Doctors treating former Russian prime minister Yegor Gaidar in a Moscow hospital said he was likely poisoned, a Russian newspaper reported yesterday.
Speculation emerged that the case might be linked to the deaths of a Russian ex-spy and a top journalist.
"The doctors are leaning towards the conclusion that all the symptoms ... point specifically to poisoning," Gaidar's daughter Maria told reporters with the Kommersant newspaper.
The doctors will make their final diagnosis today, with "a poison unknown to civilian medicine," the most likely cause of his illness, she said.
Gaidar was in satisfactory condition late on Wednesday but "there was a serious threat to his life" after he fell ill last Friday.
Gaidar was visiting Ireland at the time in order to attend a conference, his daughter said on NTV television.
Gaidar's illness came one day after the death in London of former Russian secret services agent Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned by polonium-210, a rare radioactive substance.
Before his death, Litvinenko himself blamed his poisoning on President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin has rejected the charges.
Putin telephoned Gaidar to wish him a quick recovery, London's Financial Times reported yesterday, citing the Kremlin.
Anatoly Chubais, the influential head of Russia's state electricity company and a longtime associate of Gaidar's, connected the former premier's illness with Litvinenko's death and the recent murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, suggesting that the Kremlin's enemies were behind all three.
"This deadly design would have been extremely attractive for those supporting unconstitutional, violent means of changing power in Russia," Chubais said to RIA Novosti.
Ultra-nationalist parliament deputy Vladimir Zhirinovsky blamed Gaidar's condition on foreign powers attempting "to destabilize the situation or create an atmosphere of suspicion" in the context of next year's parliamentary elections, RIA Novosti reported.
Gaidar fell ill after eating breakfast where he was staying outside Dublin, he told the Financial Times.
The former prime minister managed to answer questions about his book -- The Death of the Empire: Lessons for Contemporary Russia -- in an appearance put in at the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, before he had to be taken to a hospital.
He was transferred from Ireland to a hospital in Moscow on Sunday.
"We are concerned by the very fact of the poisoning and would not like to make premature conclusions," said opposition politician Leonid Gozman, one of the leaders of the liberal Union of Right Forces Party, of which Gaidar was a co-founder.
As Russia's first post-Soviet prime minister, Gaidar was a chief architect of reforms known as "shock therapy."
Although Gaidar's policies helped transform the communist economy they are today widely blamed in Russia for capital flight and an economic collapse in 1998.
Utilities chief Chubais, who also helped organize the reforms, survived an assassination attempt last year.
Gaidar now heads an economic think tank in Moscow that frequently criticizes Putin's policy of increasing state control over the economy.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
Two people died and 19 others were injured after a Mexican Navy training ship hit the Brooklyn Bridge, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said yesterday. The ship snapped all three of its masts as it collided with the New York City landmark late on Saturday, while onlookers enjoying the balmy spring evening watched in horror. “At this time, of the 277 on board, 19 sustained injuries, 2 of which remain in critical condition, and 2 more have sadly passed away from their injuries,” Adams posted on X. Footage shared online showed the Mexican Navy ship Cuauhtemoc, its sails furled
RSS