The Litvinenko Inquiry

Part 5 | Chapters 1 to 8 | Alexander Litvinenko’s final months
of the police and how deeply [this] contrasted with the regime under which he grew
up and the system in which he served.” 76
5.83 By coincidence, the British citizenship ceremony that the Litvinenko family attended
at Haringey Civic Centre took place on the same day as the memorial meeting for
Anna Politkovskaya at Westminster. Marina Litvinenko told me that she had gone
home after the citizenship ceremony, but Mr Litvinenko had gone to the memorial at
Westminster, taking Anatoly with him. She explained that Mr Litvinenko had felt it to
be very important that he should go and pay tribute to Ms Politkovskaya. 77
5.84 Mr Bukovsky and Mr Felshtinsky were also at Westminster for the memorial that
afternoon. The evidence that they gave me about what Mr Litvinenko said to them
there illuminates at least one of the reasons why he was so pleased with his British
citizenship: it made him feel safer.
5.85 Mr Felshtinsky recalled that Mr Litvinenko said to him, “I just received my citizenship,
now they will not be able to touch me.” 78
5.86 Mr Bukovsky’s memory of that day was that Mr Litvinenko was, “very pleased with
getting British citizenship”. He also remembered that Mr Litvinenko had asked him,
“it makes me more secure, doesn’t it, it protects me?” Mr Bukovsky told me, “I had to
smile and say: well, not much, not really.” 79
76
Anatoly Litvinenko 4/134
77
Marina Litvinenko 4/34
78
Felshtinsky 23/169
79
Bukovsky 26/99
107