Страх is the easy answer, it is Russian for fear. People around the world fear Vladimir Putin because he is a powerful man and some would say he has no restraint. There have been multiple occasions in which people have died or gone missing, one of which happened in Salisbury, where Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal were poisoned. According to UK sources they were poisoned with a novichok nerve agent, which was developed by the Soviet Union from 1971 to 1993.

Sergei Skripal was an officer for Russia’s intelligence in the 90s but also worked as a double agent for the UK. He was arrested for high treason in 2004 and was sentenced to 13 years in a penal colony. He started living in the UK in 2010 due to the illegals program spy swap (the FBI arrested Russian sleeper agents in the USA and established a deal with Russia which meant Sergei Skripal and others were exchanged between the two governments for 10 of the Russian agents).

On the 4th of March, Sergei, his daughter who was visiting, and a police officer were poisoned with the novichok agent and were sent to hospital. The British government accused the Russian government of poisoning two British citizens, the Russians obviously denied this accusation. We know the Russians did it, but it doesn’t matter: Vladimir Putin continues to deny the poisoning was state sponsored, but evidence suggests it was all about proving that he is a powerful man and shows no restraint  when dealing with a former Russian citizen and military officer.

Please note that this is an opinion article, and may not represent the views of the Curious Times.