Russia’s tumultuous history is replete with backstabbing — sometimes literal — where the powerful would seek their vengeance with a host of toxins. Poisoning could be used as a way of getting rid of rivals, as punishment, or simply to “let you know whose country you are in.” It was not limited to just political opponents but, on occasion, could even be used to sicken American diplomats.
Such methods have been on the upswing in recent years in Putin’s Russia. Anna Politkovskaya, a human rights activist known for her opposition to Putin and the war in Chechnya, survived a poisoning attempt in 2004, but was shot and killed in 2006. In 2004, Viktor Yushchenko, who led the Orange Revolution in Ukraine and who was viewed as a threat to the Kremlin’s interests, was severely poisoned with dioxin, apparently at a dinner with a group of senior Ukrainian officials. Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian secret service official, openly accused Putin of crimes such as the assassination of Politkovskaya; he was poisoned with polonium and died in 2006. Most recently, Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of Putin, was assassinated right outside the Kremlin, one of the most secure places in Russia.
These excerpts take a look back at some earlier examples of Moscow’s tactics. Vladimir I. Toumanoff gives an account of how one anti-Soviet group leader was almost poisoned at a banquet that Toumanoff also attended. Robert Martens and William Morgan describe how U.S. Embassy officials were often made severely ill through poisoned food. Toumanoff was interviewed by William Morgan in June of 1999. Martens was interviewed by Charles Stuart Kennedy in September of 1991. Morgan was interviewed by Lester Elliot Sadlow in June of 1995.
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