51吃瓜

A聽culture of impunity is endemic at the Kremlin.聽

If there was ever a case of cloak and dagger, this was it: Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent working for MI6, an outspoken critic of the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin with a close connection to a renegade oligarch鈥擱ussia鈥檚 鈥淕ray Cardinal鈥澛�, now also dead under mysterious circumstances鈥攑oisoned by a rare nuclear isotope on British soil by his business partner and former FSB colleagues. It was a moment when the Cold War spilled over the edge of its new order container. Richard Howell, the lawyer representing London police,聽called it聽a 鈥�.鈥�

Now, a British judge has ruled in a public inquiry that the two men charged with the murder by the Crown Prosecution Service in 2007鈥擜ndrey Lugovoy and Dmitri Kovtun鈥攚ere responsible for carrying out the assassination.聽聽concluded that: 鈥淭aking full account of all the evidence and analysis available to me, I find that the FSB operation to kill Mr Litvinenko was probably approved by Mr Patrushev [then head of FSB] and also by President Putin.鈥�

Russian officialdom has never been one for nuance and the word 鈥減robably鈥� got a predictable treatment.聽, assuming a rather distasteful tone on behalf of the Russian Foreign Ministry, called the inquiry 鈥渁 logical conclusion of a pseudo-process鈥� with a criminal intent to 鈥渂lacken Russia, its official representatives and administration.鈥� Calling one of the most extensive investigations in Britain鈥檚 history a 鈥渢heater of shadows,鈥� she concluded that Agatha Christie had nothing on this story. Putin鈥檚 spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, dismissed the conclusions as 鈥渆legant British humor鈥� and said聽that terms such as 鈥減robably鈥� are not admitted in Russian law.

However, what this verdict means is that the judge found with over 51% probability that the circumstantial evidence of Russian state involvement is plausible. Had this conclusion been reached in a criminal court, Litvinenko鈥檚 widow would have won the case.

Remember Trotsky

鈥�!鈥� was聽allegedly聽one of the threats Litvinenko received. If his murder was indeed a warning to other 鈥渢raitors,鈥� it inadvertently brought the message across with maximum impact.聽Inadvertently, because in choosing a little-known radioactive substance鈥攑olonium 210鈥攖he intention was to conceal, not shock and awe.

Yet it is precisely the 鈥渟ecret weapon鈥� that provided the most compelling evidence in the inquiry. Judging by the sloppy nature with which Lugovoy and Kovtun handled the substance, they were unaware of the nature of the poison. They left a radioactive trail all over London: the flights they took; the hotels they stayed in on two separate occasions; the couch of Boris Berezovsky鈥檚 office on which Lugovoy sat; Kovtun鈥檚 ex-wife鈥檚 car and apartment in Germany; and, most damning of all, the highest levels of primary contamination found in the drain of the sink in Kovtun鈥檚 room at the Millennium Hotel鈥攈e appears to have simply poured the nuclear substance down the drain.

Had they picked a simpler poison, it would have been much harder to connect the two men with the murder. The polonium trail, however, makes for incontrovertible forensic evidence that led Judge Owen to conclude that he was 鈥渟ure that Mr Lugovoy and Mr Kovtun placed the polonium 210 in the teapot at the Pine Bar on 1 November 2006.鈥�

If they picked a poison that could only be produced in a handful of specialized, high-security nuclear facilities, it would have been much easier to argue against state and security services involvement. In terms of its traceability, the poison prove to be 鈥渧ery expensive鈥� indeed.

Had this case happened in isolation, and not been one in a line of聽聽carried out against Russia鈥檚 critics, it may not have made the Kremlin look the ghoul that it currently does. When you stand in the middle of a crime scene dripping with blood, it becomes increasingly difficult to contest the accusatory glare of a dying man who points a finger right at you.

Unlikely Heroes

Since Russia denied Britain鈥檚 2007 extradition request, which led to four diplomats being expelled from the United Kingdom, Lugovoy and Kovtun have hardly kept below the radar. They continued to deny their involvement in the case鈥擪ovtun聽suggesting聽most recently that . Berezovsky鈥檚 aide recalled an accident in which his boss received a mock CSKA football club t-shirt from Lugovoy that said: 鈥淧OLONIUM-210 CSKA LONDON, HAMBURG To Be Continued,鈥� and the writing on the back, 鈥淐SKA Moscow Nuclear Death Is Knocking Your Door.鈥�

Lugovoy won a seat in the state Duma in 2007, which grants him immunity from prosecution. In March 2015, Lugovoy received a聽聽鈥淔or Service to the Fatherland鈥� for his parliamentary work.

Ramzan Kadyrov, another recipient of one Russia鈥檚 highest awards, has also been making headlines. The Chechen president and honorary member of the Russian Academy of Sciences was awarded the Order of Honor聽the day after he proclaimed the man accused of Boris Nemtsov鈥檚 murder a 鈥渢rue patriot,鈥� in a flare of not just bad taste, but characteristic provocation.

Vladimir Putin and Ramzan Kadyrov 漏 Shutterstock

Kadyrov has made his distaste for Russia鈥檚 鈥渘on-systemic opposition鈥� well-known once again, when on January 12, 2016, he told journalists that those who oppose President Putin should be treated as 鈥渆nemies of the people, as traitors.鈥� His statement was聽聽on the official government website of Chechnya, in case anyone had doubts that he didn鈥檛 really mean what he was quoted as saying.

Patriot Games

What happened next resembles theater of the absurd much more vividly than the kind described by Zakharova. Deputy Konstantin Senchenko took issue with the statement and called Kadyrov a 鈥渟hame to Russia鈥� in a scathing聽. A private phone conversation in which he expresses regret over the post was then聽聽to the press, followed by a video in which he openly apologizes to Kadyrov, prompted () by a visit from one of the Chechen president鈥檚 advisers鈥攁n Olympic wrestling champion.

The Congress of Intellectuals started a聽petition聽to . The head of social policy for Chechnya聽聽that they 鈥渟neeze upon鈥� this condemnation鈥攁 phrase that sounds as vulgar in translation as it does in the original. Speaker of Parliament Magamet Daudov then聽聽a photo of Kadyrov鈥檚 dog Tarzan on Instagram, stating that Tarzan 鈥渞eally doesn鈥檛 like dogs of foreign breeds鈥� and 鈥渨e are having a hard time holding him back.鈥�

Pro-Kremlin celebrities started an Internet聽flashmob聽with the hashtag #, while others started filming sarcastic apologies and posting them to YouTube. On January 22, a pro-Kadyrov聽聽was held in Grozny. Some of the聽聽included 鈥淒on鈥檛 whine, liberal, your end is nigh,鈥� 鈥淥nly in Russia do criminals call themselves opposition鈥� and 鈥淜adyrov鈥攖hreat to the 5^th听肠辞濒耻尘苍!鈥澛犅爐o Chechen police, a million people attended. The entire population of Chechnya is less than 1.5 million.

This snowball is far from light-hearted Internet spats that take place the world over. Ramzan Kadyrov is a notorious warlord who has subdued renegade Chechnya for President Putin using extreme violence, extrajudicial killings, torture, intimidation, corruption, electoral fraud and an endless flow of Moscow money.

He has positioned himself as Putin鈥檚 backup, his聽. Some of the most conspicuous murders of the Kremlin鈥檚 critics lead to Chechnya鈥擜nna Politkovskaya, Boris Nemtsov鈥攁nd Chechen battalions are fighting in聽. This latest lashing out against the opposition is all fun and games, until someone else winds up dead.

鈥�,鈥� Kadyrov had聽said. 鈥淚 want him to be president forever. I love him very much, as a man can love another man.鈥� The Kremlin has so far reciprocated the affections, urging to treat Kadyrov鈥檚 latest faux pas 鈥渃almly.鈥�

It is one thing to claim to protect your citizens (in refusing extradition) or use brutal force to exercise control over a breakaway territory. But publicly flaunting those who have inflicted incredible pain and destruction and broken every rule in the book on their way to please you falls into a category worthy of those you most often see at The Hague.

Until Russia learns to tell the difference between due process and politicized attacks, to which the response is irreverent denial and haughty bravado, the system of criminal impunity will remain firmly associated with the regime currently in place, with Aleksander Litvinenko its unintended symbol.

The views expressed in this article are the author鈥檚 own and do not necessarily reflect 51吃瓜鈥檚 editorial policy.

Photo Credit: 听/ /听

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