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The German government declared on Wednesday that Alexei Navalny “without a doubt” had been poisoned by the neurotoxin novitjok. The Berlin Charity Hospital, where the leader of the Russian opposition is treated, has had the help of a German military laboratory to carry out the toxicological analyzes.
According to Chief Physician Erik Lindeman of the Swedish Poison Information Center, only Russia has tried access to the novitiate. You think it’s almost like leaving a business card.
– They send a disguised acknowledgment that this is a state-led action, he previously told DN.
Martin Kragh, The director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Institute for Foreign Policy follows the same path.
– Novitjok goes back to Russia. It is in military laboratories controlled by the Russian security services. There is no possibility that this issue can go away on its own.
Martin Kragh is director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Institute for Foreign Policy.
Photo: Foreign Policy Institute
He believes that anyone could have carried out the act, but that the person who ordered it must be at the top of the Russian power hierarchy, on a par with the Russian president or the security service.
– A person who did this without the approval of the top management would have a very short life in Russia.
One can ask why would Russia use a poison that has such an obvious connection to the Russian state. According to Martin Kragh, this is about sending a powerful signal to the Russian people and, in particular, to the opposition.
– It’s a very clear display of power. Like when they send a fish to the Corleone family in the movie The Godfather, a sign that one of his men “swam with the fish,” he says, referring to someone taking it during the day.
He interprets it as a show of power in relation to the situation in Belarus, where there are extensive demonstrations against Alexander Lukashenko’s electoral victory in August. The Kremlin is concerned about Belarus and wants to prevent something similar from happening in Russia.
– They want to send a signal to people with an opposition mentality not to mobilize any kind of resistance.
Carolina Vendil Pallin.
Photo: FOI
Carolina Vendil Pallin, A security policy analyst at the Swedish Defense Research Agency, he’s careful to pinpoint someone responsible for the Navalny poisoning. But just the fact that the opposition is convinced that the Russian government is behind the law creates political dynamism in Russia, he says.
She thinks it will be interesting to see how the event will affect the upcoming local elections.
– Navalny has been very adept at building a nationwide organization. The Russian people can register on a special website for “smart voting”, where they receive instructions on how to vote outside of United Russia, he says, referring to Putin’s ruling party.
Read more:
The marriage expert: how to leave a business card
Germany: Navalny was poisoned by Novitjok
Merkel: Navalny crime victim, I would shut him up
