Understanding that his time was short, the British-naturalized Russian defector called the U.K.’s Metropolitan Police in London to tell them his story so that they could investigate his death once it occurred. The investigation revealed he had been poisoned with the radioactive substance polonium-210.
It was a case that sent shockwaves around the globe, and Litvinenko’s wife, Marina, ensured that it remained in the public eye long after his passing as she continued to demand justice for his murder.
Their story is depicted in the AMC+ and Sundance Now drama Litvinenko, which stars David Tennant as the former Russian Federal Security Services (FSB) and KGB officer and Margarita Levieva as Marina.
What Happened to Marina Litvinenko and the Public Inquiry into Her Husband’s Death?
Litvinenko had fled Russia with his family in 2000, and he was an open critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin prior to his death.
Since her husband’s death, Marina Litvinenko has been a staunch advocate for justice and has regularly called for his murder to be investigated, and she established the Litvinenko Justice Foundation in 2007 to do so.
In October 2011, she was granted the right to an inquest, the report for which was published in January 2016.
The U.K. public inquiry found that the assassination was carried out by Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun under the direction of the FSB, and that Putin had “a level of approval for the killing of Mr. Litvinenko.”
Russia has denied any involvement in Litvinenko’s murder, with Lugovoi and Kovtun also proclaiming their innocence.
Litvinenko’s widow went on to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), and in September 2021 the ECHR ruled that Russia was responsible for Litvinenko’s death, the BBC reported at the time.
The court found that there was “a strong prima facie case that, in killing Mr Litvinenko, Mr Lugovoy and Mr Kovtun were acting under the direction or control of the Russian authorities.”
It was also found “beyond reasonable doubt” that Litvinenko had been poisoned while “drinking tea with Mr Lugovoy and Mr Kovtun” on November 1, 2006. The ECHR concluded that Russia had to pay €122,500 ($143,400) in costs and other damages to Marina, though they have not yet done so.
Where is Marina Litvinenko Now?
Since then, Marina has continued to keep her husband’s case in the public eye, and she was closely involved in the making of Litvinenko.
She spoke about the drama at a press conference in London, which Newsweek attended, and she told of why she felt it was important for the show to be made.
Richard Kerbaj, who made a documentary about Litvinenko, was an executive producer on the drama, and it was because of Marina’s experience with him that she felt the story would be told with authenticity.
“He did [the] documentary about what happened to us and this was a very good experience, and I knew what he is going to do,” Marina said at the event.
“He was exactly the person who keeps his promises, and when he said, ‘Marina, do [the] documentary,’ [the] first time, I wasn’t sure if it would happen but it happened [and] then he said he’s going to do a drama and I said ‘OK.’
“It’s always been my way. I’ve met people who I can trust and [it means] I can do something more, and I accept it […] I just knew it’s a really important story to keep alive, for what Sasha tried to do, and he was not able to bring to the end because he died.
“I realize[d] it’s so important to keep his voice alive, whether this is a documentary or drama, but he would be alive with us and his message, finally, would be listen[ed to] and hear[d] and anything I could do, I tried to do.”
Litvinenko’s widow said that she found the show’s first episode, which focuses on her late husband’s poisoning and death, difficult to watch, but although it “wasn’t easy,” she knew it would help bring the story to a wider audience.
“I realize with this drama there will be more understanding for what happened 16 years [ago],” Marina Litvinenko said. “Then it was a few people. It was the police who investigated this case, it was a friend. It was difficult, not to prove, but even to bring for justice here in U.K. It took another 10 years just to [get] some kind of justice.
“[There are] still some questions, ‘Are you sure it’s happened like this? Are you sure he was poisoned by radioactivity?’ Even if it was all proved. And, now, when you watch this episode, I think more and more people will realize what happened then, 16 years ago.”
All four episodes of Litvinenko will premiere on Friday, December 16 on AMC+ and Sundance Now.
