Lugovoi Runs for Parliament and Immunity

Andrei Lugovoi is a former member of the KGB (to the extent that anyone can be a “former” member of that body), and he stands accused by British authorities of poisoning Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian spy turned dissident and exiled to London, with Polonium 210. Under the Russian constitution, he cannot be extradited but can face trial in Russia. The Kremlin is about to make sure that can’t happen either. He’s running for parliament, members of which are immune from prosecution.

Mr. Lugovoi has accepted the second place on the list of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia [LDPR], led by a rather odious and rabid nationalist, Vladimir Zhirinovsky. The LDPR is currently the fourth largest bloc in the Russian parliament, and it is a reliable ally of the ruling cabal in the President’s office.

The elections are scheduled for December 2, and it would take only 7% of the vote to get Mr. Lugovoi elected. Pravda’s English language website claims that “a poll conducted last week by the respected VTsIOM polling organization showed the party would get about 6 percent of the vote.” The news organization didn’t provide the margin of error in the poll, so one is safe to think Mr. Lugovoi has a shot at winning a seat.

Pravda added, “The nomination of Lugovoi ‘is our response to the impudent proposition’ that Russia change its constitution to allow the extradition, party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky said, according to the Interfax news agency. ‘We do not interfere in the internal affairs of other states, and we will never allow anyone to interfere in the internal affairs of Russia’.”

There is no reason to believe that Mr. Lugovoi was ever going to be forced back to Britain, and now, it seems there is a move afoot to ensure that he doesn’t get prosecuted in Russia either. The case is a prime example of how the secret police operate in the new Russia – much as they did in the Old Soviet Union. The difference is they have better tailors now.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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