Friday, October 23, 2009

Transcript

He was growing into middle age and
was living then in a bungalow on
Woodland Avenue.
He installed himself in a rocking
chair and smoked a cigar down in
the evening as his wife wiped her
pink hands on an apron and
reported happily on their two
children. His children knew his
legs, the sting of his mustache
against their cheeks. They didn’t
know how their father made his
living, or why they so often moved.
They didn’t even know their
father’s name.
He was listed in the city directory
as Thomas Howard, and he went
everywhere unrecognized
and lunched with Kansas City
shopkeepers and merchants, calling
himself a cattleman or commodities
investor, someone rich and
leisured who had the common touch.
He had two incompletely healed
bullet holes in his chest and
another in his thigh. He was
missing the nub of his left middle
finger and was cautious lest that
mutilation be seen.
He also had a condition that was
referred to as granulated eyelids
and it caused him to blink more
than usual, as if he found creation
slightly more than he could accept.
Rooms seemed hotter when he was in
them. Rains fell straighter. Clocks slowed.
Sounds were amplified.
He considered himself a Southern
loyalist and guerrilla in a Civil
War that never ended. He
regretted neither his robberies
nor the seventeen murders that he
laid claim to. He had seen another summer
under in Kansas City, Missouri, and on
September fifth, in the year 1881,
he was thirty-four years old.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

THE HANDBOOK OF ASSASSINATION v1.0 11. October 2002 by Acidous01. Disclaimer--------------Acidous take no responcibility for what actions this handbookor any of the content of it may cause. Acidous will not takethe blame for anything you do after reading this handbook.Everything you do is done by yourself, and can not beforced upon Acidous or any other individual but yourself.Be aware of that Acidous do NOT encourage to such actionswhich is dealt with in this book.And yes, it really is written assassin(check your vocabulary).02. Assassins Equipment------------------------Of course the assassinator need equipment. An assassinationis not to be performed with purely raw strength andbrutality. You are supposed to stay in the shadows,where no one can see you. A good assassin will never beseen, only heard of in the aftermath.But anyway, here's the equipment you will need the most.Sniper-rifle A sniper rifle is the number one weapon of the professional assassin. It allows you to take out target at great distances, something which gives you time to get away before guards, security, etc. arrives. The drawback of the sniper-rifle is that it is not good for assassinating target which are inside a structure or vehicle of any kind.Piano-wire This is prima for sneak-up attacks. You sneak up behind the target, swiftly put it over his head and pull back really hard. It will cut his artery and his breathing pipe.Silenced Pistol The silenced pistol is good for low range assassinations. But it has limitations concerning range and accuracy, which is one of the reasons I choose the sniper-rifle unless I am forced to use the pistol.Ninja Sword For close-quarters combat. The ninja sword is pretty much unmatched within close-quarters combat. It's incredible sharpness and lightness makes it the perfect weapon for taking out an opponent in non-projectile combat.Camouflage Using the right camouflage is very important. One of your objectives is to avoid being detected. That is the reason you must use camouflage.03. Making Some Equipment-------------------------Of course, the assassins equipment isn't very easy to make,due to the high quality you will need to perform a cleanassassination. But there are some items you may createyourself.Piano-Wire This is the weapon which is easiest to creat yourself. What you need are 1 piece of piano-wire and 2 handles. Fit each end of the piano-wire to each handle. You now have yourself a piano-wire which will not hurt you when you use it.04. Assassins Training----------------------If you are not willing to train hard and long to become anassassin, then I suggest you quit now. You can neverbecome a good assassin without training.Building Muscles Do push-ups, a lot of them. This will strengthen your arms and make you much more capable of defending yourself in a crisis situation. Start running/jogging to make your legs stronger. In a getaway situation, you might need to run fast and over a longer distance. Do sit-ups to strengthen your stomach. If hit in the stomach and your washboard is properly built up, then the attacker will get more hurt than you. Never overdo the training. You must not look like a giant monster. The trick is to be both strong and slim at the same time. Practise in moving swift and soundless. The more sound you make, the bigger is the chance for you to be detected. Martial Arts You should learn at least the basics of one martial art. Karate is not one of the martial arts you need to learn at first. Start in the direction of Taekwondo, which is much better for defending yourself than Karate. Try to only move on to the next martial art if you feel that you master the one you are doing enough to take on a person twice your size.Picking Locks Practice picking the locks at your home. Start with easy ones, then move on to the harder locks. Read manuals on lock picking.Electronics & Alarms Study electronics, find out how different alarms work and how you can bypass, reprogram or destroy them. Also study how you can make other electronical items to go mad.Weapons Handling You must learn how to use your weapons the best way. Train in the ways of a ninja with the sword. Train target practice on both still and moving targets with both the gun and the sniper-rifle. Never hesitate on how to use your weapon, your life may be at stake.05. The Planning----------------Always plan your assasination well. If you do not planit, the more likely is it that you will fail. * Get maps/blueprints over the area you are going into. * Check out possible positions you may take. * Check the guarding and when they change guards. * ALWAYS check for cameras. * Always plan at least two(2) escape routes.Try to always plan a position so that you may use yoursniper-rifle with a silencer. Of course you don't haveto use a silencer, but it makes it harder for the guardsand security to discover you.06. The Assassination---------------------The assassination in itself could be over in a matterof minutes, or it could be for hours. You need to findthe right time, so that you get a perfectly clear shot.You should always aim either for the heart or head,both of these are deadly kills. This is were the weaponstraining come in. You only have one(1) chance of takingyour target out. When using the sniper-rifle, fire onedeadly shot, then pull out. You must never give yourselfthe time to reload and fire a new shot, it will only revealyour position, and you will get caught. That is also therule for every other weapon you may use.So, the rules that you MUST follow are: * Aim only for one-shot deadly spots. * Never fire more than one shot. * Never shot the guards/security. * Always wear camouflage. * Always know what to do, never hesitate.These rules are the GROUND rules, the rules you must follow.If you do not follow these rules, then the possibility foryou to get caught doubles for every mistake you do.Fire one(1) shot and there is a 15% chance for them spottingyou, fire two(2) shots and theres a 67% chance for them tospot you, fire three(3) shots and theres a 91% chance for themto spot you. Always be short and work fast, otherwise you mightbe the victim too.07. Various Ways To Assassinate-------------------------------There are many different ways for you to assassinate your target.There are never only one(1) way to do it.Sniping Sniping is the far most safe way to assassinate someone. You lie on a roof-top or the like and take out the person you wish to/get paid to assassinate.Car-Bomb The car bomb makes it much easier for people to track you down. Peoples eyes are everywhere, and if their eyes arent, then theres cameras. Someone could have seen you rig your targets car and they could perhaps also give a positive ID on you.Poison This one is also rather risky. You slip some poison into their food. You could pretend to be a waiter og a chef when putting it in. But there is a possibility you might put it in someone elses food and kill them instead, something which is not very good. You should also use a poison which is hard to discover from the blood, or one which selfdestructs after killing the victim.11. Word From The Author------------------------This handbook was written purely for educational purposes, and is notintended for readers below the age of 18.But after all, I don't care how old the readers are, and that is becausethis book is put on the internet, and I do not care wether you read itor not. IF the instructions in this book is followed, it may causein the serious fellony of making you an professional assassin, if you are dedicated enough that is, and it also may cause you to make alot of money, but there of course is the risk of getting caught or killed. Remember the old saying: "There is always someone better".Feel free to send me an e-mail if you have something which you thinkshould be added to the next release of the handbook, or if youjust want to say Hi

Monday, October 12, 2009

Texts from the last few rehearsals

Just found this as i was logging on : http://news.uk.msn.com/in-pictures/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=150161883, it just caught my eye and i like some of the images. It's basically just an article about failed assassinations of world leaders, thought the section on hitler was quite interesting.
My assassination story- Death by Bath Bomb:
Hi, you probably don’t know who I am and I’m not going to bore you with my life story, I’m sure you’ll know about me soon enough. The thing is, on june 25th it will be my 21st birthday, some would say a pivotal moment in life. On that day I will also be attending probably one of the most highly anticipated parties of the year....no not mine, I am unfortunately not that famous, but I won’t name names, just in case people find this.
Here is a little Background information, lining the shelves of my bedroom wall are, I dunno about 35 dvd’s. All of which bear the perfectly flawless face of a certain celebrity. Under my bed is a pile of magazines, last time I counted I had 72, again all of which bear that same face. Some people would say I was obsessed. I disagree, it sounds too positive, it suggests that I like her....want to be her. I used to be a fan of hers...not sure why when I come to think of it, she’s pretty but that’s all she has going for her, I think maybe even I act better than her. But anyway, I one waited for her outside the hotel where she was staying, in the pouring rain, no umbrella for 5 hours. And she just ignored me. From that moment, all of my admiration for her died, and ironically, since then I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her. So I plan to recreate that little moments, roles reversed and a little more literally. The story goes like this.
My brother in law runs his own company, providing technological and media equipment, or something like that. He’s done tours for people like U2 and Sugababes. He was also hired to set up the entertainment equipment for my target. It turns out she’s having one of her many parties in the presidential suite of a London hotel. A London hotel that I now happen to be working at over the summer, and with it being my birthday on that day, I pleaded to work the morning and afternoon shift, so I could have the night off, meaning that I will get to prepare a certain someone’s bath. You know those bath bomb things you get which fizz in the bath to make it smell nice, well I sort of modified one so it contains a certain deadly chemical. However, I get searched before entering certain rooms, therefore I plan to anonymously send a birthday package few days before and then play the role of the innocent maid who thought it would be nice to use the gift to make her bath extra special. How could anyone suspect me, I was only doing my job, using my initiative. Simple.

My text inspired by the final scenes 'The Assassination of Jesse James':
At my lowest point I often wonder what it would be like to visit the families of the people I have killed. The Johnson family. Mr Davenport. Mrs Newbury and her three young children. I imagine the piercing look they would give me upon the revelation that it was me standing on the other side of their front door. It will be the same look that I gave to their son, their father, or their wife. I imagine stepping into their shoes, knowing how it feels to face pure hatred.
It is only to myself that I speak about the horrors of my past. I trust no one else. I speak of things that I didn’t know I knew. I try to replay the shootings over and over, trying to recall every last detail. The ticking of the clock, the colour of the door, the creak of the floorboard. The sound of the gunshot. But I cannot remember. My brain doesn’t let me.
I am ashamed of the joy that I felt and my inability to forgive. I am sorry about my cold-bloodedness, my blind passion and rage. I truly regret killing them, I miss them as much as anybody and wished their deaths hadn’t been necessary.
I know that the smiles disappear from people’s faces as I pass them by. I know that people only tell me what they think I want to hear. I am not afraid of the truth. I know the truth and have accepted what I have done.
I read the threatening letters that are sent to me. I read them with eyes that remain glazed over, as if unaware of the world around me, unaware of the fear I have instilled and the chaos I have created. But they only invoke a certain curiosity in me. A need for knowing.
I spend my days staring at the walls to which I am confined. I trace my life through the brickwork. I look for the flaws, the uneven indentations in the concrete, the irregular brush strokes. I imagine that they somehow represent my life. That this room was built for me and me alone. That I will be it’s only inhabitant.
I know what is destined for me. I will suffer the same fate as my victims. I know the process well enough to see that the end of my life is just around the corner. He will come for me tonight of his own free will, with no thought on his mind but to kill the one who tore his life apart. No one will try to stop him. Not even me. No one will want to visit the scene of the crime. There will be no eulogy written about my life. No one will parade my body through the streets in mourning. Only a priest will attend my funeral. The trigger will be pulled and I will lie still on the floor, my eyes fixated on the walls, trying to find the crack that represents the end. The light will fade slowly from my eyes and I will have nothing left to say.

Friday, October 9, 2009

A former army sergeant supplied feuding gangs with assassination kits and other weapons linked to a murder, four attempted murders and an armed robbery.
Paul Alexander, 53, charged £1,500 for the kits, which came in hard, plastic cases similar to those for DIY power tools. Each contained a handgun, silencer and three or four magazines with up to eleven rounds in them. Detectives believe that guns he sold in Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and the East Midlands will be linked to crimes for years to come.
After leaving the Army in 1992, where he had an exemplary record with the Royal Artillery, Alexander visited South America, Canada, the US, Pakistan and Europe using some 33 aliases. These included fictional surnames such as Bauer, from the television series 24, and Bourne, from the Matt Damon films. He also changed his surname by deed poll to Hunter-Mann. Born Paul Daintry in Bury, Lancashire, he was identified during the investigation into the 2007 murder of Rhys Jones, the Liverpool schoolboy shot by a gang member, Sean Mercer. Police seized several firearms which had traces of Alexander’s DNA, though it took until September last year for officers to track him to a remote rented property at Bardfield Saling, Essex.
He was arrested in a joint operation between the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) and Essex Police in which 28 guns and rifles were recovered. The barn where he worked contained 12,000 gun parts and he had 26 guns on order.

Mick Layton, the Soca deputy director, said: “The guns and ammunition supplied by Paul Alexander are being linked to numerous shootings in the UK. Put simply, he was dealing in death.”
Alexander bought imitation and antique guns and converted them at his property. He took on the home with a £9,000 deposit in cash and paid £3,800 a month to stay there despite having had no proper job since leaving the Army.
Officers found that between March 2007 and his arrest almost £130,000 in cash was deposited into accounts belonging to him, his wife and a stepdaughter.
At Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday Alexander admitted charges including possessing a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life and converting an imitation firearm. He will be sentenced in November after psychiatric reports and faces life.
The killing kits
• From the outside the hard plastic cases looked as if they held DIY tools, but they were filled with everything that a killer would need to commit murder
• Paul Alexander would drive to the North West to deliver them to rival gangs in Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham, picking up £1,500 for each pack: a gun, silencer and ammunition
• Each component was packaged in foam, below, to protect it during transport.
• At Alexander’s gun factory police found filled cases and rifles stacked against a wall
• Mick Layton, deputy director of the Serious Organised Crime Agency, said that the investigation had provided valuable intelligence: “Our message to Alexander’s criminal associates is stark — be worried, this hasn’t ended here”

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The Handbook of Assassination

THE HANDBOOK OF ASSASSINATION
v1.0
11. October 2002
by Acidous
01. Disclaimer
--------------
Acidous take no responcibility for what actions this handbook
or any of the content of it may cause. Acidous will not take
the blame for anything you do after reading this handbook.
Everything you do is done by yourself, and can not be
forced upon Acidous or any other individual but yourself.
Be aware of that Acidous do NOT encourage to such actions
which is dealt with in this book.
And yes, it really is written assassin(check your vocabulary).
02. Assassins Equipment
------------------------
Of course the assassinator need equipment. An assassination
is not to be performed with purely raw strength and
brutality. You are supposed to stay in the shadows,
where no one can see you. A good assassin will never be
seen, only heard of in the aftermath.
But anyway, here's the equipment you will need the most.
Sniper-rifle
A sniper rifle is the number one weapon of the professional
assassin. It allows you to take out target at great
distances, something which gives you time to get away
before guards, security, etc. arrives.
The drawback of the sniper-rifle is that it is not good
for assassinating target which are inside a structure or
vehicle of any kind.
Piano-wire
This is prima for sneak-up attacks. You sneak up behind
the target, swiftly put it over his head and pull back
really hard. It will cut his artery and his breathing
pipe.
Silenced Pistol
The silenced pistol is good for low range assassinations.
But it has limitations concerning range and accuracy,
which is one of the reasons I choose the sniper-rifle
unless I am forced to use the pistol.
Ninja Sword
For close-quarters combat. The ninja sword is pretty
much unmatched within close-quarters combat. It's
incredible sharpness and lightness makes it the
perfect weapon for taking out an opponent in
non-projectile combat.
Camouflage
Using the right camouflage is very important. One of your
objectives is to avoid being detected. That is the reason
you must use camouflage.
03. Making Some Equipment
-------------------------
Of course, the assassins equipment isn't very easy to make,
due to the high quality you will need to perform a clean
assassination. But there are some items you may create
yourself.
Piano-Wire
This is the weapon which is easiest to creat yourself.
What you need are 1 piece of piano-wire and 2 handles.
Fit each end of the piano-wire to each handle.
You now have yourself a piano-wire which will not
hurt you when you use it.
04. Assassins Training
----------------------
If you are not willing to train hard and long to become an
assassin, then I suggest you quit now. You can never
become a good assassin without training.
Building Muscles
Do push-ups, a lot of them. This will strengthen your arms
and make you much more capable of defending yourself
in a crisis situation.
Start running/jogging to make your legs stronger.
In a getaway situation, you might need to run fast
and over a longer distance.
Do sit-ups to strengthen your stomach. If hit in the
stomach and your washboard is properly built up,
then the attacker will get more hurt than you.
Never overdo the training. You must not look like a
giant monster. The trick is to be both strong and
slim at the same time.
Practise in moving swift and soundless. The more sound
you make, the bigger is the chance for you to be detected.

Martial Arts
You should learn at least the basics of one martial art.
Karate is not one of the martial arts you need to learn
at first. Start in the direction of Taekwondo, which
is much better for defending yourself than Karate.
Try to only move on to the next martial art if you feel
that you master the one you are doing enough to take on
a person twice your size.
Picking Locks
Practice picking the locks at your home. Start with easy
ones, then move on to the harder locks. Read manuals
on lock picking.
Electronics & Alarms
Study electronics, find out how different alarms work
and how you can bypass, reprogram or destroy them.
Also study how you can make other electronical items
to go mad.
Weapons Handling
You must learn how to use your weapons the best way.
Train in the ways of a ninja with the sword. Train
target practice on both still and moving targets with
both the gun and the sniper-rifle. Never hesitate on
how to use your weapon, your life may be at stake.
05. The Planning
----------------
Always plan your assasination well. If you do not plan
it, the more likely is it that you will fail.
* Get maps/blueprints over the area you are going into.
* Check out possible positions you may take.
* Check the guarding and when they change guards.
* ALWAYS check for cameras.
* Always plan at least two(2) escape routes.
Try to always plan a position so that you may use your
sniper-rifle with a silencer. Of course you don't have
to use a silencer, but it makes it harder for the guards
and security to discover you.
06. The Assassination
---------------------
The assassination in itself could be over in a matter
of minutes, or it could be for hours. You need to find
the right time, so that you get a perfectly clear shot.
You should always aim either for the heart or head,
both of these are deadly kills. This is were the weapons
training come in. You only have one(1) chance of taking
your target out. When using the sniper-rifle, fire one
deadly shot, then pull out. You must never give yourself
the time to reload and fire a new shot, it will only reveal
your position, and you will get caught. That is also the
rule for every other weapon you may use.
So, the rules that you MUST follow are:
* Aim only for one-shot deadly spots.
* Never fire more than one shot.
* Never shot the guards/security.
* Always wear camouflage.
* Always know what to do, never hesitate.
These rules are the GROUND rules, the rules you must follow.
If you do not follow these rules, then the possibility for
you to get caught doubles for every mistake you do.
Fire one(1) shot and there is a 15% chance for them spotting
you, fire two(2) shots and theres a 67% chance for them to
spot you, fire three(3) shots and theres a 91% chance for them
to spot you. Always be short and work fast, otherwise you might
be the victim too.
07. Various Ways To Assassinate
-------------------------------
There are many different ways for you to assassinate your target.
There are never only one(1) way to do it.
Sniping
Sniping is the far most safe way to assassinate someone.
You lie on a roof-top or the like and take out the person
you wish to/get paid to assassinate.
Car-Bomb
The car bomb makes it much easier for people to track you down.
Peoples eyes are everywhere, and if their eyes arent, then theres
cameras. Someone could have seen you rig your targets car and they
could perhaps also give a positive ID on you.
Poison
This one is also rather risky. You slip some poison into their food.
You could pretend to be a waiter og a chef when putting it in. But
there is a possibility you might put it in someone elses food and
kill them instead, something which is not very good. You should
also use a poison which is hard to discover from the blood, or
one which selfdestructs after killing the victim.
11. Word From The Author
------------------------
This handbook was written purely for educational purposes, and is not
intended for readers below the age of 18.
But after all, I don't care how old the readers are, and that is because
this book is put on the internet, and I do not care wether you read it
or not. IF the instructions in this book is followed, it may cause
in the serious fellony of making you an professional assassin, if you are
dedicated enough that is, and it also may cause you to make alot of
money, but there of course is the risk of getting caught or killed.
Remember the old saying: "There is always someone better".
Feel free to send me an e-mail if you have something which you think
should be added to the next release of the handbook, or if you
just want to say Hi.
-Acidous (acidous_@hotmail.com)
11.10.02 (11. October. 2002)

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Atlas

Hello all

Good to meet you yesterday. Thanks for a productive session and I hope you found it interesting.

Really excited about where we go from here with the project. It would be great if you could meet up at least twice a week as a whole group and work in your focus groups for the rest of the week. Part of this experience is how you find ways and time to work together.

When I worked with Phil Stanier and the Strange Names Collective we drew up an Atlas of references to look at. I thought we could build one together for you to bear in mind over the next three weeks. Below is a list of suggestions of films, books, places and music.

Good luck and keep blogging. I will keep an eye on the process.

All best

Michael

Film

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The man who shot John Lennon (check title)
I shot Andy Warhol
JFK

Book

Our American Cousin - play text
Assassinations and Conspiracies - Rodney Castleden
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
The Zapruder Film: Reframing JFK's Assassination - David R. Wrone

Place

Theatre (Lincoln)
Ballroom (Malcolm X)
Balcony (Martin Luther King)
Kitchen (Bobby Kennedy)
Car (JFK)

Music

Think about music from the time the assassination took place e.g. John Lennon - 1980 - Fame

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Sarah Hanson reasearch

Alexander Litvinenko was a Russian KGB agent, turned dissident and possible MI6 agent. On November 1st 2006, Litvinenko fell ill after eating at the London sushi restaurant Itsu. He had been receiving evidence about another murder while he was eating at the restaurant. On November 3rd, Litvinenko’s condition deteriorated and he was rushed to Barnet General Hospital in London. He died three weeks after his hospitalisation suffering from acute radiation syndrome spawned from exposure to the radioactive polonium-210. The incident gained huge worldwide media coverage, probably due to the similarities in the case to Hollywood spy movies. It is now accepted that Litvinenko was poisoned by a cup of tea in his hotel room. No one has been convicted of the murder; however, there are suspicions of Russian government involvement. Litvinenko died aged 44.

Obituary: Alexander Litvinenko
Mr Litvinenko was renowned for his critique of Russia's security services
Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian security officer who has died in a London hospital after apparently being poisoned, was a fierce critic of Russia's government.
Born in the Russian city of Voronezh, Mr Litvinenko first became a security agent in the FSB's predecessor, the Soviet-era KGB, after transferring from the military. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
He is reported to have fallen out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, then head of the FSB, in the late 1990s, after failing to crack down on corruption within the organisation.
The nature of his job, as a specialist in fighting organised crime, meant he would certainly have made enemies.
Murder investigation
Intelligence analyst Glenmore Trenear Harvey said of his friend: "He headed up one of the internal investigations branches that was looking into the corruption and coercion that was going on within the Russian intelligence service so he made a lot of enemies way back then."
Mr Harvey points to links between renegade former KGB officers and the Russian mafia.
Mr Litvinenko is thought to have been close to journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot dead last month in Moscow, and said recently he was investigating her murder.
She was another opponent of the Kremlin, and particularly the war in Chechnya.
Mr Harvey said Ms Politkovskaya was carrying out investigations into corruption and it was likely Mr Litvinenko would have been privy to those inquiries.
I believe Russia will rise again and that I will manage to return again to the motherland and Moscow
Alexander Litvinenko
It was after being handed documents relating to the murder of Ms Politkovskaya that he was taken ill more than three weeks ago, he said.
Mr Litvinenko wrote a book in which he alleged Federal Security Service (FSB) agents in Russia coordinated the 1999 apartment block bombings in the country that killed more than 300 people.
The Russian government has always maintained the blasts were the work of Chechen separatists.
Arrest
In 1998, Mr Litvinenko first came to prominence by exposing an alleged plot to assassinate the then powerful tycoon Boris Berezovsky, who himself now lives in self-imposed exile in the UK.
Mr Litvinenko was subsequently arrested on charges of abusing his office, and spent nine months in a remand centre before being acquitted.
Later he wrote Blowing up Russia: Terror from Within, in which he said that it was FSB agents and not Chechen rebels who carried out the apartment block bombings.
The attacks helped swing public opinion behind Russia's second war in the breakaway Chechen republic, which began with a huge Russian military offensive later that year.
Petrol bombs
Complaining of persecution, in 2000 Mr Litvinenko fled to the UK where he sought, and was granted, asylum.
But after settling in an unnamed London suburb, the former spy - who had a wife and teenage son - continued to behave as if on the run, constantly changing his contact details.
Well aware of the methods of those who work in the shadowy intelligence underworld, he met contacts at busy, public locations.
The Times newspaper reported in May 2005 that someone had tried to push a pram loaded with petrol bombs through his front door.
Despite all this, in an interview four years ago, Mr Litvinenko said: "I believe Russia will rise again and that I will manage to return again to the motherland and Moscow."
Allegations
Appearing alongside high-profile opponents of Mr Putin, Mr Litvinenko continued to make allegations about his former bosses.
Perhaps most notably, he alleged that al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri was trained by the FSB in Dagestan in the years before the 9/11 attacks.

He also denounced the war in Chechnya as a crime, called for Russian troops to be withdrawn, and said compensation should be paid to Chechens.
One of his friends - and one of a number of Russian exiles now settled in Britain - is Akhmed Zakayev, a former Chechen commander living under asylum in London.
The two men lived on the same street in London, it has been reported.
In the past, Russia has asked Britain to stop exiles such as Mr Berezovsky and Mr Zakayev making what it calls "slanderous statements" about the Russian regime.
Russia has repeatedly sought their extradition.