What is the most powerful poison in the world? As long as you have a little knowledge of chemistry, you will definitely say that it is potassium cyanide known as the "king of poisons", killing an adult strong man, only 0.1 grams of potassium cyanide, it is indeed very powerful, but in fact, there is a substance, its toxicity is 250 million times that of potassium cyanide, are you directly shocked off the jaw, yes! It is the radioactive substance polonium-210 discovered by Marie Curie in 1898, and 0.1 grams of polonium-210 can kill 250 million people!
Polonium-210 is not only unmatched in toxicity, but also extremely valuable, because it only exists in uranium mines, refining technology is extremely complex, one gram is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, even a nuclear power, can not extract hundreds of grams of this highly toxic radioactive material a year.
Who would use such an expensive poison? Fast back to November 1, 2006, a Russian named Litvinenko was assassinated in London, and the poison used by the murderer was polonium-210, although it was only a few milligrams of dosage, but it was enough to remove one person, and it was these milligrams of polonium-210 that were worth a staggering $20 million.
So, who is this assassinated Litvinenko? Who is the murderer? Where did such an expensive poison come from? After many years, the fog of the past is slowly dissipating, what is the truth?
Litvinenko is a man of his own
The assassinated Litvinenko, indeed not an ordinary person, at the age of 43, he joined the KGB of the former Soviet Union as early as 1988, responsible for counter-espionage work, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Litvinenko joined the Russian Federal Security Service, specializing in combating organized crime, during which Litvinenko was commended by the Russian security services for his excellent work.
However, this agent, who was deeply trusted by the Russian security services, suddenly lost the basic rules of a professional agent in the late 1990s, began to work against his old boss, and publicly stated that he had refused the task of assassinating the Russian oligarch Berezovsky in exile in Britain.
In 2000, Litvinenko began to flee to the United Kingdom, at this time he was even more speechless, the spearhead was directed at the Russian government and President Putin, in 2003 Litvinenko also published a memoir, in this book, Litvinenko broke a series of blockbuster news, such as the 1999 "Moscow apartment bombing", causing more than 300 deaths to shock the world, in fact, Russia planned to create, and then blamed the "Chechen terrorists", the purpose is to provoke the second Chechen war; and even claimed, The Russian female journalist "human rights defender" Anna Polikovskaya, whose cause of death was implicated in the Russian Federal Security Service, was a brave female journalist who was famous for covering the war in Chechnya, and her pen tip even touched the investigation of corruption in the Russian Ministry of Defense and the headquarters of the Chechen forces, which was called "the conscience of the Russian media".
Russian female journalist "defender of human rights" Anna Polikovskaya
Although Litvinenko's father had repeatedly persuaded his son not to provoke Russia, Litvinenko did not think so, and after obtaining British citizenship, he became more unscrupulous, and in turn persuaded his father: I am now a citizen of the British Empire, and if I want to hurt me, I have to consider the consequences, which may lead to the deterrence of international disputes, and I am the greatest protection.
No one can determine whether Litvinenko's death was the work of the Russian security services, nor can it be determined whether his death was due to misfortune from the mouth, but it is certain that the person who can obtain the radioactive material polonium-210 is by no means an idle person, and the country that can extract this substance can be counted on the touch of a finger.
Poisoned to death in the last moments of the "rebels"
One day in October 2006, Litvinenko suddenly received an e-mail from an Italian security expert, Mario Skarameila, claiming to have inside information on the murder of The Russian journalist Polikovskaya, so he met at a sushi restaurant in London for an interview, this time Scalamela gave him a document signed with the name of the official of the Russian Federal Security Service, but the strange thing is that it is an electronic document, why not send it by e-mail, but choose to submit it in person, afterwards Litvinenko recalled, "Skalamera told me that my name had been added to the roster of the Russian Federal Security Service." And at the sushi restaurant, I took my own meals, but he didn't eat anything, and seemed particularly nervous. He said our email had been intercepted by Russian intelligence, but that didn't give an explanation for his behavior at the time. ”
On the day of the incident, Litvinenko ate some fish fillets and drank soup, but Scalamela only drank a glass of water, although Scalamela was also detected to contain polonium, but the dose was very small, and did not pose a serious life danger to him.
Of course, Skalamera was not the only suspect in the poisoning, because shortly after the meeting, Litvinenko went to the Millennium Hotel in Grosvenor Square to discuss business cooperation with three Russian businessmen. Later, he went to the fifth floor of an office building in the square, photocopied the list that Skamera had given him, and then visited Berezovsky's office in London, the target of the assassination that Litvinenko had refused, and after completing this series of visits, Litvinenko returned to his home in north London at about seven o'clock that night.
That night, Litvinenko became unwell, and doctors, after examination, believed that it was thallium metal poisoning, and later suspected that it was some other radioactive substance, and until Ritvinenko's death on November 23, the cause of death could not be confirmed.
On 24 November 2006, the Uk Health Protection Agency announced that Polonium-210 had been found in Litvinenko's urine at an extremely high level. This suggests that Litvinenko was poisoned and that residues of polonium-210 were found in Litvinenko's home and in two places he visited on the day of his illness.
The detailed forensic analysis report also revealed that no residue of polonium-210 had been found in the place where Litvinenko had visited the sushi restaurant a few hours earlier, suggesting that the poisoning incident must have occurred after entering the sushi restaurant. The four biggest suspects, Skala Mera, an Italian security expert who met at a sushi restaurant, and three Russian businessmen who were talking business together at the Millennium Hotel in Grosvenor Square.
As for how did polonium-210, a highly radioactive substance, get brought to Britain? Who and how was it poisoned? Everything became foggy and confusing.
What is Polonium-210?
As the most radioactive and rarest chemical to date, polonium-210 was discovered by the Curies in 1898, generally only a small amount of uranium ore, or produced by neutron impact on other elements, 0.1 grams of polonium-210 can kill 250 million people, once it enters the human body, it is not only difficult to find, but also can not be cleared at all, long-term residence in bones, lungs, kidneys, liver, long-term radiation effect will cause tumors, it will damage the DNA dna of dna in the human body, And causing radioactive pathologies that cause irreversible fatal injuries, Litvinenko apparently died of the strongest radioactive poison in human history.
Nuclear physicists also pointed out that polonium is a silver-white block-like object, on the surface it looks very close to silver, ordinary people rely on the naked eye is almost difficult to distinguish, polonium-210 has a strong toxicity and radioactivity, if someone carries a large amount of polonium on board, it is difficult to pass through airport security, because this radioactive material must be tightly stored in a very thick lead or cement container, in order to prevent the carrier from infecting itself.
But experts also pointed out that although polonium-210 is extremely toxic, ingestion of dust-sized particles is enough to be fatal, but the trace amount of polonium radiation is not strong, so it is not excluded that terrorists take the "ant move" way to directly carry into the country, in the airport without professional nuclear radiation detection equipment, routine security inspection is difficult to find these "micro killers".
All this has deepened speculation that the assassination of Litvinenko is a "state act", because the "dirty bomb" of polonium-210, which must be made by high-tech means, is almost impossible to complete without the participation of top nuclear scientists, from carrying it in to poisoning it.
Why hasn't the biggest suspect been caught?
After the poisoning incident, the British police, after an in-depth investigation, quickly listed Lugovoy, a Russian businessman and agent, as the number one suspect, and this Lugovoy was one of the three Russian businessmen who talked with Litvinenko at the Millennium Hotel on the day of the incident, and in the hotel room where Lugovoi lived and on the plane, the police found traces of polonium-210.
The British Foreign Office therefore summoned the Russian ambassador to the United Kingdom and asked the Russian side to provide assistance in the investigation of the case, and the Russian side said that it could assist in the investigation, but opposed the politicization of the matter so as not to affect the relations between the two countries.
On May 23, 2007, the British prosecutorial authorities accused Lugovoi of poisoning and killing Litvinenko in the United Kingdom, asking Russia to extradite Lugovoy to the United Kingdom for trial, while the Russian Attorney-General's Office rejected the British side's extradition request on the grounds that the Russian Constitution stipulates that its citizens can only be tried in its own country.
On July 16, 2007, the United Kingdom announced that due to Russia's refusal to extradite to the United Kingdom Lugovoy suspected of poisoning the case of former Russian agent Litvinenko, the United Kingdom would expel four Russian diplomats, and the Russian side immediately took a reciprocal approach to expel four British diplomats, and the relations between the two countries were overshadowed by this poisoning incident.
On July 15, 2021, fifteen years later, an opera based on Litvinenko was staged in the United Kingdom, and the truth behind the poisoning is still a fog that lingers in the minds of many people.