A Very Expensive Poison : The Assassination of Alexander Litvinenko and Putin's War with the West

1 November 2006. Alexander Litvinenko is brazenly poisoned in central London. Twenty two days later he dies, killed from the inside. The poison? Polonium; a rare, lethal and highly radioactive substance. His crime? He had made some powerful enemies in Russia. Based on the best part of a decade's reporting, as well as extensive interviews with those closest to the events (including the murder suspects), and access to trial evidence, Luke Harding's A Very Expensive Poison is the definitive inside story of the life and death of Alexander Litvinenko. Harding traces the journey of the nuclear poison across London, from hotel room to nightclub, assassin to victim; it is a deadly trail that seemingly leads back to the Russian state itself. Harding argues that Litvinenko's assassination marked the beginning of the deterioration of Moscow's relations with the west and a decade of geo-political disruptions--from the war in Ukraine, a civilian plane shot down, at least 7,000 dead, two million people displaced and a Russian president's defiant rejection of a law-based international order. With Russia's covert war in Ukraine and annexation of the Crimea, Europe and the US face a new Cold War, but with fewer certainties. This is a shocking real-life revenge tragedy with corruption and subterfuge at every turn, and walk-on parts from Russian mafia, the KGB, MI6 agents, dedicated British coppers, Russian dissidents. At the heart of this all is an individual and his family torn apart by a ruthless crime. On November 1, 2006, Journalist And Russian Dissident Alexander Litvinenko Was Poisoned In London. He Died Twenty-two Days Later. The Cause Of Death? Polonium — A Rare, Lethal, And Highly Radioactive Substance. Here Luke Harding Unspools A Real-life Political Assassination Story — Complete With Kgb, Cia, Mi6, And Russian Mobsters. He Shows How Litvinenko’s Murder Foreshadowed The Killings Of Other Kremlin Critics, From Washington, Dc, To Moscow, And How These Are Tied To Russia’s Current Misadventures In Ukraine And Syria. In Doing So, He Becomes A Target Himself And Unearths A Chain Of Corruption And Death Leading Straight To Vladimir Putin. From His Investigations Of The Downing Of Flight Mh17 To The Panama Papers, Harding Sheds A Terrifying Light On Russia’s Fracturing Relationship With The West. Prologue. The Men From Moscow -- Mafia State -- Journalist, Exile, Campaigner, Spy -- First Deployment -- The German Waiter -- Murder In Mayfair -- A Bit Of A Puzzle -- Ruslan And Lyudmila -- An Inspector Calls -- Death Of A Oligarch -- Gelsemium Elegans -- A Small Victorious War -- The Inquiry -- Leviathan -- Blunt Force -- The Man Who Solved His Own Murder. Luke Harding. Includes Index. A true story of murder and conspiracy that points directly to Vladimir Putin, by The Guardian’s former Moscow bureau chief and author of The Snowden Files and Collusion On November 1, 2006, journalist and Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in London. He died twenty-two days later. The cause of death? Polonium—a rare, lethal, and highly radioactive substance. Here Luke Harding unspools a real-life political assassination story—complete with KGB, CIA, MI6, and Russian mobsters. He shows how Litvinenko’s murder foreshadowed the killings of other Kremlin critics, from Washington, DC, to Moscow, and how these are tied to Russia’s current misadventures in Ukraine and Syria. In doing so, he becomes a target himself and unearths a chain of corruption and death leading straight to Vladimir Putin. F rom his investigations of the downing of flight MH17 to the Panama Papers, Harding sheds a terrifying light on Russia’s fracturing relationship with the West. A real-life political assassination story—complete with KGB, CIA, MI5, and Russian mobsters—that reverberates from the streets of London to the deadly halls of today's Kremlin. A Vintage Original. On November 1, 2006, journalist and Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in London. He died twenty-two days later. The cause of death was Polonium—a rare, lethal, and highly radioactive substance. This is the inside story of the life and death of Litvinenko. And it is the story of the aftermath: a decade of geopolitical disruptions still felt today. In A Very Expensive Poison, Luke Harding guides readers through a maze of spies, intrigue, organized crime, and political power players to uncover the truth about Litvinenko's murder. In doing so, not only does he also become a target, but he also unearths a chain of corruption and death leading straight to Vladimir Putin, which sheds terrifying light on Russia's secret war with the West. On November 1, 2006, journalist and Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in London. He died twenty-two days later. The cause of death was Polonium--a rare, lethal, and highly radioactive substance. This is the inside story of the life and death of Litvinenko. And it is the story of the aftermath: a decade of geopolitical disruptions still felt today. In A Very Expensive Poison, Luke Harding guides readers through a maze of spies, intrigue, organized crime, and political power players to uncover the truth about Litvinenko's murder. In doing so, not only does he also become a target, but he also unearths a chain of corruption and death leading straight to Vladimir Putin, which sheds a terrifying light on Russia's secret war with the West Tells the story of the 2006 assassination of Alexander Litvinenko by the rare poison Polonium, how his murder foreshadowed those of other critics of the Russian government, and what they had to do with Russia's actions in Ukraine and Syria