In Memoriam Aleksander Litvinenko - VPRO documentary - 2007

It started as a possible case of food poisoning but within weeks turned into a grim spectacle of enormous political proportions: Aleksander Litvinenko, former member of the Russian secret service, died in his place of residence in London last November, after having been poisoned with a radioactive substance. The search for the possible perpetrators lead to a politically difficult situation that reminded us of the dark days of the Cold War. Aleksander Litvinenko told his life story to documentary maker Jos De Putter. It is a wild tale full of conspiracies, assassination attempts and imputations. Litvinenko talks about his time with the secret service, about his experience in Chechnya. After Litvinenko’s funeral in December 2006, Backlight spoke to Litvinenko’s widow, Litvinenko’s father Walter, with Chechen leader and Litvinenko’s closest friend Akhmed Zakayev and the prominent Russian exile Vladmir Bukovsky, also a friend of Litvinenko. The result is an impressive 55-minute portrait of a former spy whose death brought him worldwide fame. Originally broadcasted by VPRO in 2007. © VPRO Backlight January 2007 On VPRO broadcast you will find nonfiction videos with English subtitles, French subtitles and Spanish subtitles, such as documentaries, short interviews and documentary series. VPRO Documentary publishes one new subtitled documentary about current affairs, finance, sustainability, climate change or politics every week. We research subjects like politics, world economy, society and science with experts and try to grasp the essence of prominent trends and developments. Subscribe to our channel for great, subtitled, recent documentaries. Visit additional youtube channels bij VPRO broadcast: VPRO Broadcast, all international VPRO programs: VPRO DOK, German only documentaries: VPRO Metropolis, remarkable stories from all over the world: VPRO World Stories, the travel series of VPRO: VPRO Extra, additional footage and one off’s: Credits: Directors: Jos de Putter and Masja Novikova English, French and Spanish subtitles: Ericsson. French and Spanish subtitles are co-funded by European Union.