STRIKE THE TRUTH

In the shadowy realm of Cold War geopolitics, truth often took a back seat to power plays and strategic maneuvering. One of the most audacious attempts at manipulating global perceptions was Operation INFEKTION, a disinformation campaign masterminded by the Soviet Union during the 1980s.  This campaign sought to link the United States to the origins of the HIV/AIDS virus, thereby shaking the foundation of American credibility and sowing seeds of doubt on the international stage. Delving into the depths of this disinformation web reveals a chilling tale of political manipulation, fabricated narratives, and the enduring power of misinformation. WHAT WAS OPERATION INFEKTION? At its core, Operation INFEKTION stood as a carefully coordinated disinformation effort conceived by the Soviet Union during the Cold War era. Emerging in the 1980s, amidst the distressing HIV/AIDS pandemic, the campaign exploited this global health crisis with strategic intent. By crafting a narrative that implic...

While Russian soldiers are dying on the battlefields of Ukraine in droves, the Kremlin is busy spreading their disinformation towards the West. One big target for the Russian Federation now is Finland. We have been pushed to consider NATO membership very strongly. More than half of the Finnish population now supports being part of the North Atlantic Treaty. However, this is something that puts fear in Putin's heart because it would mean that NATO is coming even closer to Russia's borders.  As a former KGB agent, Vladimir Putin knows the power of lies and manipulation quite well. This is one reason why Russia instigates a lot of disinformation campaigns as part of its propaganda warfare. By deliberately spreading false information, Russians try to cause mistrust, conflict and disorder amongst citizens. This is to make people easier to influence and to create friction and panic in the population.   President Vladimir Putin, Russian Federation  MISINFORMATION VS DISINFO...

In Part 2 of the series, we had a look at the family moving to England and finished with Sergei and Yulia lying on a park bench, foaming at the mouth and comatose. They have been exposed to the deadly nerve agent, Novichok. In this post, we will take an in-depth look at Novichok and also at the two perpetrators of this crime, and the events that transpired.  NOVICHOK AGENTS  Novichok agents are a group of deadly nerve agents that have been developed in the Soviet Union, under their poisons program. ( We covered this in THIS post.) They were developed under a programme with the codename FOLIANT.  Examples of structures of Novichok agents  The Novichok agents first came to media awareness when a Russian chemist, Dr Vil Mirzayanov reported on their existence to Russia media in the 1990s. He wrote about it in his book, State Secrets, and even published the chemical formula. He moved to the USA around the same time, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the s...

"A person gives over his whole life for his homeland and then some bastard comes along and betrays such people. How will he be able to look into the eyes of his children, the pig. Whatever they got in exchange for it, those 30 pieces of silver they were given, they will choke on them. Believe me!”  Mr. Putin, practically snarling, said when asked to comment about the swap on live television.  Mr Vladimir Putin, President of Russia  In Part 1 , we left off with Mr Sergey Skripal being taken to USA on a private plane after being exchanged in a swap, together with 3 other people. OPERATION GHOST STORIES After years of observation and gathering intelligence, the FBI (US Federal Bureau of Investigations) led a sting against 10 Russia sleeper agents on June 27, 2010. Instead of putting them in jail, the US government decided that it was worth it to swap these 10 spies back to Russia for 4 people that the US was interested in. The idea was to do this swap and then this whole epi...

When the President of Russia calls you a traitor and a scumbag, you know you are in trouble! This trouble rang true for Sergei Skripal, and his daughter in 2018 when they were poisoned with Novichok. It is a deadly nerve agent, so lethal that a miniscule amount is enough to kill a human! So what did Sergei Skripal do that was so awful that the President of Russia ordered his assassination? "He is just a scumbag. He is just a spy, a traitor to the homeland." Vladimir Putin  EARLY LIFE Sergei Victorovich Skripal was born on 23 June, 1951 in Kaliningrad Oblast. He grew up in Ozyorsk and his parents were working people. His dad was a land improvement contractor and his mother worked with the local council.  Sergei Skripal in his military uniform He worked his whole life in the military and intelligence, with his career starting in 1972 when he studied military engineering at Zhdanov school in Kaliningrad. He qualified as a sapper-paratrooper. He then moved to Moscow to study at t...

After looking at several poisonings of Russian dissidents, we now have a clear idea of what the Russian secret services are capable of. But, have you ever stopped to wonder where they get these highly toxic, illegal poisons? The notorious ''Kamera'', or ''The Cell'', was said to be the one-stop shop for Soviet Russia's poisonous needs. Where is it located? And is it actually closed down, or is it still operating in the shadows?   ''Kamera'' or LAB X?  In 1921, a secret laboratory was set up under the watchful eye of Professor Igantii Kazakov. Five years later, it was taken over by Genrikh Yagoda, who became the chief of NKVD in 1934. This was the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, tasked with overseeing the country internal public order affairs, as well as the secret police. It was also the same organisation that was responsible for the '' Great Purge '' under Stalin, in which Yagoda was one of the main pl...

What happens when a highly regarded botanist finds traces of poison in the victims s ystem, but the official toxicology reports come up with nothing? How can we know the exact cause of death of Mr Perepilichnyy when the experts themselves are fighting with the evidence? And the final question is how is it possible that there is confusion with evidence if the investigation is processed properly in the first place? Lets see how the police botched the case in this final installation in our Perepilichnyy series. POLICE INVESTIGATION  There has been a lot of controversy and confusion in this case, and how the police handled it. The insurance company, Legal & General, that was providing life insurance for Perepilichnyy launched an investigation into his case as they suspected he died of murder. They signed on a botanist called Monique Simmonds to test whether there was poison presented in his system. She worked at Kew Gardens and had a reputation for helping in these matters. Botanis...