Putin not being blamed for at least one poisoning

As Blake noted in this morning’s brief, former Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar is convinced that he was poisoned while in Dublin in late November. He’s equally convinced that Russian authorities aren’t behind it, a conclusion in stark contrast to that of deceased spy Alexander Litvinenko, who accused Putin of murder from his deathbed. Gaidar ...

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FORMER PRIME MINISTER YEGOR GAIDAR SPEAKS IN MOSCOW...MOS09:RUSSIA-GAIDAR:MOSCOW,2OCT98 - Former Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar speaks during a news conference October 2. Gaidar on Friday blasted the government's newly-unveiled draft economic programme, warning that its policies could only lead the country deeper into crisis. cvi/Photo by Alexander Natruskin REUTERS

As Blake noted in this morning's brief, former Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar is convinced that he was poisoned while in Dublin in late November. He's equally convinced that Russian authorities aren't behind it, a conclusion in stark contrast to that of deceased spy Alexander Litvinenko, who accused Putin of murder from his deathbed. Gaidar (a contributing editor to FP) gives his poisoning tell-all to the FT today, and he has a theory as to who is behind his attempted murder:

As Blake noted in this morning’s brief, former Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar is convinced that he was poisoned while in Dublin in late November. He’s equally convinced that Russian authorities aren’t behind it, a conclusion in stark contrast to that of deceased spy Alexander Litvinenko, who accused Putin of murder from his deathbed. Gaidar (a contributing editor to FP) gives his poisoning tell-all to the FT today, and he has a theory as to who is behind his attempted murder:

After the death of Alexander Litvinenko on November 23 in London, another violent death of a famous Russian on the following day is the last thing that the Russian authorities would want….Most likely that means that some obvious or hidden adversaries of the Russian authorities stand behind the scenes of this event, those who are interested in further radical deterioration of relations between Russia and the west.

Carolyn O'Hara is a senior editor at Foreign Policy.

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