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Of course, the Russians (or anyone else) shouldn't be tearing round other countries murdering old friends-turned-enemies. But...
...I don't for one minute buy the idea that this case is as simple as 'good Russian vs bad Russian'. One thing I find fascinating is the fact that Mr Litvinenko has been portrayed at every stage as an entirely innocent, lovable victim of the evil world of Russian security - a world that for many years he was an active and willing participant in.
I'm sure Mr Litvinenko had become a very nice chap since his defection, a fully reformed character, but he had in recent years been a lieutenant-colonel in the Russian secret police, a position difficult to obtain merely by being nice (although it's interesting that his own accounts of his time in the KGB make him the entirely innocent, corruption-busting good guy surrounded by the forces of evil). He's been doing OK since he arrived in the UK, living a round of dinners and conferences largely supported by a man with a vested interest, ie fellow (billionaire) dissident and Putin-hater Boris Berezovsky*. He has also, on numerous occaisions, loudly claimed to "know some of the darkest secrets of his country's recent past"; notably he had claimed that a series of bombs previously blamed on Chechens and used to galvanise support against them were in fact carried out by Russians with the full backing of President Putin.
pantophobia is correct; the Russians may like to think twice in future before allowing ex-KGB people to run the country. The English may want to think twice before allowing ex-KGB people to become automatic symbols of unquestioning public sympathy. The media have in large been so unbalanced as to be almost asinine.
* In the past, Boris Berezovsky was frequently described as Russia's ' most notorious oligarch' , a man who became a billionaire by happily (and skilfully) playing the wheeler-dealing post-Glasnost game, taking full advantage of the, erm, 'unique business environment'. But he fell out with the Russian government and came to the UK where he has held the role of self-proclaimed anti-Putin crusader. After clawing his way up Russia's economy ("most notorious of Russian oligarchs" is quite a title) he came to the UK because he considered it best not to face charges that he had defrauded a regional government of US$13m. You'll be glad to know that this man was made very welcome by our home office.
The upshot of the whole affair? A man is unfortunately dead, anti-Russian xenophobia increases, diplomatic relations become strained, and Boris Berezovsky's personal agenda becomes adopted yet more by our media.
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