Litvinenko - one year on
Monday, 17 Dec 2007 12:00
Alexander Litvinenko died from a form of radiation poisoning
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Over a year has now passed since the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, but the acrimonious aftermath continues to haunt UK-Russian relations.
Death of a spy
Mr Litvinenko's unusual case first came to light in the third week of November 2006, with reports recalling the Cold War case of Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov who had been stabbed with a poison-tipped umbrella on London's Waterloo Bridge.
Initially thallium was suspected as the most likely poison, but this proved wrong. Expert analysis proved that Mr Litvinenko, 43, died of radiation poisoning on November 23rd from the polonium-210 (Po-210) isotope. Media reports claimed on January 27th that the fatal dose had been a cup of tea drunk from a contaminated teapot at the Millennium Hotel on Grosvenor Square in London's Mayfair on November 1st.
The case took on a whole new lease of life when it emerged that a written statement from Mr Litvinenko, eerily speaking from beyond the grave when his statement was read to the media on November 24th, directly accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of personal responsibility for his death. Relations between Russia and Britain were strained by the incident as British police launched a murder investigation to probe the mysterious death.
November 24th: Russian spy accused Putin before death
Pointing fingers
Throughout the first half of December the battle lines became clearly drawn. On the one hand, Mr Litvinenko's close friends and family were sticking with their suspicions focusing on the Russian government. Italian academic Mario Scaramella said that "enemies" had poisoned Mr Litvinenko, whose widow, Marina, blamed the Russian government three days after her husband's funeral. On the other, the Russian government repeatedly denied any involvement in the death.
Back in Britain a public health scare was sparked by the apparently widespread nature of traces of the radiation. Efforts to quell widespread concern were largely successful – but only after radiation had been detected at several London locations. Among them were Mr Litvinenko's home in Muswell Hill, north London; the offices of security and risk management company Erinys, in Mayfair's Grosvenor Street; and an address in Down Street, where Russian billionaire and friend of Mr Litvinenko, Boris Berezovsky, was believed to have an office.
The importance of the radiation findings slowly shifted from public health to linking people to the case. Most notably this occurred when traces were found in Germany at properties linked to Russian businessman Dmitry Kovtun. Mr Kovtun had met Mr Litvinenko on the night he is believed to have been poisoned, on November 1st. On December 9th radiation was found at Mr Kovtun's ex-wife's flat, and that of her mother's.
Other men were linked to the case. Professor Scaramella was himself arrested on Christmas Eve, Italian news agencies reported, after testing positive for polonium. A former manager of Russian energy giant Yukos living in Israel, Leonid Nevzlin, was implicated. Meanwhile retired KGB bodyguard Mr Lugovoi, who together with Mr Kovtun was present with Mr Litvinenko on the night of November 1st, denied any involvement in foul play.
December 3rd: Net widens in Litvinenko probe
Tit-for-tat
The Metropolitan police handed its file on Mr Litvinenko's death to the crown prosecution service on January 31st. Nearly four months later they charged Mr Lugovoi with his murder.
Despite the 43-year-old security firm owner's vigorous denials of his involvement in the murder, an extradition request was formally made eight days later. In an extraordinary press conference on May 31st Mr Lugovoi claimed MI5 had tried to recruit him. He claimed he had been made a scapegoat and would fight to pledge his "honest name", while expressing hope that clauses in the Russian constitution would block his extradition to London.
His hopes were justified, for on June 4th his head of state described the British request as "pure foolishness". This stance, which was indeed justified by reference to the Russian constitution, was deemed "unacceptable" by the Foreign Office.
Their full response was delivered on July 16th in parliament. New foreign secretary David Miliband expelled four Russian diplomats and announced the government was suspending its "visa facilitation negotiations".
Although only the diplomatic equivalent of stamping the country's collective feet on the issue, the Kremlin did not react lightly. It expelled for British diplomats in a tit-for-tat measure.
July 17th: Russia threatens UK embassy clearout
Trying times for UK-Russian relations
Meanwhile Russia's security agency had launched an investigation into allegations that Mr Litvinenko had contacts with Britain's MI6 foreign intelligence agency, further entrenching the unmoving confrontation between London and Moscow.
Mr Lugovoi continued his vigorous rejections of the UK case. He claimed the "British top leadership together with the special services" had plotted to wrongly implicate him and said "big politics" was their motivation.
It was left to Mrs Litvinenko to rebut his claims. She told the Sunday Telegraph on October 28th: "He was a critic of the Russian government but he spoke out openly. He was well-known. And his special area was organised crime, not intelligence.
"He was not the kind of person who would be useful to the British security services," she finished.
The story of her husband's death is not yet complete.
September 16th: Lugovoi seeks parliament refuge
Update – December 2007
The first anniversary of Mr Litvinenko's death passed on November 23rd, highlighting the acrimony which still exists between the UK and Russian governments over the former KGB agent's demise.
The Kremlin has refused to extradite chief suspect Andrei Lugovoi over the murder and now the latter has secured election to the Russian parliament a trial seems unlikely to bring closure for Mr Litvinenko's widow, Marina.
Relations were not helped when it was announced on December 12th that the British Council, a non-governmental organisation, must close down its operations outside Moscow.
December 12th: Russia ban for British council
Alex Stevenson