Alexander Litvinenko

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Valterovich and the family name is Litvinenko.
Alexander Litvinenko
Александр Литвиненко
Litvinenko in 2002
Born
Aleksandr Valterovich Litvinenko

(1962-08-30)30 August 1962
Voronezh, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died23 November 2006(2006-11-23) (aged 44)
Bloomsbury, London, England
Cause of deathRadiation poisoning (homicide)
Burial placeHighgate Cemetery, Highgate London, England
CitizenshipSoviet Union (1962–1991)
Russia (1991–2006)
United Kingdom (2006)
Spouses
Nataliya
​
​
(m. 1981; div. 1994)​
Marina
​
(m. 1994)​
Children3
AwardsHero of the Nation
Espionage activity
Allegiance Soviet Union
Russia (defected)
United Kingdom
Service branchKGB
FSB (defected)
MI6[1]

Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko[a] (30 August 1962[2] or 4 December 1962[3] – 23 November 2006) was a British-naturalised Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who specialised in tackling organised crime.[1][4] A prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, he advised British intelligence and coined the term "mafia state".[5]

In November 1998, Litvinenko and several other FSB officers publicly accused their superiors of ordering the assassination of the Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky. Litvinenko was arrested the following March on charges of exceeding the authority of his position. He was acquitted in November 1999 but re-arrested before the charges were again dismissed in 2000. He fled with his family to London and was granted asylum in the United Kingdom, where he worked as a journalist, writer and consultant for the British intelligence services.

During his time in Boston, Lincolnshire, Litvinenko wrote two books, Blowing Up Russia: Terror from Within and Lubyanka Criminal Group, in which he accused the Russian secret services of staging the Russian apartment bombings in 1999 and other acts of terrorism in an effort to bring Vladimir Putin to power. He also accused Putin of ordering the assassination of the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006.

On 1 November 2006, Litvinenko suddenly fell ill and was hospitalised after poisoning with polonium-210; he died from the poisoning on 23 November.[6] The events leading up to this are well documented, despite spawning numerous theories relating to his poisoning and death. A British murder investigation identified Andrey Lugovoy, a former member of Russia's Federal Protective Service (FSO), as the main suspect. Dmitry Kovtun was later named as a second suspect.[7] The United Kingdom demanded that Lugovoy be extradited; Russia denied the extradition as the Russian constitution prohibits the extradition of Russian citizens, leading to a straining of relations between Russia and the United Kingdom.[8]

After Litvinenko's death, his wife Marina, aided by biologist Alexander Goldfarb, pursued a vigorous campaign through the Litvinenko Justice Foundation. In October 2011, she won the right for an inquest into her husband's death to be conducted by a coroner in London; the inquest was repeatedly set back by issues relating to examinable evidence.[9] A public inquiry began on 27 January 2015,[10] and concluded in January 2016 that Litvinenko's murder was carried out by the two suspects and that they were "probably" acting under the direction of the FSB and with the approval of Putin and then FSB director Nikolai Patrushev.[11][12] In the 2021 case Carter v Russia, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia was responsible for his death and ordered the country to pay 100,000 euros in damages.[13][14][15][16][17]

  1. ^ a b Litvinenko inquest: newspapers launch challenge over withholding of evidence Archived 19 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine. The Guardian. Retrieved on 12 August 2013.
  2. ^ Penketh, Anne (25 November 2006). "Alexander Litvinenko". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 March 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2010. ( at WebCite)
  3. ^ "ChechenPress". Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  4. ^ Litvinenko death: Russian spy 'was working for MI6' Archived 29 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine – BBC News, 13 December 2012
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Guinness World Records: First murder by radiation Archived 27 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine:
    On 23 November 2006, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Litvinenko, a retired member of the Russian security services (FSB), died from radiation poisoning in London, UK, becoming the first known victim of lethal Polonium 210-induced acute radiation syndrome.
  7. ^ "CPS names second suspect in Alexander Litvinenko poisoning". The Telegraph. 29 February 2012. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  8. ^ Chapter 2. Rights and Freedoms of Man And Citizen | The Constitution of the Russian Federation Archived 16 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Constitution.ru. Retrieved on 12 August 2013.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference refusedIndep was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Alexander Litvinenko murder inquiry opens in high court". The Guardian. 27 January 2015. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  11. ^ "President Putin 'probably' approved Litvinenko murder". BBC News. 21 January 2016. Archived from the original on 9 September 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  12. ^ The Litvinenko Inquiry. Report into the death of Alexander Litvinenko Archived 20 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine, January 2016, p. 241-244.
  13. ^ "Russia responsible for Litvinenko killing - European court". BBC News. 21 September 2021. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  14. ^ Faulconbridge, Guy; Holden, Michael (21 September 2021). "Russia was behind Litvinenko assassination, European court finds". CTVNews. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Vladimir Putin 'ordered killing', Litvinenko inquiry hears". BBC News. 31 July 2015. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  16. ^ "Litvinenko 'probably murdered on personal orders of Putin'". The Guardian. 21 January 2016. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  17. ^ "Russia responsible for Alexander Litvinenko death, European court rules". The Guardian. 21 September 2021. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.


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