‘Putin? The West helped give rise to this monster’
The widow of Alexander Litvinenko accuses the West of ignoring his warnings over the Kremlin’s appetite for war and encouraging Vladimir Putin to pursue his brutal ambition in Ukraine.
Marina Litvinenko said her husband, who she called Sasha, had, just days before he was fatally poisoned, called for Putin to be stopped, having exposed Moscow corruption.
“I don’t blame anyone for not listening to Sasha at the time, because it was a different situation, but for me it makes me even more proud of him,” she said.
“He was trying to save not only his country, Russia, not only his family, us, but the world.
“In an article he wrote in 2006, just a few days before he was fatally poisoned, Sasha wrote: ‘If you don’t stop this monster, he will start a war and millions of people will die.’ Now, finally, it is happening.”
Litvinenko, who continues to fight for justice for her husband, told Metro: “What makes me sad is that Putin’s regime has been allowed to grow stronger over the last 22 years.
“He has been allowed to build up this image of being the strongest, most ruthless person in the world
and the West helped to give rise to this monster. There were all these discussions about comforting him and negotiating with him.
“The attitude was, ‘it was very bad this killing by polonium’ in London, but the West needed Russia as a big business partner’. It needs to be stopped.”
Litvinenko was pleased to see her husband’s story being adapted for a new
ITV drama, starring David Tennant, saying she was grateful his voice was still being heard to this day. She is played in the forthcoming series by Margarita Levieva. The drama shows how her husband helped police with their investigation from his bedside.
“Sasha’s name is still in the memory, it is shown in the dramatisation and in articles,” said Litvinenko. “Even with what has happened in Ukraine, people have remembered what Sasha tried to say about Putin and his politics.
“While Sasha is not physically alive his voice is still alive. Sasha asked me not to be silent.”
Russia has always denied any involvement in the death of Litvinenko.