The British and Russian secret intelligence services are at it
again, just as they have been since the days of the First World
War. History buffs will recall the MI-6 days of Robert Bruce
Lockhart and Sidney Reilly as Feliks Djerzhinsky set up the new
Bolshevik Cheka to protect Lenin's revolution. The same battle
between the services and their governments goes on today. Alexander
Litvinenko was an easy target in London and the Russians got him in
their first serious try -- albeit quite sloppily.
But we are getting ahead of the story. The modern beginnings
involve a very bright Russian Jewish boy from Moscow who obtained
degrees in physics and mathematics. His name is Boris Berezovsky
and he once was a favorite of a Russian president...Boris Yeltsin.
Starting with virtually nothing in the early 1990s, Berezovsky
built a fortune initially based on shady import/export deals of new
and used autos.
Berezovsky's holdings grew to include a TV network, computer,
oil and aluminum industries. He soon began thinking of himself as a
future political star. This was a big mistake. His and his fellow
oligarchs' increasing power was deeply resented by the still
entrenched leadership of the Russian security service's modestly
compensated civil servants.
Boris Berezovsky reportedly had made billions of dollars during
the Yeltsin years. In the immediate post-Soviet era Berezovsky was
"first among equals" in the group of oligarchs who profited from
their close political connection with Yeltsin's entourage.
The combination of wealth and political clout of these
nouveau riche was of special annoyance to old timers from
the former KGB 2nd Chief Directorate, the USSR's domestic security
service parallel to the FBI. These Russian "feds" had seen the new
democracy encourage the growth of criminal business operations
under the guise of "free enterprise." Boris Berezovsky was
considered the central figure in these non-tax paying monopolistic
businesses. His connection with Chechen leadership and commercial
interests did not help.
Like the good businessman he was, Berezovsky tried to buy his
way out of his problem. He employed various former KGB officers,
such as Alexander Litvinenko, to counter the situation. He even
supported Putin's initial presidential campaign. Unfortunately for
Berezovsky, Putin's rise to power also included a vigorous effort
to root out corruption.
Boris Berezovsky, seeing the writing on the wall, shifted most
of his wealth to Western Europe. With the security services hot on
his heels, he fled to Great Britain after a few intermediate stops.
That's when he made his biggest mistake.
Boris's inflated ego and equally-sized bank account led him to
decide that he would lead an exile movement to overthrow Vladimir
Putin and his elected Russian government. Berezovsky poured money
into covert political action and aggressively sought to recruit a
coup capability back in Russia. Barely escaping arrest himself,
Litvinenko followed him to the U.K.
In Britain Litvinenko continued the Berezovsky campaign against
Putin. He did the best he could to ingratiate himself with British
intelligence by giving them everything he knew about their Russian
counterparts. He became a British citizen, thinking that step might
protect him from Russian countermeasures.
The Putin government tried, but failed, to have both Berezovsky
and Litvinenko extradited. From Moscow's standpoint the B-group was
actively seeking to undermine and eventually overthrow Russia's
legitimate government. The old civil service KGB Chekists were
livid at this traitorous fat cat, Berezovsky.
SIS -- as MI-6 is now known -- made it clear they would not
cooperate with the Russians' desire to get their hands on the
"chickens that had fled the coop." At the same time the Brits
remained eager to participate in Russia's newly found economic
success. A bit of a sticky wicket, wot?
It appears that the Russians sent a trusted former KGB 9th
Directorate guards security officer -- now a successful
businessman, Andrei Lugovoi -- on Litvinenko's trail. For some
reason the Russian technical intel boffins decided to use the
sophisticated radiation poison, polonium-210 to kill Berezovsky's
"boy" as a lesson to Mr. B. and the rest of his crowd. The
operation succeeds, Litvinenko dies and the Brits go ballistic.
"Send back Lugovoi so we can interrogate him," demands the British
Foreign Office.
"No way," replies the Russian justice system. "Our constitution
doesn't allow such things." The British are so mad they declare
four Russian embassy intelligence officers persona non
grata. Moscow responds equally but adds the fact that they'll
no longer cooperate on counter-terrorism matters. Escalation
time!
Now here's where those intelligence guidelines come in again.
Knocking off targets in an otherwise friendly country is bad -- not
because assassination for political purpose is bad -- but it
usually leads to a situation far worse that the original reason for
the hit.
Apparently the Russians don't care. They think they taught a
lesson that will pay off in the long term. Anyhow it makes them
look tough to their public and the rest of the world. Nasty
stuff!
topics:
Business, Constitution, Russia, Oil
