UK radiation experts search deceased Russian oligarch Berezovsky’s home

PanARMENIAN.Net - Specialist police with nuclear and chemical training searched the British home of former Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky on Sunday, March 24 a day after the fervent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin died in unclear circumstances, according to Reuters.

The 67-year-old, a former powerbroker who helped Putin climb to the top of Russian politics before falling from grace, fled to Britain in 2000. His body was found at his house in Ascot, 25 miles west of London.

Police said his death was "unexplained" and sent experts in radioactive, biological and chemical threats to the house as they tried to piece together Berezovsky's final hours.

Berezovsky had survived assassination attempts and said he feared for his life after he became one of Putin's fiercest critics, repeatedly calling for him to be forced from office.

He was also a friend of Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian spy who was poisoned with radioactive material in London in 2006, a murder that strained diplomatic ties between Britain and Russia.

However, associates said the man who personified the ruthless world of post-Soviet politics may have committed suicide or had a heart attack after the stress of losing a $6 billion court case to Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich.

Police cordoned off the area around his house and closed roads. Berezovsky's body remained at the scene on Sunday morning, police said.