Authoritarian regimes often rely on extreme measures to maintain control.
A newly declassified U.S. intelligence report sheds light on the Kremlin’s alleged use of targeted assassinations to eliminate those seen as threats to Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.
The report details several high-profile cases of political killings and suggests that such actions are part of a systematic strategy employed by Moscow, according to Pravda.
The report, partially declassified after a request from a Bloomberg journalist, claims that some of the assassinations were ordered directly by Putin.
Several Cases Brought to Light
It references the 2015 killing of Boris Nemtsov, a prominent Kremlin critic, who was shot near the Kremlin in Moscow.
Another case involves Mikhail Lesin, a former Putin media advisor, who died in a Washington, D.C., hotel room. Lesin’s death was attributed to blunt force trauma, though the circumstances remain controversial.
The report also details the 2004 assassination of Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, former leader of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, in Qatar.
Russian intelligence agents carried out the killing and were later convicted in a Qatari court. Although they were extradited to Russia to serve their sentences, their whereabouts remain unknown.
Another infamous case cited is the 2006 poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, a former FSB officer, in London.
He was killed using radioactive polonium, and UK authorities identified Andrei Lugovoy, a former Russian intelligence officer and current member of Russia’s parliament, as the key suspect.
The report also alleges that Alexander Perepelichny, a Russian businessman and whistleblower, was poisoned in 2012 in the UK.
Perepelichny had been a key informant in a money-laundering investigation involving Russian officials and died shortly before testifying in court.
In eastern Ukraine, the report links the deaths of several pro-Russian separatist leaders, such as Alexander Bednov, to Kremlin-directed efforts to consolidate control over the region.
The document concludes that Moscow uses its intelligence services to carry out assassinations systematically. It warns that such actions are expected to continue as long as the Kremlin perceives challenges to its authority.
