Vladimir Putin probably knew about plans to murder dissident journalist Alexander Litvinenko in 2006, according to American diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks. Litvinenko, you may recall, was poisoned with Polonium-210 in 2006 in London. He accused Putin of his murder before he died.
Litvinenko’s assassin now enjoys the “personal protection of Putin,” say the cables, which also call Russia a “virtual mafia state.”
(Update: Litvinenko’s widow weighs in.)