In addition to the Litvinenko case, another apparent poisoning is also in the headlines. On November 30, various press outlets reported that former Russian prime minister Yegor Gaidar, had been hospitalized in Ireland after becoming violently ill. His spokesman immediately claimed that doctors suspected “poisoning, and it was not natural poisoning.” Gaidar returned to Russia after his trip to Ireland, but was hospitalized on his return.

Over the past 18 months, political murders in Russia have become more frequent, and now the country’s climate resembles the post-Soviet period of the 1990s, when newspapers brimmed with headlines about assassinations of politicians, businessmen, and journalists. As in those days, it remains impossible to identify exactly who is behind the assassinations. A journalist’s job is as risky as a soldier’s at war. And the common thread among the murders: Vlad Listiev, Dmitry Kholodov, Paul Khlebnikov, Anna Politkovskaya, and others were all ardent critics of the government.

In 1998, Litvinenko, a member of the FSB branch that deals with terrorism and organized crime, disclosed that the Russian government was planning to kill Boris Berezovsky, a Russian oligarch who now lives in London. Litvinenko also wrote a book about how the FSB coordinates terrorism within Russia. The book alleges that FSB agents coordinated the 1999 apartment-block bombings in Russia that killed more than 300 people. Before his poisoning, Litvinenko, 43, was involved in an independent investigation of the assassination of Russia’s most famous journalist, Anna Politkovskaya, who wrote for Novaya Gazeta.

On November 1, Litvinenko reportedly met at a London restaurant to get various documents related to political murders. The theory is that during the meal, something was added to his drink. That substance turned out to be the deadly radioactive material, Polonium 210.

Few doubt that Litvinenko was murdered by elements of the Russian government. But the state-controlled Russian press has been pointing the finger elsewhere. The AiF (Arguments and Facts) weekly, citing a retired FSB general, states that the FSB would not be so obvious, but rather, use a subtler method of elimination. Other Russian newspapers direct attention to Boris Berezovsky or Akhmed Zakaev (the former Chechen separatist leader) as the likeliest suspects to sacrifice Politkovskaya and Litvinenko to discredit Putin. RBC Daily, citing a retired expert in nuclear weapons, suggests the dissident may be responsible for his own death, as he might have been involved in creating a “dirty bomb,” and like an unlucky terrorist, got himself killed through negligence. Independent newspapers such as Vedomosti only list facts and underline the story’s main version, avoiding speculation on unreasonable conclusions.

Judging by the overall Russian press coverage of this murder and the choice of experts cited and their comments, it appears that the Kremlin wants to obscure the obvious. But they cannot hide it. Whether the graves contain journalists like Politkovskaya or Khlebnikov, or former FSB players like Litvinenko, the message is the same: criticizing Putin can be hazardous to your health.