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Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza in hospital after falling ill Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza in hospital after falling ill
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Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza has been taken to hospital in Moscow after a mysterious sudden illness. A Russian opposition activist has been taken to hospital in Moscow after a mysterious sudden illness.
A regional coordinator for the Open Russia movement founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky – the oligarch and Putin critic who now lives in Zurich – Kara-Murza, 33, was admitted to a Moscow hospital on Tuesday after a sharp drop in blood pressure and loss of consciousness. Vladimir Kara-Murza, who works for the Open Russia movement founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the oligarch and Putin critic who now lives in Zurich, was admitted to a Moscow hospital on Tuesday after a sharp drop in blood pressure and loss of consciousness.
Doctors initially thought he could have been poisoned, Vadim Prokhorov, a lawyer for the RPR Parnas opposition party, told the newspaper Kommersant, but have yet to announce an official diagnosis. Kara-Murza is a member of the political council of the party, which had been led by Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov until his death in February.Doctors initially thought he could have been poisoned, Vadim Prokhorov, a lawyer for the RPR Parnas opposition party, told the newspaper Kommersant, but have yet to announce an official diagnosis. Kara-Murza is a member of the political council of the party, which had been led by Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov until his death in February.
The Open Russia website said Kara-Murza had been “hospitalised with [a] suspected cardiovascular problem”, but that this diagnosis had later been ruled out. The Open Russia website said Kara-Murza had been “hospitalised with [a] suspected cardiovascular problem”, a diagnosis what was later ruled out.
Kara-Murza’s father told Kommersant that his son’s condition could be explained by an allergy or a high-stress lifestyle “with irregular meals, little sleep”. He said doctors had found signs of non-alcoholic “intoxication” and suspected internal bleeding, but added that it was premature to blame “enemy poisoners” for the illness. Kara-Murza’s father told Kommersant that his son’s condition could be explained by an allergy or a high-stress lifestyle “with irregular meals, little sleep”. He said doctors had found signs of non-alcoholic intoxication and suspected internal bleeding, but added that it was premature to blame “enemy poisoners”.
Kara-Murza had been at the offices of Russian Legal Information Agency, a state-owned legal news agency, on Tuesday when he fell ill and was taken away by ambulance, his father said. Kara-Murza had been at the offices of the Russian Legal Information Agency, a state-owned legal news agency, on Tuesday when he fell ill and was taken away by ambulance, his father said.
Opposition journalist Alexander Ryklin wrote on Facebook on Wednesday afternoon that he had “just spoken with Kara-Murza”. Opposition journalist Alexander Ryklin wrote on Facebook on Wednesday afternoon that he had spoken to Kara-Murza. “There’s no final diagnosis yet. They suspect poisoning. It doesn’t seem like it’s his heart,” he wrote, adding that no surgery was planned for now.
“There’s no final diagnosis yet … They suspect poisoning … It doesn’t seem like it’s his heart,” he wrote, adding that no surgery was planned for now. Anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny, who was given two suspended sentences on what many see as politically motivated charges, said on Twitter that he had seen Kara-Murza a few days ago, adding: “He didn’t complain about his health and was entirely energetic [like usual].”
Anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny, who is serving two suspended sentences on what many see as politically motivated charges, said on Twitter that he had seen Kara-Murza a few days ago. “He didn’t complain about his health and was entirely energetic (like usual).”
Related: How Russia's opposition united to finish Nemtsov's report on UkraineRelated: How Russia's opposition united to finish Nemtsov's report on Ukraine
Before he entered politics, Kara-Murza was a television and print correspondent and contributor to many well-known Russian and western publications. Marina Litvinenko – the widow of former FSB officer Alexander, who died in 2006 after drinking a cup of tea laced with radioactive polonium-210 – claimed that if Kara-Murza was poisoned, a possible link could be a critical documentary about Chechnya’s president Ramzan Kadyrov, screened in Moscow two days ago.
Opposition activists led by RPR Parnas member Ilya Yashin released a report earlier this month on Russia’s unacknowledged military presence in eastern Ukraine. It was based on ideas and information gathered by Nemtsov, who was gunned down near the Kremlin in February. A security services officer who had served under Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been charged with the murder. The Open Russia Foundation – raided by police last month – made the 26-minute film, entitled Family. It alleges that Kadyrov is guilty of widespread human rights abuses in Chechnya, presides over a personal army of 80,000 fighters and skims off money from the federal budget.
Russian police raided the Open Russia offices in April. According to a copy of their search warrant later published by Open Russia, they had suspected the organisation of printing leaflets calling for “extremist activities” to be handed out at a planned opposition rally. “I watched the documentary last night. It was critical – perhaps not as critical as it might have been – but critical enough,” Marina Litivinenko said. “Kadyrov doesn’t like anybody who criticises him or breaches his privacy.” She described Kara-Murza as a nice guy and brave journalist who met her late husband in London in 2000. She saw him several times after Litvinenko’s death, most recently last year, when he visited the UK. “When I saw him last time I asked him: ‘Is it a good idea for you to work in Moscow?’”. She said Kara-Murza replied: “I believe everything will be fine.” Litvinenko added: “I was not so positive. What has happened to Volodya [Kara-Murza] is very strange.”
Kara-Murza was also involved in writing a report into the war in Ukraine, conceived by Nemtsov, who was shot dead outside the Kremlin in February. At the time of his death, Nemtsov was planning a dossier exposing Vladimir Putin’s secret war in the east of Ukraine. The 65-page report entitled Putin and the War was completed by Nemtsov’s friends. It alleges that Russian troops have taken part in the conflict – with at least 220 killed – and that Russia has covertly supplied the rebels with military hardware, intelligence and training. Putin denies Russian forces have been involved in the war.
Kara-Murza lives in Moscow and New York, where his three children are based. His previous projects have included a documentary comparing Russia’s opposition to Putin with Soviet dissidents who protested in the 1960s. Kara-Murza took Vladimir Bukovsky, a prominent enemy of the KGB who spent 12 years in Soviet labour camps and psychiatric facilities, to New York last year.