[News in War History] Will Prigozhin Also Receive 'Putin's Black Tea'... Poison That Has Accompanied Human History

Possibility Raised That Prigozhin Was Poisoned
'Sayak' Had Slower Effect Unlike Historical Dramas
More Poisoning Cases Expected in Russian Politics

As foreign media report that Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued an assassination order against Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group, rumors are spreading inside and outside Russia that Prigozhin is highly likely to be poisoned. This is because many of President Putin's political opponents have been poisoned in the past.

Among those who were poisoned in the past, there was even a person who died two weeks after drinking tea sent by President Putin. As a result, the term "Putin's tea" has become firmly established as a euphemism for poison both inside and outside Russia. Russia is known to have been quite advanced in the production of poisons, having developed various biochemical weapons since the Soviet era, and many poisons have actually been used in assassination operations.

However, these poisons do not cause immediate death upon ingestion as depicted in movies or dramas. In fact, poisons before the modern era often had low efficacy, and assassination attempts frequently failed. In this article, we will explore various episodes related to poisons and biochemical weapons used for assassination.

◆News: "Putin Orders Assassination of Prigozhin"…Poisoning Possibility Raised

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Let's first look at the news. On the 2nd (local time), according to CNN, Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Agency, said in an interview with the American online media The War Zone, "Putin has ordered the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to assassinate Prigozhin," adding, "It will take time for the FSB to plan and execute the assassination, and whether the mission succeeds will become clear over time."

After the failed military rebellion last month, Prigozhin's whereabouts became unclear. He has not appeared in public and has only released voice messages on social media platforms like Telegram, fueling speculation that he may have already been assassinated. Some reports claim that Prigozhin returned from Belarus to Saint Petersburg, Russia, and personally collected confiscated funds, keeping controversy about his whereabouts ongoing.

Within Russia, there is also analysis that even if President Putin does not immediately eliminate him, he will eventually be poisoned. The Moscow Times, citing a senior Russian source, reported that "Prigozhin will ultimately be poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok," suggesting that Russian authorities are planning his poisoning.

The reason this poisoning theory is circulating is that many of Putin's political opponents have been poisoned. In 2020, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny suddenly collapsed at an airport in Siberia and was transferred to Germany, where the poison Novichok was detected in his body, becoming an international issue.

Earlier, in 2006, Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB colleague and political rival of President Putin, was also poisoned. Litvinenko died after drinking tea sent by Putin, and radioactive polonium was detected in his body post-mortem. Since then, "Putin's tea" has become a term in Russia referring to poison.

◆History 1: Ancient Poisons That Did Not Cause Immediate Death…People Who Drank 16 Bowls of Royal Poison

The appearance of an official receiving poison in the late Joseon Dynasty painter Kim Yunbo's 'Hyeongjeongdo Album (刑政圖帖)'. [Image source=Encyclopedia of Korean National Culture]

The history of such poisons is quite long. They were often used on battlefields to assassinate high-ranking commanders or kings to turn the tide of war. However, until the early Middle Ages when arsenic, which became synonymous with poison after the 17th century, was difficult to produce, poisons were weak and assassination success rates were very low.

The English word "poison," which broadly means poison, is derived from the ancient Roman Latin word "posio," which originally meant "to drink a sip." Since poisons were often mixed into wine at the time, this word came to mean poison itself. Just as the Korean royal court had a "Gimisanggung" (a court lady who tasted food first), Roman nobles had slaves who tasted wine first.

Some royalty deliberately built up immunity by ingesting small amounts of poison. Around the 1st century BC, Mithridates VI of Pontus, a Greek kingdom in what is now Turkey, is recorded to have consumed small amounts of various poisons from childhood. This was possible because poisons that caused fatal injuries in small doses were very rare in ancient times.

In Korea, the royal poison known as "sayak" (royal poison) did not cause dramatic deaths as depicted in movies or dramas. Some who drank sayak did not die no matter how much they drank and were eventually executed by hanging. According to the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, in 1547 during King Myeongjong's reign, a civil official named Im Hyeong-su drank 16 bowls of sayak and two cups of strong liquor afterward but did not die, so he was ultimately hanged. This shows that some people’s constitutions were completely resistant to the poison's effects.

From ancient to medieval times, most poisons were derived from plants or animals rather than chemical substances. For example, the "poison dart frog" native to Central and South America was named because indigenous Latin American peoples extracted poison from it to make poison darts. Chemical poisons began to develop significantly in the late 13th century with the advent of alchemy and the first production of arsenic.

◆History 2: Development of 'Novichok' in the 1970s Soviet Union…Evolution into Biochemical Weapons

British soldiers wearing gas masks to protect against enemy gas attacks during World War I in 1916. [Image source=Getty Images]

Arsenic, which is colorless and odorless, was widely used as a poison because it could be added to food without detection. Numerous royal and noble families experienced arsenic poisonings during inheritance disputes, earning arsenic the nickname "Powder of Succession."

Originally, arsenic in the atmosphere was mostly found as arsenic oxide combined with oxygen or bound to minerals such as copper, nickel, and cobalt. In the past, many workers in copper mines and bronze smithies were poisoned. There is even a theory that the Greek god Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths, was depicted with disabilities because ancient blacksmiths were prone to arsenic poisoning and suffered its aftereffects.

Poison manufacturing technology rapidly advanced during World War I with the introduction of chemical weapons such as chlorine gas and mustard gas. The combination of airplanes and chemical weapons led to widespread use of biochemical weapons over large areas, causing mass casualties. It is estimated that over 90,000 people died from poison gas weapons during World War I alone.

Due to the horrific memories of World War I, the use of biochemical weapons was strictly limited by many countries during World War II. This was because the damage affected not only enemy forces but also friendly forces and animals such as horses that were responsible for logistics on the front lines.

The large-scale use of biochemical weapons after World War II occurred during the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988. Saddam Hussein's regime indiscriminately deployed sarin gas, a highly toxic agent, not only against Iran but also against Kurdish rebels within Iraq, resulting in thousands of civilian casualties and international condemnation.

Novichok, famous as an assassination poison in Russia, was developed in the 1970s Soviet Union as a biochemical weapon. It is known to be more than five times stronger than VX, the poison used in the 2017 assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

◆Implication: Increasing 'Putin's Tea' Amid Prolonged War

As the war in Ukraine drags on and the stability of the Putin regime continues to waver, concerns are rising that assassination attempts using poison will increase. Following Prigozhin's rebellion, a purge of individuals linked to him within the Russian military and political circles is underway, which is expected to increase the number of people threatened by poisoning.

However, there is also an argument that indiscriminate poisoning could fuel resentment among Russia's elite and further threaten the regime. According to the British Daily Express in March, Ukrainian intelligence revealed that elite groups within Russia had plotted to poison President Putin, but the plan was exposed, leading to a large-scale purge.

No matter how absolute the power, a reign of terror based on assassination and purges always faces limits. It is hoped that "Putin's tea" will not increase further in Russia.