Russia Nawarinui Suspicion of attempted "assassination" Who?

why?

September 24, 19:51

Repeated "poisoning".

This time, the target was an opposition leader who had criticized the administration head-on.

Russia is still the victim of "poison" even today.

Who?

For what purpose?

Reporter Yusuke Kitamura of the Moscow branch will explain.

(Moscow bureau reporter Yusuke Kitamura, network news department reporter Shinichiro Kuninaka)

Targeted man

It all started on August 20th, when a man moaned in a passenger plane from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow.

An unconscious man.

All I had on that day was the tea I had at the airport in Tomsk, the place of departure.

A companion who accompanied the man claims that the tea may have been poisoned.

The man's name is Alexei Navalny (44).

He is the leader of opposition forces who have sharply criticized the Putin administration in Russia.

Nine years ago, we established a non-governmental organization called the "Anti-Corruption Foundation" and started full-scale activities to accuse the Putin administration of corruption on the Internet.

In 2017, a video of the mansion of then Prime Minister Medvedev taken with a drone from the sky was released.

He accused him of suspected corruption given by a wealthy man as a bribe worth 7 billion yen in Japanese yen.

Mr. Nawarinui was not allowed to run in the 2018 presidential election because of past convictions.

There was widespread perception that the Putin administration saw Mr. Nawarinui as a certain threat.

Nawarinui's supporters are at the core of the younger generation, with 4.11 million YouTube registrants and 2.25 million Twitter followers.

Mr. Nawarinui rescue operation

A passenger plane carrying the fallen Nawarinui makes an emergency landing in the Siberian city of Omsk.

He was treated at a local hospital, but the hospital announced that "there was no evidence of poisoning."

However, Nawarinui's wife, Yulia, and her colleagues do not trust the announcement and seek help from foreign governments.

Germany has responded to this request.

The following day, a German NGO dispatched a special medical machine on the 21st, and on the 22nd, transferred unconscious Mr. Nawarinui to a prestigious university hospital in the capital Berlin.

On August 24, the university hospital announced that "poison may have been used by Mr. Nawarinui."

Furthermore, as a result of proceeding with the analysis of "poison" with the participation of German military experts, it was found that its identity was a type of nerve agent "Novichok".

"Assassination Weapon" Novichok Mysterious identity

"Novichok" is a chemical weapon originally developed by the former Soviet Union for military use, and its identity is only known in fragments.

What is certain is that it is extremely toxic and difficult to detect.

Since Russia uses Novichok for assassination, it continues to possess it with improvements such as weakening the power of poison-this is also the view among military experts in Europe, the United States and Japan.

The name of Novichok became known all over the world in the wake of an adult incident.

Former Russian spy Scripal and his daughter were found unconscious in southern England.

British police have determined that an attempted assassination using Novichok has been attempted.

Two Russian men belonging to the Russian military intelligence agency were identified as suspects and photos were released.

Repeated history of "poisoning"

In Russia, there have been frequent attempts to "poison" people and journalists who have criticized the Putin administration.

In 2004, Politkovskaya, a reporter from the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, who was critical of the Putin administration, suddenly changed his physical condition while traveling on a passenger plane and lost consciousness, and was suspected of attempting poisoning.

Politkovskaya recovered from the symptoms of poison, but two years later he was shot and "assassinated" in his apartment in Moscow.

In 2006, former Russian spy Litvinenko, who criticized Putin's administration and went into exile in Britain, died in his exile in London.

A highly toxic radioactive substance, polonium, was detected in the body.

The attempted assassination of Mr. Scripal in England is also linked to the genealogy of this "poisoning".

The German government has revealed that it was a type of Novichok that was used by Mr. Nawarinui, and the international community is increasingly calling for Russia to find out the truth.

What is the motive for "poisoning"?

Why was Mr. Nawarinui targeted if the administration was involved?

I don't know the exact thing, but there are some possible motives.

1. Suppress the growing criticism of the administration in rural areas.

It has been 20 years since the Putin system.

I am dissatisfied with the prolonged economic downturn and the Putin administration's powerful political methods.

The symbolic one is Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East.

In July, the citizens rebelled after the governor of the opposition was detained by the investigative authorities on suspicion of being involved in a murder case more than 15 years ago, and he continues to protest and demonstrate.

Mr. Nawarinui continued to energetically travel to local cities to support opposition candidates in order to expand the opposition's power toward the unified local elections on September 13.

It's easy to imagine what the Putin administration was watching.

2. The situation in Belarus?

In Belarus, Russia's neighbor, there is a large-scale protest calling for the resignation of President Lukashenko, who has led the country for 26 years.

Seeing the rock-solid Lukashenko administration swaying, Russia, a similarly powerful long-term administration, said, "If Mr. Nawarinui, who is at the forefront of criticism of the administration, is left alone, it could one day become the second dance of Belarus. It is no wonder that the sense of crisis has increased.

Russian counterargument

Putin has denounced the administration's involvement in the allegations, saying that "unfounded accusations are unacceptable."

"Novichok is all abandoned in Russia and is neither owned nor manufactured," said Naryshkin, an aide to President Putin, who heads the Foreign Intelligence Service.

In addition, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement suggesting that the United States and others are involved in the attempted poisoning of Mr. Nawarinui, saying that "Western countries such as the United States have been involved in the production of chemical substances of the same strain as Novichok."

However, these Russian counterarguments are perceived by the international community as absurd conspiracy theories.

Narrow or Russian siege

Countries are strengthening their siege to Russia.

<EU / UN>

Requests the Russian government to carry out a highly transparent investigation promptly

<Japan>

G7 = As a member of the seven major countries, it is listed in the condemnation statement jointly issued by the foreign ministers of each country

< NATO> An

emergency meeting will be held on September 4, urging Russia to accept investigations involving international organizations

<Germany> As

a sanction against Russia, the undersea pipeline "Nordstream 2" that carries Russia's natural gas directly to Germany It

is unclear whether the revision of the plan,

which shows the attitude of not excluding the possibility of reviewing the construction plan, will be carried out not

only in Russia but also in Germany and other European countries as it will be a blow. European public opinion has become so harsh on Russia that we have to mention a review.

Mr. Nawarinui discharged A new burden on President Putin

Nawarinui posted a photo taken with his family in a hospital room on September 7 and a photo of standing without help on September 19 on his Instagram after getting out of a coma at a university hospital in Germany. Did.

It is his wife, Yulia, who supports Mr. Nawarinui who is half-raised in bed.

And two children.

"It's Hello! Nawarinui. Throughout the day yesterday, we were able to breathe by removing the ventilator"

The comment that, more than 156 million cases so far "Likes" were received.

And on September 22, Mr. Nawarinui was discharged after a month of hospitalization.

A spokeswoman for Nawarinui said, "Mr. Nawarinui is considering returning to Russia."

On the other hand, the Putin administration has not broken the policy of not conducting an investigation to find out the truth.

There are growing concerns that if Mr. Nawarinui returns home, the assassins will be able to reach out again.

There is no doubt that the alleged attempted poisoning has damaged Russia's credibility as a major power and deepened the gap with Europe and the United States.

President Putin will carry another new burden on the road of thorns.

Moscow bureau reporter

Yusuke Kitamura

Network News Department Reporter

Shinichiro Kuninaka