Putin critic Alexei Navalny poisoned with Novichok, same nerve agent used in attack on former spy Sergei Skripal
Russian opposition politician and prominent Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned, with tests showing nerve agent Novichok in his samples, the German government has revealed. In a short statement released on Wednesday, September 2, Steffen Seibert, a spokesperson for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said that testing by a special German military laboratory had shown proof of a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group. The development will not come as a surprise considering how the Kremlin boasts of a long history of poisoning those who have expressed opposition to it.
Navalny, 44, had been taking a flight from Tomsk, Siberia, to Moscow last month when he suddenly began screaming in agony and lost consciousness. The pilots were forced to make an emergency landing in Omsk and Navalny was stretchered from the plane into a waiting ambulance that transported him to the city's Hospital No. 1
Witnesses captured the incident on their phones and uploaded it on social media, where many suggested he had been poisoned. However, those claims were denied by the doctors in Omsk, who claimed his condition was explained by a metabolic disease caused by low blood sugar.
Suspicions were raised further amidst reports that Navalny's family were denied permission to transport him to Germany for treatment, though he was eventually evacuated to Berlin's Charité hospital following a direct plea from his wife to Putin.
Shortly after his admission, the hospital revealed that their tests indicated he was a victim of poisoning. In a statement released at the time, the hospital did not identify the specific poison responsible for Navalny's illness – he is believed to have been put into an "artificial coma" to stop "very deep convulsions" – but said the substance was part of a group that affects the central nervous system and includes nerve agents and pesticides. They said he had fallen ill because of a cholinesterase inhibitor but that the specific substance was not known and analysis was ongoing. "The outcome of the disease remains uncertain and long-term consequences, especially in the area of the nervous system, cannot be ruled out at this point in time," the clinic said, adding that he is in a serious condition but "there is currently no acute danger to his life."
Following those findings, the German government highlighted past incidents where Russian dissidents were attacked in such a manner and said that Navalny needs police protection because of a "certain likelihood" he was poisoned. "Because one can assume with a certain likelihood that we are dealing with a poison attack, protection is essential," Seibert had said. "The suspicion is not that Mr. Navalny poisoned himself but that someone poisoned Mr. Navalny, and there are unfortunately one or two examples of such poisonings in recent Russian history."
While the Kremlin has not yet officially commented on the findings that Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, the same nerve agent used during the attack on former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, experts believe the scenario is plausible.
Gennadi V. Gudkov, a former opposition member of Parliament and onetime colonel in the K.G.B, had previously said that the poisoning scenario was likely because it was "simple" and did not require any special training. "It is easy, and easy to cover your tracks. Any person can use poison," he explained.