Alexander Litvinenko: The label of a traitor does not please

Olga Dmitrieva, LONDON

I met Alexander Litvinenko in the busiest place in London — at Piccadilly Circus. I held a copy of "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" in my hand, and he held a bouquet of white roses. On the eve of our meeting, the former FSB lieutenant colonel asked if I would come alone or with some kind of accompaniment?

In recent days, fast-talking guests have started knocking on his London home, either trying to hand him some kind of package or a summons. But the lieutenant colonel now lives according to the laws of civilized England, where my home is my castle and where it is not customary to ring the doorbell without a prior arrangement or a court warrant. Therefore, the local police have been notified accordingly about the visit of uninvited guests just in case.

• — Probably, they were trying to inform you about a summons to the Main Military Prosecutor's Office?
• — Probably. But what's the point of summoning me if they know that I won't go there anyway until there's a trial. When there is one, then please.
• — You are considered a traitor who fled to London, and the facts you presented, in particular, in the film, did not arouse much interest among the Russian audience, judging by the reviews.
• — The label of a traitor cannot please anyone. But it was stuck on me — and for the time being, I can't do anything about it. I didn't betray anyone and I said: "How can you not be ashamed! You are in a free democratic country!"
• — That is, you didn't promise any services to the country that sheltered you?
• — I stated that I am ready to provide information regarding criminal offenses, corruption, terrorist acts and talk about it with law enforcement agencies of any country, as this information does not belong to the category of state secrets. Until the very last moment, I nevertheless avoided any kind of appearances in the press: I believed that first the British authorities should decide whether they would grant me political asylum or not, and not correct this decision with my public statements. "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" is the first one I'm giving an interview to, not counting my recent appearance on the NTV channel.
• — So, the local special services didn't bother you?
• — Not once, and I don't really need them. I didn't work in intelligence like Gordievsky. My profile is terrorism and organized crime.
• — Why did you choose England? Was it planned? Did you have any preliminary agreements with anyone?
• — There were absolutely no plans for England. I was sitting in that memorable and probably the blackest day for me in a Turkish hotel without any plans and, to be honest, in complete confusion, not knowing what to do and where to go. I didn't have a visa for any country. And then on the Internet I suddenly discovered Odinokov, whom I allegedly took in my trunk for interrogation and beat there. In the video recording demonstrating this beating, which is being played on television in Russia, it's not me. I've never seen any citizen Odinokov. And it's funny: I "kidnapped and beat" him in 1997, and he remembered it and reported it where necessary as late as 2000, when I was already in England.

As for my further actions, I am now appealing in Russia against the illegal criminal prosecution that took place twice, as well as detention for 9 months, and I demand compensation for the moral and material damage caused to me. But since they refuse to accept the lawsuit from my lawyers in Russia, I am preparing materials for Strasbourg, for the Court of Human Rights, and I will ask Strasbourg to demand that the Russian authorities stop my persecution and reinstate me in the FSB bodies, from where I was illegally dismissed. I have committed nothing criminal or illegal. I just refused to kill a person.

• — Are you talking about Boris Berezovsky?
• — Yes.
• — Why did this assignment fall on you?

• — I conducted an operational investigation into the assassination attempt on Berezovsky, committed in 1994. Since then, our acquaintance with him began. In '96, I realized that there was a contract out on Berezovsky and that they had started working on him: he was interfering with the FSB leadership and they decided to deal with him. The order came to me on December 27, 1997. At the meeting, I was offered to organize an attack and commit the murder of the head of the investigative department of the tax police of the Moscow region, Mikhail Trepashkin, against whom a criminal case is also being fabricated now. Regarding all these criminal orders, I wrote a statement to the Main Military Prosecutor's Office. Our department was disbanded. A criminal case was opened against the management of the department, but then it was closed. Meanwhile, they started bargaining with me: the FSB leadership offered me a higher position in exchange for me not sticking my neck out anymore. My comrades who supported me and I turned to the parliament, to the President, to the newly appointed director of the FSB. In '98, we held that very memorable press conference, after which my criminal prosecution by the FSB and the Military Prosecutor's Office began, which has not stopped to this day.

• — Of those comrades who participated with you in that press conference, did anyone back down?

• — Yes, some did... They were broken — I feel sorry for them. But I have no malice towards them. Here I am considered an enemy, a traitor, but I believe that citizens of one's own country cannot be considered enemies. You know, when General Shebarshin calls General Kalugin a "scumbag" on the TV screen, it's ugly. After all, they are officers, they should keep themselves in check.
• — You took part in the preparation of the film "Assassination of Russia", in which it is said...
• — On what funds do you exist in England?
• — I wrote the book "FSB Blows Up Russia", which was published in New York. Now I'm working on the second book — "The Pulled Pin, or I Summon Myself for Interrogation". In London, I have a lot of Russian friends, and there are quite a few of them left in Moscow, they help and support me. Of course, at 39, starting all over again is difficult. I came here in one jacket and trousers, not knowing a word of English. Now I'm actively learning the language. Maybe, over time, I'll get a job. I don't need millions — I didn't have them in Russia. We haven't even acquired a car with my wife yet, we walk around London on foot.
• — Do you feel safe in Britain?
• — Yes, I feel much safer here than in Russia. Although, of course, anything can happen. You know, I graduated from a military school of the internal troops, and half of the guys from my group are no longer alive, killed in Chechnya. And I lived to be 39, my legs and arms are intact, and my hands are not in blood. My conscience is clear — that's enough. Yesterday, via the Internet, I appealed to all FSB officers who participated in the preparation of the explosions in '99 with a request to come and confess to it.