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Novichok
Novichok () is a family of nerve agents, some of which are binary chemical weapons. The agents were developed at the GosNIIOKhT state chemical research institute by the Soviet Union and Russia between 1971 and 1993. Some Novichok agents are solids at standard temperature and pressure, while others are liquids. Dispersal of solid form agents is thought possible if in ultrafine powder state. Russian scientists who developed the nerve agents claim they are the deadliest ever made, with some variants possibly five to eight times more potent than VX, and others up to ten times more potent than soman. Iran has also been associated with the production of such chemical agents. In the twenty-first century, Novichok agents came to public attention after they were used to poison opponents of the Russian government, including the Skripals and two others in Amesbury, UK (2018), as well as Alexei Navalny (2020), but Russian civil poisonings with this substance have been known since a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poisoning Of Alexei Navalny
On 20 August 2020, Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny was poisoned with the Novichok agent, Novichok nerve agent and as a result, he was hospitalized in serious condition. During a flight from Tomsk to Moscow, he became ill and was taken to a hospital in Omsk after an emergency landing there, and then, he was Induced coma, put in a coma. He was evacuated to the Charité hospital in Berlin, Germany, two days later. The use of the nerve agent was confirmed by five Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) certified laboratories. On 7 September, doctors announced that they had taken Navalny out of the induced coma and that his condition had improved. He was discharged from the hospital on 22 September 2020. The OPCW said that a cholinesterase inhibitor from the Novichok group was found in Navalny's blood, urine, skin samples and his water bottle. At the same time, the OPCW report clarified that Navalny was poisoned with a new type ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poisoning Of Sergei And Yulia Skripal
The poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, also known as the Salisbury poisoning, was a botched assassination attempt to poison Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer and double agent for the British intelligence agencies in the city of Salisbury, England on 4 March 2018. Sergei and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, were poisoned by means of a Novichok nerve agent. Both spent several weeks in hospital in a critical condition, before being discharged. A police officer, Nick Bailey, was also taken into intensive care after attending the incident, and was later discharged. The British government accused Russia of attempted murder and announced a series of punitive measures against Russia, including the expulsion of diplomats. The UK's official assessment of the incident was supported by 28 other countries which responded similarly. Altogether, an unprecedented 153 Russian diplomats were expelled by the end of March 2018. Russia denied the accusations, expelled foreign diplo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nerve Agents
Nerve agents, sometimes also called nerve gases, are a class of organic chemicals that disrupt the mechanisms by which nerves transfer messages to organs. The disruption is caused by the blocking of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. Nerve agents are irreversible acetylcholinesterase inhibitors used as poison. Poisoning by a nerve agent leads to constriction of pupils, profuse salivation, convulsions, and involuntary urination and defecation, with the first symptoms appearing in seconds after exposure. Death by asphyxiation or cardiac arrest may follow in minutes due to the loss of the body's control over respiratory and other muscles. Some nerve agents are readily vaporized or aerosolized, and the primary portal of entry into the body is the respiratory system. Nervous agents can also be absorbed through the skin, requiring that those likely to be subjected to such agents wear a full body suit in addition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexei Navalny
Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (, ; 4 June 197616 February 2024) was a Russian Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposition leader, anti-corruption in Russia, corruption activist and political prisoner. He founded the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) in 2011. He was List of Amnesty International-designated prisoners of conscience, recognised by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience and was awarded the Sakharov Prize for his work on human rights. Through his social media accounts, Navalny and his team published material about corruption in Russia, organised political demonstrations and promoted his campaigns. In a 2011 interview, he described Russia's ruling party—United Russia—as a "party of crooks and thieves", which became a popular byname. Navalny and the FBK have published investigations detailing alleged corruption by high-ranking Russian officials and their associates. Navalny twice received a suspended sentence for embezzlement, in 2013 and 2014. Bot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GosNIIOKhT
The State Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology () (GosNIIOKhT) is a Russian research institute engaged in the development of chemical technologies for use in the national economy and the production of relevant goods and products. During the cold war, the institute participated in the development of chemical weapons for the Soviet Union, notably the Novichok family of nerve agents, one of the most lethal nerve agent families. History GosNIIOKhT was founded in 1924, during the time of the Soviet Union, to conduct research work in organic synthesis and to be for the Soviet state the umbrella organization for it, below which were arrayed a number of satellite institutes. From the early 1930s, the research institute was engaged in the development of chemical weapons. Significant numbers of scientists were also assigned to develop anti-crop and anti-animal agents. Between 1971 and 1993, GosNIIOKhT conducted research and synthesis of the Novichok family of ner ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vil Mirzayanov
Vil Sultanovich Mirzayanov (, ; born 9 March 1935 in Starokangyshevo, Dyurtyulinsky District, Bashkortostan) is a Russian chemist of ethnic Tatar origin who now lives in the United States, best known for revealing secret chemical weapons experimentation in Russia. Early life Vil Sultanovich Mirzayanov was born in a village in rural Bashkortostan, the son of the village school teacher. The Mirzayanov family is Tatar, a Turkic ethnic minority in Russia. His father, a staunch Communist, broke with a 200 year old family tradition in which the oldest sons entered the Muslim clergy. In 1953, he graduated from the Dyurtyuli Tatar School No. 1 with a silver medal. Career Mirzayanov was employed by the State Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology. He was then assigned to a secret military chemical weapons laboratory, GosNIIOKhT () situated in Shikhany, which was developing the Novichok agent programme of nerve agents. He was head of a counter-intelligence department ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A-230
A-230 is an organophosphate nerve agent. It was developed in the Soviet Union under the FOLIANT program and is one of the group of compounds referred to as Novichok agents that were revealed by Vil Mirzayanov. A-230 is possibly the most potent nerve agent for which specific toxicity figures have been published, with a human lethal dose estimated to be less than 0.1 mg. However it was felt to be less suitable for weaponisation than other agents such as A-232 and A-234, due to issues with the liquid agent exhibiting low volatility and solidifying at low temperatures, as well as poor stability in the presence of water. Legal status A-230 has been added to Schedule 1 of the Annex on Chemicals of the Chemical Weapons Convention The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), officially the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, is an arms control treaty administered by the Organisation for .. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A-232
A-232 is an organophosphate nerve agent. It was developed in the Soviet Union under the FOLIANT program and is one of the group of compounds referred to as Novichok agents that were revealed by Vil Mirzayanov. A-232 is reportedly slightly less potent as a nerve agent compared to some of the other compounds in the series such as A-230 and A-234, having similar potency to the older nerve agent VR. However it proved to be the most versatile agent as it was chemically stable and remained a volatile liquid over a wide temperature range, making it able to be used in standard chemical munitions without requiring special delivery mechanisms to be developed. Legal status A-232 has been added to Schedule 1 of the Annex on Chemicals of the Chemical Weapons Convention The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), officially the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, is an arms control treaty administered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Organisation For The Prohibition Of Chemical Weapons
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW; French: ''Organisation pour l'interdiction des armes chimiques'', OIAC) is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force on 29 April 1997. The OPCW, with its 193 member states, has its seat in The Hague, Netherlands; it oversees the global endeavour for the permanent and verifiable elimination of chemical weapons. The organisation promotes and verifies the adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits the use of chemical weapons and requires their destruction. Verification consists both of evaluation of declarations by member states and onsite inspections. The organisation was awarded the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize "for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons". Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjørn Jagland said, "The conventions and the work of the OPCW have defined the use of chemical weapons as a taboo un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lev Alexandrovich Fyodorov
Lev Alexandrovich Fyodorov (sometimes ''Fedorov''; Russian Лев Александрович Фёдоров; 10 June 1936, Moscow,- 12 August 2017) was a Russian chemist. He was employed at the V. I. Vernadskiy Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and became a member of the New York Academy of Sciences. Fyodorov was a chemical warfare officer. After studying chemistry at Lomonosov University, he received his doctorate in 1967 and his habilitation in 1983. After the end of the Soviet era, he published papers on chemical and biological weapons and chemical security. Together with Vil Mirzayanov, he is particularly noted for his part in the publication of details regarding the discovery of Novichok nerve agents, and the subsequent court case against Mirzayanov. Achievements In 1967 Fyodorov received his candidate degree in chemistry and he subsequently defended his doctorate thesis in 1983. He has authored several monographs and ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VX (nerve Agent)
VX is an extremely toxic chemical synthesis, synthetic chemical compound in the organophosphorus compound, organophosphorus class, specifically, a phosphonate, thiophosphonate. In the class of nerve agents, it was developed for military use in chemical warfare after translational science, translation of earlier discoveries of organophosphate toxicity in pesticide research. In its pure form, VX is an oily, relatively Volatility (chemistry), non-volatile liquid that is amber-like in colour. Because of its low volatility, VX persists in environments where it is dispersed. VX, short for "venomous agent X", is one of the best known of the V nerve agents and originated from pesticide development work at Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). It was developed further at Porton Down in England during the early 1950s, based on research first done by Gerhard Schrader, a chemist working for IG Farben in Germany during the 1930s. It is now one of a broader V-series of agents which are class ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
