Russia: between the poison and the vaccine

Russia’s ignoble policy of intolerance and elimination by any means possible of all forms of opposition has been manifested once again with the recent poisoning of Alexei Navalny, leader of the opposition and well-known critic of President Putin. Navalny, 44, fell suddenly ill on a flight to Moscow from Tomsk, a city in Siberia. He had black tea at an airport cafeteria before boarding the plane that morning and is believed to have been poisoned. Later, his plane made an emergency landing in Omsk and he was treated at the Omsk Emergency Hospital. And then he was flown to Berlin and German experts and authorities have since confirmed, after a detox test, that he was poisoned with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group, a military-grade neurotoxin, the same biological weapon that is used in the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in the UK about two and a half years ago. This is not the first time that Navalny would be poisoned. The German government and world leaders have since condemned the attack. German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded an explanation from the Russian government about the incident and also threatened to stop the two countries’ gas pipeline project. The very expensive and ambitious, but controversial project is currently in the final stage. European Union officials are also said to be weighing how to respond and the appropriate measures to be taken against Russia.
Unfortunately, as we mentioned earlier, this is not the first time that Russia has been accused of using nerve agents, poison against the opposition in recent times. In 2018, this same poison was used against a former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, UK. Mr Skripal, a double agent, incurred the ire of the Kremlin when he began spying for Britain and also passed the identities of dozens of spies from his country to UK MI6. Then-British Prime Minister Theresa May was reported to have said Russia was most likely behind the poisoning. And an intelligence analyst, Glenmore Trenear-Harvey, who previously worked for MI6, also said he believed the case bears the hallmarks of Putin’s involvement. Listen to him: “For this to be in a mall, for this to be in public, and for the guy himself to be a former intelligence officer, you immediately look at the would-be attackers, ultimately that would be as a result of the president Putin”. authorizing it”, in fact, the surveillance footage of the movement of Russian intelligence agents who flew to the UK in that period also pointed to the same conclusion. The whole world saw it. And I hope you still remember the slow but painful death of the former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned with radioactive polonium in 2006 also in London.Litvinenko, 43, was also an outspoken critic of Putin, who fled Russia to Britain six years before being poisoned.He died after drinking green tea mixed with the rare and highly potent radioactive isotope at London’s Millennium Hotel.In a report published in 2016, a British judge ruled that Litvinenko died in a murder carried out by Russia’s security services, with the likely approval of President Vladimir Putin As usual, Russia denied any responsibility for Litvinenko’s death. The other one was black tea and for Litvinenko it is green tea. Russian tea!… All of these were investigated and reported to have Russian fingerprints. We don’t want to talk about others like the assassination of another opposition politician Boris Nemtsov in Moscow, etc. Yes, today it is Russian citizens, but tomorrow it may be other citizens, these weapons could also be used in external conflicts or even transferred to rogue nations and terrorist groups.
Unfortunately, Russia’s aggression does not stop with the elimination of internal dissenting voices. Look at the annexation of Crimea, the invasion of Ukraine, the reclaiming of the Arctic and natural resources, their constant provocative intrusion into the air and sea space of other countries. The US Air Force is always fighting with fighter jets to intercept and drive away Russian surveillance planes from the Alaskan coast. As I write, the dust has not yet settled on the recent confrontation between US and Russian military convoys in Syria. Or should we talk about Russia’s vexatious meddling in the 2016 US presidential election? The problem has simply refused to go away in the United States. And unfortunately, again, this same Russia, with Iran and China are being accused of launching yet another cyberattack on the US 2020 presidential campaign just two months before the election. Today, in violation of the UN embargo, there are around 5,000 Russian mercenaries in Libya and he is also being accused of supplying weapons to one of the warring factions. The Russians are known for violating treaties, resolutions and agreements. The international community, especially the West, is always suspicious of Russia. There is that mutual distrust, perpetual struggle and competition, constant espionage and permanent sabotage of interests between them.

Now, there are fears that Russia will soon (if not already) start exporting these and similar lethal substances to others, as it is seen as desperate and ready to do anything, anything to make money and stay relevant. Will the United Nations, the European Union, NATO and the world continue to watch this happen? Everyone has a role to play in stopping this threat. Or will they back down again as soon as the Russians flaunt their nuclear might? Remember that Putin did that when the EU was talking about sanctions during the Litvinenko incident. He told them to remember that Russia was a nuclear state and they all ran home immediately. What happened to all the treaties against the development of such biological, chemical and nuclear weapons? are they inapplicable? Unfortunately there is already proliferation of chemical and nuclear weapons. We saw chemical weapons used by the Syrian government against its people. And I was surprised to hear recently that it was also used in the first Gulf War. A soldier friend of mine and a victim who is still struggling with the effects to this day let me know. She said that today she is the only surviving victim of her unit. Currently, Russian mercenaries in Libya are also accused of using chemical weapons, a nerve agent against GNA forces in the Salah Al-Din area in southern Tripoli. These weapons are everywhere.
We believe that Russia’s internal and external aggressive actions come from a people trying to survive, compete and regain lost glory. But they are doing it the wrong way. I think what they basically need now to take their rightful place is urgent economic and political reform. They need to get these two right if they really want to stage a comeback. Currently it seems that he is in turmoil on all fronts and this is affecting his behavior and relationship with others. You must look inward to solve your problems and also learn how to move forward with the rest of the world in a positive competitive way. It must first free up political space. Russians must be allowed to express themselves politically. You cannot claim to be a democracy when you muzzle and eliminate all forms of opposition. Democracy thrives on freedom and the rule of law. There must be freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom of movement, and when you feel that someone has done something wrong, take them to court to be judged. Do not suspect, torture and eliminate the current situation as it is. No. Second, the country must decisively confront corruption. Russia’s problem is corruption. Corruption has become a way of life for government officials and the corrupt political class in Russia. Bribery, organized crime, mafiya and oligarchy influence must be checked immediately. For now, it seems that corruption is legal and that there is an alliance between the government and criminals. And more frightening is that the Mafiyas are moving, spreading their activities to other countries. And I am afraid that with their powerful influence and access they can easily steal and transfer or sell these nuclear and biological weapons.
This is a country well endowed with natural and human resources, but it has been overtaken by corruption and mismanagement. Aging of infrastructures: from energy to transport, from industry to the army. There is ruin, mismanagement and decay everywhere. It has some of the largest oil and gas reserves in the world. But over-reliance on this has also become a problem with the constant fluctuations in the energy market. We advise that you should also use some of these resources that you are currently investing in the arms race to build businesses that will create jobs for citizens. The unemployment rate in the country is terribly high. And it has left its well-educated population stranded or forced to commit crimes and other nefarious activities. This is what needs to be done urgently and not to silence and eliminate critics and opposition. The country must also avoid those actions that attract sanctions and alienate them from other countries and investors. As now, the Germans are already talking about abandoning an almost completed multi-billion dollar joint project due to the current poisoning incident. No country prospers like this. All of these are avoidable with the right behavior.
Interestingly, the Russians are currently announcing their COVID 19 vaccine: Sputnik V. Their ambassador to Nigeria, Alexey Shebarshin, recently handed over the samples to Nigerian Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire in Abuja during the former’s visit to the ministry. Other countries have also received the same. But I see more of a country that is desperate for resources and a name. Otherwise, why the rush to advertise and market such a sensitive product when it hasn’t gone through all the testing stages? The world and experts were shocked recently when President Putin hastily announced that Russia has produced the world’s first vaccine for the devastating virus without due and complete procedure to produce it. At the time of the announcement, we learned that the Russian vaccine had not gone through the last stage of the trial – the third stage. And please, what is the position now? Have you been through that? A wrong or poorly produced vaccine is sure to wreak more havoc than the virus itself. But Putin and his Russia can make the world believe and relate to them better by always following the rules. You can’t give vaccines (life) and poison (death) at the same time and expect people to trust you.
Gabriel is the author of the books/audiobooks: Never Again! Go forth, the power of midnight prayer https://www.amazon.com/Power-Midnight-Prayer-Gabriel-Agbo-ebook/dp/B07R4FGLX9/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=