's contact." Later, information about Putin's connections with the Izmailovo criminal group was confirmed thanks to another criminal case - a German one (about this The).

According to the authors of the book, the judge of the Spanish National Court, Fernando Andreu, was informed about the details of the interview, and then, in agreement with the Prosecutor's Office for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime (i.e. with Jose Grinda), it was decided to officially question Litvinenko as a protected witness.

Litvinenko's diagram of the underworld connections

As told by The Insider author of the documentary film "The Crimes of the Kremlin" (2003,SBS, Australia) Nick Lazaredes, he personally asked Alexander Litvinenko to reproduce the scheme with which Litvinenko came to Putin immediately after his appointment as head of the FSB on July 25, 1998. Litvinenko agreed, drew a diagram and submitted it to Lazaredes for the documentary.

The same document was shown in the documentary "Moscow Trace" (TV channelZDF, Germany), about the death of Alexander Litvinenko in 2015. Yuri Felshtinsky, who knew Litvinenko closely, confirmed to the TV channel the handwriting of the murdered intelligence officer, the author of the film, Egmond Koch, told The Insider.

Recall, according to him, FSB Colonel Alexander Litvinenko met with Vladimir Putin immediately after his appointment as head of the FSB on July 25, 1998 to report on corruption in the FSB, on the protection of criminal groups for it. During the meeting, he handed over a handwritten diagram of his vision of organized crime and its relationship with the security forces. Then Putin did not let Litvinenko's information flow, and on November 17, Litvinenko and his colleagues held at the Interfax news agency press conference on the facts of coercion by their leadership of the FSB to commit murders, abductions of citizens and extortion. Litvinenko soon left Russia.

Litvinenko's diagram, first published in the film "The Crimes of the Kremlin" in Australia in 2003, indicates that the "Sea Port of St. Petersburg" was under the control of the Tambov criminal group with the participation of the FSB in St. Petersburg, and cash flows through the port went further to Europe. This information was later confirmed, in particular, by the investigation of the Monaco police, the results of which were published by intelligence agent Robert Eringer, as Novaya Gazeta wrote. At the same time, Eringer linked this business directly "including with Vladimir Putin."

The information obtained during the investigation into the Tambov organized criminal group of Spain turned out to be so serious that it was decided to hold a meeting with the US special services in order to "change Obama's idea of \u200b\u200bPutin's Russia" (quoted from the book by Pablo Muñoz and Cruz Morsillo). What was said at the meeting by the prosecutor of Grinda was made public by WikiLeaks in 2010: the FSB, SVR and GRU control the organized criminal groups of Russia. The question of Putin's personal involvement remained open, but it is significant that it was discussed.

An amazing coincidence - a few months after the murder of Litvinenko, in March 2007, an important witness testified in the Spanish case: Mikhail Monastyrsky, who managed to bring Spanish justice under record about the supervision of the Tambov organized criminal group by the Russian FSB and about the personal role of Vladimir Putin. A month later, in March 2007, Monastyrsky died tragically.

The Insider has a copy of his interrogation. The questions were asked mainly about Vladimir Kumarin, who worried about the Spanish investigation at that moment, which predetermined the answers:

“Michael (M). KUMARIN, as well as three other key figures, has been an informer for the KGB and then the FSB since 86.

Policeman 1 (P1). And who are these three? Organizers? Founders?

M. Vasya BRYANSKY, Valery LEDOVSKIKH, who is now in the rank of lieutenant colonel and, I believe, works for the GRU (military intelligence service).

P1. Who else? You said there were three of them.

M. Vasya BRYANSKY is a liquidator, as they call him.

P1. You mentioned three people. Bryansky, Ledovskikh ... who is the third?

M. Also his neighbor from Marbella, Misha GLUSHCHENKO, "Khokhol", he did not have direct contact with intelligence ... "

M. OPG "Tambovskaya" as such no longer exists, it existed in the past. The fact is that it existed some time ago, it appeared by order of the FSB, was created for the purpose of enrichment. Russia was formed as a separate state, and therefore this organization appeared. That's all, nothing remained of this organization. Only a very large amount of money and a legend remained.

P1. Who is managing this money?

M. It depends on what part of the money we are talking about, one part is managed by KUMARIN, but here we are talking about a maximum of 100 million. And the other part belongs to other people, officials, it really belongs to them.

P1. Officials, what do you mean by this phrase? Are these people who work in the government?

M. Generals, people who work in the government.

P1. Who guard the KUMARIN.

M. These are the people who guard the KUMARIN, and the KUMARIN protects their money, facilitates access to them. These people know that KUMARIN will not steal from them, will not run away, and while KUMARIN is there, he will supply them with money. I will name two names, these are Igor SECHIN and Alexander KARMATSKY, not to mention such people as Stepanov, Ivanov, these two, whom I have mentioned, are two very influential people, they help cover Kumarin.

P1. But they are members of the government, these two, what, what, what are they doing? They are officials, policemen, they are military men, I don’t know, do they work in the city hall?

M. SECHIN ... he is a bigger boss than Putin.

P1. And what position is he in now?

M. SECHIN Deputy, Chairman of the Board of Rosneft, Deputy Heads of the Presidential Administration, PUTIN's right hand. He has been with PUTIN since 92, fifteen years. KARMATSKY is the FSB's general, and now he is the head of the Russian Federation Committee for the Control of Narcotic Drugs in St. Petersburg. Does the name CHERKESOV tell you something? "

M. ". I just want to say one thing, the Tambovskaya group is working under the cover of the FSB of St. Petersburg, which in turn is protected by these people, whom I said before. "

M. Before the New Year, I accidentally crossed paths with LEDOVSKY, now he again lives near me, and I saw NATASHA with LEDOVSKY, they were driving in his car, in Cayenne.

P1. When it was?

P1. Do you think they have powerful friends?

M. Their influence will end when PUTIN stops holding the presidency.

P1. So there is a connection between them? Do you know this directly, have you seen this influential connection in action?

M. At the moment, Russia is controlled by people from the KGB of St. Petersburg.

P1. You don't say anything about PUTIN, out of caution?

M. It's just politics.

P1. Don't you say anything to avoid problems?

M. Yes, it is possible. "

In April 2007, Monastyrsky was hit by a dump truck near Lyon - the French police then considered it an accident, despite the keen interest in the death of Spanish law enforcement agencies, who reported Monastyrsky's status as a witness. A few months later, Spanish intelligence officers managed to interrogate another FSB colonel (his name was not named), who largely confirmed the information provided by Litvinenko and Monastyrsky.

Spanish prosecutor Jose Grinda confirmed in a conversation with The Insider that Monastyrsky's testimony was taken quite seriously. Probably, they would have taken Litvinenko's testimony no less seriously if the interrogation had taken place. Putin's connection with the Izmaylovskaya organized criminal group and drug trafficking from Afghanistan is only one of the subjects that he could have outlined during interrogation, judging by the scheme of activities of Russian organized crime groups drawn by Litvinenko, the overall picture is much more complicated and interesting. Whether there were any connections with the Izmaylovo gang, the main compromising material that caused the murder, we may never know now.

Later, when hair began to fall out, skin capillaries burst, and traces of blood were found in vomit and feces, a suspicion of thallium poisoning arose. But the administration of an antidote also had no effect. And only 20 days later, just before his death, the correct diagnosis was made - acute radiation sickness.

Radiation sickness is caused by the sensitivity of the processes of protein biosynthesis and DNA copying to radiation. Therefore, rapidly regenerating and metabolically active tissues and cells are primarily affected. For example, the regeneration of the intestinal mucosa (diarrhea and vomiting), skin and hair follicles (acceleration of aging and hair loss) is stopped. But the greatest danger to life is the stopping of the renewal of blood cells in the bone marrow, which leads to a decrease in the number of red blood cells in the blood (anemia), white blood cells (immunodeficiency, severe infections) and platelets (bleeding).

The suspicion of radiation sickness was confirmed after the discovery of lead isotopes, the decay products of polonium, in Litvinenko's urine and feces. According to investigators, Litvinenko drank it with tea during a meeting with FSB officer Lugovoi.

Transporting polonium in a sealed metal capsule is quite safe, since the penetrating ability of alpha particles does not exceed hundredths of a millimeter.After ingestion, in the stomach, polonium reacts with hydrochloric acid to produce polonium chloride, which is soluble in water and therefore quickly enters the bloodstream. Further, polonium accumulates in the excretory organs - liver, kidneys, intestines, with the compartments of which it and its decay products are gradually excreted from the body, but irradiating these organs in parallel.

According to the ratio of polonium and its decay products, the investigation established the exact date and the supposed place of polonium production - the city of Sarov (formerly Arzamas-16). It is easy enough to calculate, knowing the half-life of polonium-210 (138 days) and having control samples from different manufacturers.

This task is facilitated by the fact that the choice of sources for obtaining polonium is extremely small. In nature, the amount of polonium-210 is negligible, therefore, it is obtained in nuclear reactors. You can buy polonium over the Internet for $ 60-100 for a sample in the form of devices that remove static electricity. However, in order to accumulate a lethal dose (5-20 μg by mouth), it will take about 15,000 such devices, or $ 1,000,000. In this amount, polonium is available only to manufacturers, and its synthesis and accounting is strictly controlled by the special services.

The alleged killer clearly played it safe and added a lot more to the tea than was necessary. At the optimal dose, Litvinenko would slowly die from a disease more like cancer or an infection, and no one would look for isotopes in urine and all over London.

Was there a chance to save Litvinenko? Unlikely. Acute radiation sickness is a sign of a very high dose. It is completely impossible to withdraw polonium. The natural decay of polonium will reach a relatively safe level in 20 years. Therefore, his body was forbidden to be cremated until 2028 and he was buried in a closed coffin.

The Litvinenko case is not the only case in which polonium was involved. There are suspicions of polonium poisoning in the deaths of Roman Tsepov (head of Sobchak and Putin's security in St. Petersburg), Yuri Shchekochikhin (journalist, promoted the "furniture business") and Yasser Arafat (President of Palestine). After the failure with polonium, navryatli this method of killing will be used in the future. There are other poisons in the arsenal of the special services, the action of which imitates deadly diseases.

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Among all existing intoxications, polonium poisoning is one of the most terrible. It is characterized by severe symptoms and irreversible consequences. Being a radioactive element, polonium infects humans up to death. Fortunately, it is not so easy for them to get poisoned. And yet it will be not only interesting, but also instructive to find out where we can encounter this dangerous substance.

What is this substance?

Polonium is a radioactive chemical element in the form of a soft, silvery metal. Polonium occurs in scanty amounts in nature. Polonium isotopes are found in microscopic doses in some foods, such as currants and strawberries. They get on plants from soil or air. A fraction of polonium is present in sea water, and therefore in sea fish.

Polonium is artificially produced in nuclear reactors by irradiating bismuth isotopes. It is used in small quantities in industry. He is so dangerous to life that they work with this material only in special sealed boxes, having previously put on protective suits. In no case should his contact with the body be allowed. Once in the body, even in very small doses (less than one gram), it irreversibly destroys internal organs and tissues, and affects all vital systems. Polonium 4 trillion times.

The alpha particles emitted by polonium are more harmful to human health. They become the cause of organ destruction and the formation of malignant tumors.

This rare chemical element was discovered back in 1898 by the Curie family and named after the homeland of the wife of the family, Poland. The woman received the Nobel Prize for her discovery.

Where is polonium used?

In industrial activities, they usually work with the so-called polonium-210, the half-life of which is the shortest - 138 days and 9 hours. It is mainly used to relieve static electricity. In addition, polonium is used in astronautics and mechanical engineering, in the creation of neutron sources and radioactive weapons. Attempts are also being made to treat cancer with polonium, which can kill metastases.

The silver metal was used in spacecraft to heat equipment. To do this, you need a little, and in terms of the amount of energy produced, it bypasses other nuclear sources.

As an excellent antistatic agent, polonium is used in spray guns for painting cars. The air is supplied through a polonium ionizer. Previously, the substance was used to reduce the sparking voltage in automotive spark plugs.

Because of the threat of nuclear terrorism, polonium must be tightly controlled in any country.

Polonium Poisoning Cases

History cites several notable deaths to prove the danger of polonium. The daughter of the discoverers of the substance, Irene Curie, died of leukemia. It is believed that she got poisoned with radioactive polonium while working with it in the laboratory. Over time, this led to illness and death.

In our time, high-profile polonium poisoning happened in 2006, when in London, a critic of Moscow, a former KGB employee, Alexander Litvinenko, was poured into tea. It took doctors several weeks to diagnose the entry of the element into the body. All signs indicated that Litvinenko had received radiation damage. But since the counter that measures such infections could not detect the substance, scientists were inclined to believe that the patient was affected by radioactive thallium. Polonium is not easily determined in the body, and medical practice rarely encounters such cases.

Scientists accidentally discovered the substance in Litvinenko's body, although powerful tools were launched to understand the cause of the disease. On the day that scientists finally identified the cause of the poisoning, Litvinenko died. His illness developed within a month and caused death, despite the fact that experienced British specialists fought for his life.

There is a version according to which the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in 2004 was due to polonium poisoning.

Important! It is difficult to get polonium poisoning in everyday life. This rare substance is strictly controlled by the state.

Although there is no antidote for polonium, it is not easy to kill. Few have access to this rare silver powder, as the facilities that produce polonium are tightly controlled by the government. And he cannot accidentally get into the body with food or in any other way in lethal doses.

Polonium and smoking

Polonium accumulates in tobacco. Tobacco leaves contain radioactive particles that are not removed during processing. This is one of the harms of smoking. In 2008, researchers at Stanford University and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester conducted research in this area. Their conclusions regarding the accumulation of polonium in tobacco are eloquent: "Tobacco manufacturers discovered this element more than 40 years ago, attempts to remove it have been unsuccessful."

With active smoking, polonium accumulates in the body very slowly. Its action will not be noticeable quickly. But after a certain period of time, this radioactive element can cause lung cancer.

Worst of all, cigarette manufacturers are aware of the problem but try to hide it from consumers. For many years they tried to get rid of the problem using different processing technologies for raw materials and even genetic engineering. But their attempts were unsuccessful. Cigarette filters do not help in this matter either.

Scientists suggest placing information on the presence of polonium in tobacco on cigarette packs. But so far their enthusiasm has not found a response from manufacturers.

Polonium causes cancer

In 1991, American researchers conducted a survey of employees of one of the US nuclear enterprises, who worked there from 1944 to 1972. Scientists found that many of them contracted kidney and lung cancer. Polonium is considered one of the main causes of oncology. The strict safety measures were not able to completely protect the health of workers.

In laboratories where work with a hazardous substance is carried out, neither water, nor food, nor cosmetics should be stored. Moreover, what people eat and drink cannot be put on the shelves on which polonium has been kept at least once. The slightest contact with silver powder can lead to irreparable consequences.

Experiments carried out on laboratory rats have shown that polonium leads to the formation of tumors of the colon, kidneys, testes and other organs. In addition, it causes changes in the blood and cirrhosis of the liver.

Polonium Poisoning Symptoms

The substance becomes life-threatening when it enters the human body. This can happen through the respiratory tract if you inhale polonium. Infection can occur through a wound on the body. The most reliable way of poisoning is considered to be polonium getting into the esophagus, that is, with food or drinks.

The symptoms of poisoning with such a rare poison are not really unique. This is one of the reasons why it is very difficult to diagnose polonium poisoning. Once in the body, it begins to slowly but surely destroy it. Particles of the element are deposited in the bone marrow, skin, kidneys, liver and spleen. 0.1-0.2 μg is enough to start the death machine in a person. This dose can kill in a month or two. If the dose is increased, death will come faster.

If the amount of a substance that has entered the body is small, the patient has the following symptoms:

• abdominal pain,
• nausea,
• vomiting
• diarrhea,
• constipation,
• increased blood pressure,
• heart palpitations,
• fatigue, even apathy,
• numbness of fingers and toes,
• clouding of consciousness and delirium,
• visual impairment.

The following symptoms indicate severe poisoning:

• the body is aging before our eyes,
• chronic diseases are aggravated,
• skin and nails become thin
• hair fall out,
• changes in motor skills,
• bloody stools
• immunity ceases to function,
• convulsions
• psychosis,
• interruptions in the work of the liver and kidneys begin,
• throat swells
• partial or complete blindness occurs,
• tumors form in different places.

Severe symptoms occur. All internal systems are affected: digestive, hematopoietic, cardiac, nervous. Polonium is most harmful to the liver, kidneys and bone marrow. Therefore, the functioning of these bodies fails in the first place.

Important! Due to the difficulty of detecting polonium in the body, it is difficult for doctors to establish the correct diagnosis.

Polonium is difficult to detect in blood. To understand the cause of the disease, doctors need to do a large number of tests. Since the symptoms of poisoning are similar to those of poisoning with other heavy metals, it is not easy to put forward a version of intoxication with polonium.

If the cause of the disease is not determined in time, death is irreversible. Knowing the cause of the disease, doctors can only alleviate suffering and prolong life.

Steps to take for polonium poisoning

If a person is poisoned with polonium, it is urgent to provide first aid:

• move the victim away from the place where the infection occurred,
• immediately destroy his clothes and shoes,
• rinse the mucous membranes,
• if possible, wash the victim completely,
• let the sorbent take,
• give a laxative and diuretic,
• send the victim to the hospital.

Already in the hospital, doctors will regularly wash the sick stomach, fight for the liver and kidneys with the help of all kinds of drugs. Decisive methods such as bone marrow transplants and blood transfusions can provide more tangible help.

Conclusion

Radioactive polonium is one of the most powerful poisons in the world. When working with him, it is important to observe all safety precautions. It is necessary to use special suits, do not touch the substance, in no case do not store drinks or food nearby. Polonium infection is very painful and fatal to humans. Qualified help can alleviate the condition, but it is not completely capable of curing.

Smoking - as the slow process of accumulation of a toxic substance in the body - is also dangerous. This should not be forgotten by active smokers. Making an effort to quit a bad habit is actually vital. Take care of yourself!