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The Polonium Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko

Who was Alexander Litvinenko?

Alexander Litvinenko was a fugitive officer of the Russian FSB Secret Service. He specialised in dealing with organised crime

In 2000, Litvinenko fled to the UK to seak asylum, which he was granted. Soon after, he worked as a journalist, writer, and consultant for the British Intlligence Services.

According to his wife and father, he also had connections with MI5 and MI6.

Litvinenko had many enemies - he was a former agent for the Russian Federal Security Services (FSB) after leaving the FSB, he blamed the service for setting up a series of apartment bombings in 1999. This then led to the Russian invasion of Chechnya later that year.

Why was Litvinenko Targeted?

His former FSB colleagues may have seen Litvinenko as a traitor, creating enough reason to kill him

What is Polonium-210?

Litvinenko was investigating Spanish links to the Russian Mafia. He planned to fly to Spain with former agent Andrei Lugovi - the main suspect for his murder.

Polonium is a chemical element discovered in 1898 by Marie Curie. It is a rare and highly radioactive element which is usually manufactured in plants to stop the build up of static electricity.

Litvinenko had tea with Lugovi on the afternoon of November 1st in his hotel. He then started to feel unwell that evening, and his condition got much worse over the next few days

After Litvinenko was hospitalised for some months without reason, the Metropolitan Police investigated his case. The next image shows their conclusion.

Polonium solutions are volatile and will evaporate unless kept sealed. Because of this, Litvinenko's killer kept the polonium in glass vials.

If polonium is injested, it creates widespread damage to the internal organs. As well as this, it is incredibly difficult to detect, as is dioxin and ricin.

It was found that Lugovi placed the Polonium in Litvinenko's tea pot. The purple areas on the image indicate the highest levels of radiation.

It was also found that Litvinenko must have inhaled the isotope as there were also high levels of radiation in his bathroom.

Litvinenko's Death

"YOU MAY SUCCEED IN SILENCING ME BUT THAT SILENCE COMES AT A PRICE" - Alexander Litvinenko

The hospital established his illness was due to poisoning by Polonium-210. This was the first case of alpha radiation in the UK, compared to gamma radiation. Polonium was probably used because it is much harder to detect.

On November 1st 2006, Litvinenko suddenly fell ill. He experienced aggressive vomiting, which he just put down to something he had ate in the last day. But, two days later, his condition worsened significantly, and he was hospitalised.

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