'Putin's Hongcha' Meaning Death in Russia [International Issue+]

'Black Tea' Accompanied by the Suspicious Death of Putin's Rival
'Polonium' Detected in the Body of Rival Who Died in 2006
Radioactive Substance Destroys Human Body... Death After 3 Weeks of Agony

President Vladimir Putin drinking black tea
[Image source=Official website of the Kremlin, Russia/http://kremlin.ru/]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Alexei Navalny, an opposition activist known as one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's political rivals, reportedly fell into a critical condition suddenly after drinking black tea at the airport, drawing attention to the so-called 'Putin's black tea.' This is because it is known that black tea was also the cause when another of Putin's opponents suddenly fell critically ill and died. If the Russian government is revealed to be behind this incident as well, it raises concerns about worsening relations with the European Union (EU) and additional economic sanctions. Recently, as President Putin's approval ratings continue to decline, there are speculations that extreme measures might have been used.

According to foreign media such as CNN, on the 21st (local time), Navalny lost consciousness and collapsed on a flight from Tomsk, Siberia, to Moscow. The plane made an emergency landing in Omsk, located in south-central Siberia, and Navalny was transported to an emergency hospital. It is presumed that the black tea Navalny drank at the airport caf? before the flight's takeoff was laced with poison.

As a result, rumors have spread worldwide that Putin's black tea has once again been used to kill a political opponent. In Russia, it is said that simply being offered black tea by Putin has come to symbolize death or elimination. Since the death of Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB officer who died in 2006 after drinking black tea in the UK, 'Putin's black tea' has been known as a method of poisoning used to eliminate political adversaries.

According to the BBC, the UK government has been investigating Litvinenko's death since 2014 and announced the results in 2016. They reported that the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) carried out the poisoning operation with President Putin's approval. Litvinenko, originally a colleague who worked with Putin in the KGB, had opposed Putin's dictatorship after he came to power and engaged in anti-government activism, reportedly facing multiple assassination threats. He was in exile in the UK shortly before his death.

The image of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

In 2006, Litvinenko suddenly fell critically ill and died three weeks after drinking black tea with Russian intelligence agents. An autopsy conducted by the UK government revealed a large amount of polonium in his body. Polonium is a radioactive element discovered in 1898 by the famous radiologist Marie Curie and is one of the radioactive elements produced during uranium extraction. Due to its extremely limited production, polonium is not only expensive but can only be produced by countries possessing large quantities of nuclear weapons, which led to the Russian government being immediately suspected once polonium was detected.

Unlike other radioactive substances, polonium cannot penetrate the skin to enter the body directly, but if ingested, it emits massive alpha radiation that completely destroys organs, cells, and even DNA. Once inside the body, there is no treatment, and the body deteriorates over 2 to 3 weeks, leading to death. Its toxicity is known to be over two million times that of cyanide. As this incident became known worldwide, 'Putin's black tea' came to symbolize radioactive black tea or death itself.

Currently, Navalny is expected to be transferred to Germany, and if he dies there, it is feared that relations between Russia and Western countries will deteriorate further, similar to Litvinenko's death. However, amid prolonged EU sanctions and economic difficulties caused by reduced oil demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and with President Putin's approval ratings continuing to fall, it is presumed that the Russian government took this extreme step despite the risk of diplomatic friction.