Mark Galeotti: The Litvinenko affair: An Anglo-Russian exercise in futility
Marina Litvinenko, widow of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, holds up the report into the death of her husband at a press conference in London on Jan. 21.
A British inquest on the murder of Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko has concluded that it was "probably" sanctioned by President Vladimir Putin. While the Kremlin's defenders have fastened on the minimal degree of uncertainty contained in that "probably," this is actually the strongest term the British judge presiding over the inquiry could have used. He could hardly have been more definite without a signed confession from the Kremlin.
