Viktor Kalashnikov (russian: Виктор Калашников) is a Russian freelance journalist and a former

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

colonel. In the autumn of 2010, he and his wife

Marina Kalashnikova Marina Kalashnikova (died 3 August 2013) was a Russian historian and freelance journalist. In 2010 she and her ex-KGB agent husband Viktor Kalashnikov were treated in hospital in Germany for mercury poisoning in what they have said was an attempt o ...

were treated in hospital in Germany for

mercury poisoning Mercury poisoning is a type of metal poisoning due to exposure to mercury. Symptoms depend upon the type, dose, method, and duration of exposure. They may include muscle weakness, poor coordination, numbness in the hands and feet, skin rashe ...

in what they said had been an attempt on their lives by Russia's FSB, the successor to the KGB. He is a distant relative of

Mikhail Kalashnikov Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov ( rus, Михаи́л Тимофе́евич Кала́шников, p=kɐˈlaʂnʲɪkəf; 10 November 1919 – 23 December 2013) was a Soviet and Russian lieutenant general, inventor, military engineer, writer, a ...

, the inventor of the AK-47.

Personal life

He was married to

, a former historian and journalist.

Activities

Kalashnikov and his wife have been publishing articles critical of the

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...

since the 1990s. They left Russia and have lived in various countries, such as Ukraine, Poland, Estonia and now Germany. They claim to have been warned to cease their activities at various points in the 1990s and 2000s by KGB agents.

Poisoning and investigation

In November 2010, it was reportedЗападные СМИ: мстительные российские спецслужбы травят ртутью полковника КГБ за критику властей
NEWSru, 22 November 2010. that the doctors at Berlin's

Charité The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine) is one of Europe's largest university hospitals, affiliated with Humboldt University and Free University Berlin. With numerous Collaborative Research Cen ...

hospital had discovered that Kalashnikov who had been losing weight significantly, had 53.7 microgrammes of

mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

per litre of blood, while his wife had even more - 56 microgrammes (the safe level is between one and three microgrammes). Kalashnikov told the press that "Moscow poisoned us". The case was compared with that of another former Russian security officer,

Alexander Litvinenko Alexander Valterovich "Sasha" Litvinenko (30 August 1962 ( at WebCite) or 4 December 1962 – 23 November 2006) was a British-naturalised Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who specialised i ...

, who was murdered in London in 2006; he is believed to have been administered a radioactive polonium isotope. The Kalashnikovs claimed that they were poisoned in hotels and private residences in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. On December 28, 2010, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' reportedAllan Hall. ''Criminal inquiry on "poisoning agents"''. ''

'', 28 Dec 2010, p. 33. that its journalistic investigation had led to a preliminary criminal inquiry being opened in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, which was announced on December 27, 2010. Later, German prosecutors have dropped an investigation. Spokesman for the state prosecutor's office in Berlin told the AFP news agency: "There is no evidence that they were poisoned, at least in Germany."Germany drops probe into 'poisoning' of Russian couple
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalashnikov, Viktor Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Russian journalists KGB officers

Personal life

Activities

Poisoning and investigation

See also

References