Explainer | The dark history of Novichok, deadly Soviet-designed poison
- The Novichok family of toxins was developed by the Soviet government towards the end of the Cold War
- They affect the central nervous system and can lead to breathing difficulties, paralysis and death
The Russian name, in translation, sounds innocuous, even jaunty: “newcomer”, “novice” or “new boy”. But the Soviet-developed family of advanced nerve agents collectively known as Novichok is among the deadliest substances ever created by humankind.
The German government on Wednesday announced “unequivocal” proof that hospitalised Russian anti-corruption crusader Alexei Navalny, who fell gravely ill August 20 while aboard a domestic flight, was poisoned by a military-grade agent from the banned Novichok group.
Nearly two weeks after being stricken, Navalny, 44, remains in a medically induced coma, his condition described as stable. Amid an international outcry, he was brought to Berlin two days after his hospitalisation in Siberia. Russian doctors who initially treated him denied any sign of poisoning, suggesting – ludicrously, critics said – a metabolic disorder such as low blood sugar.
Little was known of the Novichok family of toxins until 2018, when they were used in the English city of Salisbury in the attempt to kill a Russian ex-spy, an attack that Western agencies blamed on the Kremlin.
Development
This class of organophosphate nerve agents was the fruit of a Cold War-era effort by the then-Soviet Union to develop chemical weapons. Operating under the code name Foliant, the programme created a number of Novichok variants, continuing into the early 1990s. Russian scientist Vil Mirzayanov, who disclosed the programme’s existence before he defected to the West, wrote a 2008 book about secret Soviet-era chemical weapons experimentation. Now 85 and living in the United States, he has freely voiced his suspicions about Novichok’s continuing use.