Same Story, Different Day: Germany to Investigate New Potential KGB Poisoning

On Monday, German prosecutors stated that a preliminary investigation had been opened concerning whether a former KGB colonel who had moved with his wife to Germany three months ago had been poisoned. The inquiry comes after a weekly magazine, Focus, wrote that doctors treating the couple found lethal amounts of mercury in their blood after arriving in Germany. The two had been going to the doctor because they were suffering serious health problems. The wife, Marina Kalashnikov, had lost most of her hair and the former colonel, Victor Kalashnikov, had lost a severe amount of weight.

A spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office confirmed that an investigation was ongoing and was being conducted by the department dealing with politically motivated crimes. Mr. Kalashnikov himself is convinced that his and his wife’s problems are thanks to the Kremlin. He told Focus that “Moscow poisoned us.” Motivation for such an act lies in the fact that the couple have worked as freelance journalists for almost twenty years. Much of what they published upset the Kremlin.