Dead Russian spy saga still expanding

[southsider2k5]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15917680/

 

Traces of radioactive substance found in U.K.

TV report says evidence was found at 2 locations; 3 people sent to clinic

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BREAKING NEWS

MSNBC News Services

Updated: 7 minutes ago

LONDON - Traces of a radioactive substance have been found at two locations after the death of a former Russian spy in London, Sky Television News reported Monday.

 

Additional details were not immediately available.

 

Earlier, Britain’s Health Protection Agency referred three people to a special clinic for radiological tests, a spokeswoman said.

 

Story continues below ↓

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Highly radioactive Polonium 210 was found in the body of Alexander Litvinenko, who died last week, and traces of radiation were found at his home, a restaurant and hotel he had visited.

 

Health officials have offered tests to members of the public who may have visited the locations.

 

The spokeswoman said that of more than 450 people who called a government hotline for health advice, 18 had been passed on to the HPA for follow-up.

 

“Of those 18, three have been referred as a precaution to a special clinic for radiological assessment,” she said.

 

London police investigating ‘suspicious death’

London’s Metropolitan Police said they were investigating a “suspicious death,” rather than a murder. They have not ruled out the possibility that Litvinenko may have poisoned himself.

 

Litvinenko’s friends and allies in London’s Russian emigre community blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has denied any involvement and called the death a tragedy.

 

British Cabinet minister Peter Hain accused Putin of “attacks on individual liberty and on democracy” and said Sunday that relations with Moscow were strained after a Litvinenko’s death. Hain, who is the government’s Northern Ireland Secretary, said Putin’s tenure had been clouded by incidents “including an extremely murky murder of the senior Russian journalist” Anna Politkovskaya.

 

In a dramatic statement dictated from his hospital bed and read outside the hospital after his death, the Kremlin critic accused the “barbaric and ruthless” Putin of ordering his poisoning.

 

Russian officials could not be reached for comment Sunday on Hain’s remarks.

 

NBC VIDEO

 

• Searching for clues

Nov. 25: British security officials are still trying to unravel the mystery of who poisoned a former Russian spy. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.

Nightly News

 

 

Home Secretary John Reid, Britain’s top law-and-order official, refused to speculate about who might have killed Litvinenko. “I don’t think it’s for me as a politician to be making judgments that a policeman should make,” he told Scotland’s Radio Clyde.

 

Questions of public safety

The main opposition Conservative Party demanded the government make a statement in the House of Commons on Monday outlining what it knew about the case and how polonium-210 — a rare radioactive element usually produced in a nuclear reactor or particle accelerator — got into Britain.

 

“It is essential that other dissidents living in Britain are reassured about their safety and there are also questions about how polonium-210 came to be used in Britain,” said David Davis, the Conservative law-and-order spokesman.

 

Relations between Russia and Britain have remained cool since the end of the Cold War. London has infuriated Moscow by offering refuge to self-exiled tycoon Boris Berezovsky, a Kremlin critic wanted in Russia on money-laundering charges, and Akhmed Zakayev, a representative of late Chechen rebel chief Aslan Maskhadov.

 

In January, Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB, accused four British diplomats of spying, showing on state-run television sophisticated communications equipment concealed in a fake rock, which it said the Britons hid in a Moscow park to use to contact Russian agents.

[southsider2k5]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationw...1&cset=true

 

In Russia, bad old days are back

Reformers and Kremlin critics are attacked and killed in a style resembling early post-Soviet times, part of a violent nexus of power, money

 

By Alex Rodriguez

Tribune foreign correspondent

Published November 26, 2006

 

 

SMOLENSK, Russia -- The era of brutal score-settling is far from over in Russia, especially in this hard-bitten western city where the nexus of business and politics usually yields volatile results.

 

Eduard Kachanovsky, a freshman city councilman who rankled city officials and their moneyed business allies with investigations into shady real estate deals and missing cash, recently learned that lesson. The officials had warned him for months to stop digging. Each time, he ignored them.

 

On the morning of Oct. 17, Kachanovsky was walking through his apartment building lobby on the way to work when two men dressed as laborers blocked his way. Before Kachanovsky could move, one of the men threw a container of sulfuric acid at his head. The attack burned much of his face and blinded him for several days.

 

"Unfortunately, I never paid much attention to the threats I was getting," said Kachanovsky, who now lives in hiding. "Now I understand it's a pity that I didn't pay more attention to them."

 

With disturbing frequency, Russia's intersection of politics and business is spawning the kind of coldblooded payback that characterized 1990s Russia under Boris Yeltsin. So far, the magnitude of the violence does not match the gangland frenzy that made Russia's first post-Soviet years internationally notorious. Still, a recent wave of attacks and contract killings reinforces doubts among Russians that their country has edged closer to an era of stability and rule of law.

 

In many cases, today's targets are reformers hunted because they tried to fix the system and thought the country had matured enough to allow change to happen.

 

Andrei Kozlov, first deputy chairman of Russia's Central Bank, had shut dozens of banks with connections to organized crime and investigated money launderers. The 41-year-old banker was gunned down as he left a soccer stadium in Moscow Sept. 13. He died a day later in the hospital.

 

One of Russia's leading investigative journalists, Anna Politkovskaya, was shot to death in the lobby of her Moscow apartment building Oct. 7. Politkovskaya, 48, was one of the Kremlin's harshest critics and wrote extensively about human-rights abuses and atrocities committed by Russian soldiers fighting separatists in the rebellious southern republic of Chechnya.

 

The ex-spy's case

 

Friends of another Kremlin critic, Alexander Litvinenko, claim that the former Russian spy's death Thursday in London amounted to a different kind of score-settling. Litvinenko was poisoned by a rare radioactive substance, polonium-210, an act Litvinenko's family and friends believe was engineered by Russian authorities and ordered by President Vladimir Putin. Putin called the accusations groundless and said his government would cooperate with British investigators probing Litvinenko's death.

 

In Russia, seven people have been slain in apparent contract killings in the past 10 weeks. The victims include a mayoral candidate in the Russian Far East city of Dalnegorsk, a Moscow regional tax official, two Moscow bank executives and a Russian oil executive.

 

The violence hearkens back to post-Soviet Russia's wobbly first steps, when disputes were ironed out not with lawsuits but with bludgeons and bullets.

 

The country's transition from communism to capitalism became a tailspin into lawless chaos; more often than not, politicians and businessmen relied not on savvy but on their leather-jacketed goons and firepower to come out on top. Turf war assassinations and armed takeovers of businesses became commonplace, the byproduct of a mad scramble for billions of dollars in property and assets freed up by the Soviet collapse.

 

With Putin as president, all of that was supposed to end. He called his approach to governance "dictatorship of law." In recent weeks it has become increasingly clear that Russia's Wild West days are far from just a bad memory.

 

"The measures taken by Putin so far are superficial and shallow," says Yevgeny Volk, an analyst with the Moscow office of the Heritage Foundation. "They don't address the area that is most profitable for state officials--corruption."

 

In Smolensk, a small provincial capital dominated by vodka distilleries and a diamond cutting plant, corruption threads through much of civic life, including businesses, municipal government and law enforcement. Elected in January 2005, Kachanovsky quickly began poring through city records in hopes of ferreting out City Hall wrongdoing.

 

One of his principal findings, he says, involved the 2004 transfer of roughly $338,000 from city coffers to Tasis-Agra, a company co-founded by the daughter of Smolensk Mayor Vladislav Khaletsky. A city document drafted by Khaletsky that authorized the transfer makes no mention of what the money is for.

 

Kachanovsky, the City Council's deputy chairman, also dug into Khaletsky's 2005 authorization of the sale of five parcels of municipal property officially appraised at $300,000 to an undisclosed person for $1,900.

 

Khaletsky declined a request for an interview. Kachanovsky turned over his findings to a city prosecutor, Leonid Zhuchkov, who agreed there was a basis for the allegations and pursued the cases. When Zhuchkov tried to convince his bosses that the cases had merit, he and two of his investigators were fired.

 

"It's not about our jobs," Zhuchkov said. "It's about two concepts clashing: the criminals in positions of authority, and the men of principle who try to resist them. The fact that there are criminals in power discredits the government in the eyes of citizens. It leads to a lack of confidence."

 

Warnings, then an attack

 

Kachanovsky says city officials had warned him on numerous occasions to stop investigating. The last warning came in September, a day before his 33rd birthday, when a city aide grimly warned Kachanovsky to drop the probes.

 

"He said if I don't stop, I'll face the same fate that Christ faced," said Kachanovsky, who believes the remark was a reference to the belief by some that Christ was 33 when he died.

 

On the morning he was attacked, Kachanovsky gave no thought to the two men dressed in overalls in the lobby; several apartment buildings were under construction nearby.

 

"They stepped in my way and splashed this acid in my face," he said. "They said something to me, but at that moment I could not quite hear. After that they ran away."

 

Kachanovsky darted back upstairs, raced past his horrified wife, Svetlana, and quickly doused his head and chest with water. "What my wife saw was really awful--clothes burned, my face burned," he said. "It was a great stress for her, and she's pregnant."

 

He has regained his eyesight, but he still bears deep crimson scars across most of his face. He would like to return to his work on the City Council, though he's not sure when. As for the hunt for his attackers, he doubts much will come of it.

 

"There has been no progress, and I don't think there will be any progress," Kachanovsky said. "I gave them a list of suspects as I see it, but I don't think the people who ordered this and carried it out will be found."

 

----------

 

[email protected]

[Soxy]

Am I a conspiracy nut if I think the Russian Government MAY have actually had somethign to do with this?

[southsider2k5]

Am I a conspiracy nut if I think the Russian Government MAY have actually had somethign to do with this?

 

Not a chance. The interesting thing about this is exactly how many people wanted this dude dead. It isn't like its just the government this guy has doublecrossed. He has a list that reads like a who's who of really rich and powerful people who would love to see him dead.

 

The interesting angle from the government aspect is that supposedly this spy had evidence that the Russian government had a journalist whacked who had evidence that the Russian government framed the Chechen rebels for bombing the apartment building which started part two of that war.

[sox4lifeinPA]

By Alex Rodriguez

Tribune foreign correspondent

Published November 26, 2006

 

I guess this is the level you have to sink to gain any credibility in the post-season.

[Rex Kickass]

Just seems like the way a KGB spook would off another spy.

[southsider2k5]

Just seems like the way a KGB spook would off another spy.

 

There is also the story floating around that they are investigating the chance that the guy committed suicide, or that he screwed up another mission dealing with the radioactive substance that killed him. Granted I don't believe it, and I think it is the Russian government trying to shove the spotlight off of themselves, but interesting none the less...

[Balta1701]

There is also the story floating around that they are investigating the chance that the guy committed suicide, or that he screwed up another mission dealing with the radioactive substance that killed him. Granted I don't believe it, and I think it is the Russian government trying to shove the spotlight off of themselves, but interesting none the less...

I have trouble finding a reason why almost anyone would be handling highly enriched polonium-210, unless the guy was planning a terrorist attack. Even then, that's some pretty risky stuff that would be damn hard to get your hands on.

Edited November 27, 2006 by Balta1701

[southsider2k5]

Traces of radiation have been found on two planes that have been on the Moscow to London route

[Texsox]

Just seems like the way a KGB spook would off another spy.

 

Just to toss a log on the fire, why would the KGB assassinate him in a manner that would almost certainly bring attention back to them? If he had been a victim of "a random robbery" gone wrong, he wouldn't be any less dead *and* the KGB would have plausible deny-ability. This way it reads too much like a James Bond plot.

[NorthSideSox72]

Just to toss a log on the fire, why would the KGB assassinate him in a manner that would almost certainly bring attention back to them? If he had been a victim of "a random robbery" gone wrong, he wouldn't be any less dead *and* the KGB would have plausible deny-ability. This way it reads too much like a James Bond plot.

The KGB and GRU do not want deniability. This is no longer the Cold War. They wanted to send a message, loud and clear, to other would-be enemies of the state (but still not allow for a successful prosecution of anyone). And they did a pretty effective job of it.

[Balta1701]

Just in case anyone cares, and because I think it's probably worth adding to this thread, the half life of Polonium-210 is 138 days. It decays via alpha decay to lead 206. A good rule of thumb is that after 5 half-lives of a radioactive isotope, that isotope is approximately dead.

[Texsox]

LONDON (Reuters) - British scientists probing the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko said on Friday a second man had been poisoned by radiation. Media reports said the man was an Italian he met at a London restaurant.

 

"We are confirming that one further person who was in direct contact with Mr Litvinenko has been found to have a significant quantity of polonium 210 in their body. This is being investigated further in hospital," a spokesman for the Health Protection Agency said.

 

Police and health authorities declined to confirm the reports naming the victim as Mario Scaramella, an Italian contact who met Litvinenko the day he fell ill.

[southsider2k5]

Also interesting is that a former Russian premier has also fallen ill, with some calling it a poisoning as well.

 

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2027491.ece

[southsider2k5]

Don't be shocked now... the Polonium used in the poisoning of the spy came from *gasp* a Russian nuclear plant!

[Texsox]

Don't be shocked now... the Polonium used in the poisoning of the spy came from *gasp* a Russian nuclear plant!

 

The security of Russian's nuclear material should be a concern to all of us. One of the dirty little secrets of the decline of the Soviet Union was missing material. The US purchased, at a huge cost, much of this material. IIRC over 500 metric tons. In a book I read, Russia admitted they could not guarantee the security of the material. Too many people had gone without paychecks and had access to the material.

[YASNY]

The security of Russian's nuclear material should be a concern to all of us. One of the dirty little secrets of the decline of the Soviet Union was missing material. The US purchased, at a huge cost, much of this material. IIRC over 500 metric tons. In a book I read, Russia admitted they could not guarantee the security of the material. Too many people had gone without paychecks and had access to the material.

 

So ... Now North Korea is offering their nuclear material to Russia to get Russia's support.

[Texsox]

So ... Now North Korea is offering their nuclear material to Russia to get Russia's support.

 

It's been a while since I've read anything on the Russian nuclear situation, but it was a very disturbing problem. No money to maintain the buildings, no money to pay security, no money to investigate the people with access. And government scientists, with ties to some unsavory characters from "negotiations", who had been living in the lap of luxury, suddenly without paychecks. I remember coming away from that book, and the title escapes me now, with the nagging feeling we were less safe with the breakup of the Soviet Union than before. The book was written, largely, with information from one of their scientist who had defected, so who knows how accurate a picture he drew.

[mmmmmbeeer]

It's been a while since I've read anything on the Russian nuclear situation, but it was a very disturbing problem. No money to maintain the buildings, no money to pay security, no money to investigate the people with access. And government scientists, with ties to some unsavory characters from "negotiations", who had been living in the lap of luxury, suddenly without paychecks. I remember coming away from that book, and the title escapes me now, with the nagging feeling we were less safe with the breakup of the Soviet Union than before. The book was written, largely, with information from one of their scientist who had defected, so who knows how accurate a picture he drew.

 

If I remember correctly, there were also a small number (

 

As far Litvinenko, I have no doubt he was assassinated. There is just too much evidence after reading this continuing saga.

[Texsox]

If I remember correctly, there were also a small number (

 

As far Litvinenko, I have no doubt he was assassinated. There is just too much evidence after reading this continuing saga.

So much cooler to be assassinated than murdered. Damn, that is my new career goal, to be assassinated.

[Rex Kickass]

If I remember correctly, there were also a small number (

 

As far Litvinenko, I have no doubt he was assassinated. There is just too much evidence after reading this continuing saga.

 

Do suitcase nukes actually exist?

[mmmmmbeeer]

Do suitcase nukes actually exist?

 

I could probably show some initiative and google that for you, but it's a lazy Sunday morning. I just remember reading something about this. I wouldn't think that they'd pack much of a wallop, just due to the size of the weapon, but a nuke is still a nuke.

 

EDIT: It only took a second, so... http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190..._072204,00.html

Edited December 3, 2006 by mmmmmbeeer

[Rex Kickass]

They also probably wouldn't work anymore. They only have a shelf life of a handful of years and require regular maintenance.

[FlaSoxxJim]

So much cooler to be assassinated than murdered. Damn, that is my new career goal, to be assassinated.

 

Look who has presidential delusions of grandeur.

 

I hear there is a revival of Our American Cousin coming to town. Should I put you down for balcony seats?

[Rex Kickass]

Oh Mr. Flard, I do love your theater!