Over the past month, there have been multiple versions and speculations in the Western mainstream media on the identity of alleged “GRU agents” Petrov and Boshirov and their involvement in the Skripals poisoning case. The text below is another speculation on this issue, which is now circulating in the Russian social media.
FILE IMAGE: news.sky.com
Originally written by Andrei Grachev on his Facebook page. The post was deleted by Facebook because it allegedly violated its rules.
Petrov and Borishov. This is an unspoken version. It’s simpler than it seems.
Well, since all and sundry are wondering who are these two, and so do I. However, as for me, I’m closer to the truth? Why? You’ll have to read on. There are many words, but it will be interesting.
My version explains almost all key oddities with the trip and interview of Petrov and Boshirov (to the extent that it can do it, based on the publicly available facts), where, I must say: I did not even bother much, in the sense that everything necessary for the conclusions is plain to see. The fact is that the banter about gays and other things, everyone who examines the versions, for some reason did not notice the main thing, the details. Also, I should say if someone really believes that the Skripals were poisoned by these two, my musings will greatly disappoint you. Moreover, no one can forbid you to believe it or in reptilians or eat shit by the shovelful, but my fabrications are for thinking people, so, adepts of the theory of “GRU poisons all”, just walk on by. I will also note that my version is likely to disappoint many others, because it does not apply to super-agents, missions impossible or other stupid Hollywood crap. My version is about ordinary people’s ordinary lives. And, as a rule, it is usually much simpler and more prosaic. Although quite curiously, accidental.
So. Very briefly on key and (in fact) most important facts.
- Two strong, athletic guys, of a mature age, successfully passed all the procedures for obtaining a visa to the UK (not the easiest story), fly to London on a regular flight, without luggage (this is an important point). (According to Scotland Yard, it turns out that the GRU agents were carrying the most toxic combat nerve agent on the planet in a perfume spray-bottle, in a bag, in the cabin. What a twist.)
- In London, they stay at the City Stay Hotel, which is far from the main attractions. The place is not touristy. At the same time, the hotel is not the cheapest; there are easier options nearby. This hotel, relatively speaking, is in the average price range. Petrov and Boshirov opt for a double room.
- They go to Salisbury twice. First on the 3rd, and then they went back the next day, the 4th. According to them, due to weather conditions. Allegedly, they could not see Stonehenge on the first day. And on the second day they didn’t get much luck. With that, from the point of view of the main facts, their story seems to correspond to the truth, in the sense that the weather was so-so and, in principle, and to look at this unfortunate minster, truly people come from all over the world (Google the analysis of the facts from Craig Murray – everything is there and many interesting things.)
- According to Theresa May and Scotland Yard, Petrov and Boshirov were recorded by cameras “in the immediate vicinity of the Skripal house”, but in fact 500 metres away. Half a kilometre is two or three blocks. Blimey “the close proximity”…
- After that, hell begins with the poisoning, in which Scotland Yard is already confused.
- On the 4th, out heroes slowly return to London, and quietly fly off to bloody Mordor to tell Sauron about the assignment.
- Then the international scandal begins. Then our [Russian] Foreign Affairs Ministry and government media voiced versions, one stranger than the other. Then there are photos of “GRU agents”. The intensity of idiocy in the versions from the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian media is growing. Then, the British announce their names. Then there is a telephone conversation with Petrov-From-Hell on RT. Then Putin at the “East Forum”… And by the way, did anybody, find anything strange in Putin’s answer? No? Okay, let’s continue.
- After Putin’s comments, ON THE SAME DAY (!) Petrov or Boshirov call Margarita Simonyan on her mobile phone, which, yes, is really not very difficult to find, if you really want to, but the trouble is, she does not pick up the phone from unknown numbers (people checked).
- On the same day, an interview is arranged, where a conversation takes place BEFORE in which the boys and Margarita discuss the “taboo” subjects (family, work, friends, etc.) and maybe something else, but we’ll never know, and I do not really care.
- In the interview, every thing is beautifully covered: Salisbury Cathedral, snow collapse, we are not GRU, we sell sports drinks, we do not carry women’s spirits because it is homosexual, but we live in the same address, because it saves money and everyday household expenses, no, we are not GRU, yes we often fly to Geneva, because the Mont Blanc is there and Paris is not far.
These are all the facts you need to know to figure out who these guys are and why the hell they dragged themselves to the UK.
So, the short summary:
Two healthy guys, often flying to Geneva, openly arrive with their passports on a regular flight to the UK without luggage, settle in one room in an average hotel, go to Salisbury, then go there a second time, then fly back.
And here I have my questions.
- Why do they fly so obviously and expose themselves? The task of the liquidator is to be invisible, and here are two bulls, flying in pair from Russia in the midst of aggravation of relations between Russia and the “civilised world”…
- Why are they so healthy? You don’t have to be healthy to poison someone. Quite.
- Why do they fly together? It takes one to poison someone. Support from the locals.
- Why do they frequently fly to Geneva? Do they also poison someone there? Why do they also fly there together? Why do they hang out together as if joined at the hip?
- Why do they have the same address? Gay? Seriously?
- Why did they really go to Salisbury twice? To look at the “Salisbury” Cathedral… Well, well…
- How did they get through to Simonyan? Why so fast. Why Petrov-from-hell on the phone and the real Petrov in the interview are different people?
- What does Putin’s strange phrase mean in his answer to Brilev’s question at the Forum?
And when I answered these questions, I knew who they were. And here now is the real thing.
So, our heroes, of course, are not GRU, not FSB and not special agents. In the past, likely our guys were not ordinary, maybe spetsnaz, and maybe GRU in the past, but currently, most likely, as Putin said, civilians. They work in the economic Security Services for some big shot (oligarch, official of just a large company). For simplicity I, from now on, will call him/her the Owner. It will be easier.
They often go to Geneva. Of course, not to climb on Mont Blanc (as Boshirov calls it), but because Geneva is the capital of Switzerland, and Switzerland is the place where, by a strange coincidence, a lot of Swiss banks hold sacred the mystery of the deposits. Truth is not for the US intelligence services, but it does not matter, the main thing is that for our fiscal authorities it will be very difficult to get this information. And it is surprising that by an equally strange coincidence, Albion is one of the largest financial centres. The shares of the majority of publicly owned Russian companies are quoted on the LSE; the number of investment funds, trusts, investment banks and all sorts of laundering and flushing counting houses are simply off the charts. Ask Chichvarkin, he knows.
It is important to understand that our heroes cannot carry cash. They do not smuggle their haul through the Russian Federation borders. They do not transport it. But they carry it with them… Documents. Only a few sheets of paper with an original signature and the seal of the Owner. These are documents of a kind that cannot be sent by mail, cannot be sent electronically. Only originals and only in person. These documents are veeeery valuable. Contracts, invoices, power of attorney, etc., and, very likely extremely “close” properties… They need to be protected but they cannot carry with them the weapons and special equipment, even if shooting is allowed, you will not take it abroad. That is why they are healthy, and, most likely hand-to-hand fighter (Boshirov has a broken nose, he’s the “basher” and Petrov, I think, is a sambo wrestler or some such). Without weapons and special equipment, all they can count on is their skills and abilities to do everything with bare hands and improvised means. Therefore, they fly everywhere together for security reasons. One can be quickly put out of action, and pick up the documents, but two, and especially trained, it is almost impossible, only with a gun and muzzle, and that is something else. Especially because you do not know which of the two has what you need.
They flew to Britain officially, because they are not agents of anyone. They really got visas, passed all checks and flew. They did not take their luggage, because, of course, they did not fly for a tour and vacation, they flew on business, and all that they needed, they carried directly with them. Just a few sheets of paper. They did not carry anything, on its face, illegal, and certainly no poison. Idiocy…
They rented a room for two for the same security reasons. When there are two of you in a room, you can’t be safely disarmed. There will be a fierce mess, the outcome of which is not predetermined. Also, you can sleep in shifts. Moreover, there is nothing extraordinary about it. I personally know a couple of people in the ‘90s who transported any valuables under personal responsibility (cash, mostly), I have heard plenty of such stories, and it’s a horror.
Next, on the first day they went to Salisbury to give someone the documents, and on the second, they picked up the documents. I would venture to suggest that they came to someone to put his signature and seal. On the first day, they gave the documents, the recipient read them, checked, signed, countersigned and the next the guys took the documents and quietly left for home. Thus, although they observe basic safety rules, they behave quite naturally, and not as two morons who cosplay Jason Bourne. Drink coffee and shop around depending on the weather.
The strange reaction of the Foreign Ministry and the media becomes clear. When all this hysteria began, we of course quickly figured them out, audited them, and were reported to those in the need to know. There was nothing special to give to the airwaves. Well guys, couriers, they flew, they went, they are civilians… That’s all. We must understand that our officials simply could not say in response: “No, they are not poisoners, they are employees of the security service of the company “Public Corporation Success”, the main owner of which is Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich, yes the same from the “Forbes” list, but it seems like the Kremlin is connected, but it’s not exactly, yes, the papers were brought for laundering, and what? it couldn’t be done?”
The Owner was knocked on the head by the higher ups, they say, come on take the thread, fucking Mavrodi. And all hell broke loose. First there was Petrov-From-Hell, who cannot get to the Altai Mountains. Probably, they thought it would work. But then Putin at the Forum gives Brilev: “we know who they are. I want to address them, let them appear and explain everything. IT WOULD BE BETTER FOR ALL.” This phrase immediately struck me as very strange. What does that even mean? Especially from the mouth of the Dark Lord… So that’s what he said, of course, it is not to them but to the Owner. And THIS phrase means the following: “There are no options, either they will appear themselves with an acceptable story, or we will have to reveal the real situation. No one needs the latter”. And so someone calls Simonyan’s mobile whose number was hammered in his or her phone, someone important enough, I guess. She picks up the phone, and they say: “Margarita, have you watched the Plenary today? Good. The guys are gonna call you … about the British question … set it up, okay?” And since she was notified, Margarita takes the call from an unknown number and arranges an interview. The guys did not have time to prepare. No one took a break (which would be logical, we agree), because the Owner did not know how much time he was given. In such cases, they act as quickly as possible.
That’s why everyone was so unnatural. For a person that never gave an interview, this entire situation is extremely stressful. And this is not the type of stress that such people are used to dealing with. This is a fundamentally new situation for them, they did not have time to adapt, operate in conditions of extreme uncertainty and high stakes. So Boshirov read from the sheet, hence “Salisbury Cathedral” and “Mont Blanc”, and so Bashirov was so angry (and he actually was just in a rage), Petrov atypically is quieter, but also everything drove him crazy.
And there you have it. That is the bottom line, two private courier-security guys, caught at the wrong time in the wrong place. It is likely that the story of grey money, perhaps in some parts even budgetary. No “Red Sparrows” or “Blue Doves”… And since their routes on which they travel are regular, one way or another, MI5 followed them from the beginning. Everyone knew that they would come, when and where they would stay. The rest is a matter of technique. The Skripal poisoning and these two guys are not connected. Well, only except the place and time. No motive, no modus operandi. But who poisoned Skripal, with what and why… This is a slightly different story. And by the way, it is not so interesting for me, because it is very crooked and thick…
Yours sincerely, mama’s Sherlock.
WOW !! Andrei Grachev wins a position as Senior Analist in the FSB !! Hell !! I’ll bet the Mi6 and the CiA, Mossad, are racing arroundd to recruit him BRILLIANT !!
… When using actual logic, rather than foaming at the mouth like a religious-level fanatic, makes you a candidate for an “analist” (spelled analyst, Ukraine should invest into better translators) at FSB. What does that say about other agencies?
And trying to tar a poster, rather than their point, is a typical troll tactic. Try harder, troll.
It was Analist as in Anal you fool… I promote you as an Analist too !!
So it’s true that UkroNazis prefer anal?
“(According to Scotland Yard, it turns out that the GRU agents were carrying the most toxic combat nerve agent on the planet in a perfume spray-bottle, in a bag, in the cabin. What a twist.)”
The British have to come up with a better storyline on how the Novichok was brought into the country. Nobody is going to bring an organophosphate poison (even if it is not that toxic) already mixed in a bottle that can possibly break, spill, etc. on their own person(s).
The beauty of organophosphate posions is that they are binary, i.e., you take two non-poisonious chemicals, combine them together and viola! highly toxic poison. You would never mix them together until shortly before you wanted to use it, and it would take special procedures, equipment, etc. when you mixed it together and then used it.
The British have lost control of the narrative on the Skripal poisoning as their version of events is highly improbable.
“how the Novichok was brought into the country.”; it doesn’t have to be brought in, we have plenty ourselves thank you.
Its pretty sad when your joke is the closest thing to reality in this whole affair.
Brits:We know t was novichok pizza for sure!!!
Someone with a brain: oh really how so? Did you put it there yourselfs?
Brits: umm no no of course not…it was putin, all the 17 intel agencies said so, its in the filing cabinet next to the file with saddams wmd….its kinda classified but trust us ok??.
Neither the chemical name, chemical family, nor chemical structure of the Salisbury & Amesbury substance have ever been officially released. There has never been any official statement claiming the substance was an organophosphate. Even the OPCW report on the Amesbury substance does not call it “A Nerve Agent” because it does not meet the OPCW definition of a nerve agent. Instead they call it a toxic chemical “which displays the toxic properties of a nerve agent”. It’s pretty much certain that the substance was actually a illicit narcotic, a powerful one, because the OPCW have already confirmed that the contents of the counterfeit 5ml perfume bottle with modified long nozzle dispenser found on Charlie Rowley’s Kitchen worktop is the same as the Salisbury substance, and was very pure. Rowley is a heroin addict and convicted drug dealer.
Nobody goes to the trouble of inaccurately counterfeiting a perfume brands bottle and outer packaging, just for one bottle. Foil cardboard is die cut, and printed, bottles and tops are purchased and screen printed with the brand, only when you want to make lots of bottles and outer packaging for distribution.
A 5.5ml counterfeiti dispenser perfume bottle in outer packaging is ideal for trying to send small quantities of illicit narcotic’s through the post. Powerful narcotics, most likely some sort of Fentanyl analogue, maybe even Carfentanil, or some other leathally powerful synthetic designer drug.
Exactly what the Russian’s have to do with it – if anything – is stil unclear. But it seems like Skripal was either an illicit drug user, or was handling illicit drugs… lethally powerful ones.
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. It’s much better to have a full discussion than simple, quick nothings. When I look further into the facts, it shows the poison used was what people call Novichok, (an organophosphate nerve agent).
You are correct that the publically released OPCW report does not name the poison, nor call it a “nerve agent”. The report does make this statement:
“10. The results of analysis by the OPCW designated laboratories of environmental and biomedical samples collected by the OPCW team confirm the findings of the United Kingdom relating to the identity of the toxic chemical that was used in Salisbury and severely injured three people. ” see: https://www.opcw.org/fileadmin/OPCW/S_series/2018/en/s-1612-2018_e_.pdf
In a prank call from a couple of Russians the head of the OPCW says this about the poison analyzed:
“As far as the OPCW involvement is concerned Mr. Prime Minister, we were asked by the United Kingdom to provide technical assistance, to take samples and to analyze them in our designated laboratories, which are very reliable. The work was done and it is now concluded. The results in fact confirm as far as the identity of the chemical which was used. We were able to confirm the results achieved by the British authorities. We don’t call it with the same name, but the nature of the chemical is in fact identical, as far as the chemistry is concerned. So the formula is the same and so on. They call it Novichok; we cannot call it Novichok because Novichok is a terminology used by Western countries. It’s not universally used…It’s like calling water and H20.”
see: https://sputniknews.com/europe/201804231063838115-opcw-chief-prank-phonecall/
Supposedly, the OPCW does not like to call it Novichok because there has never been a published peer-reviewed scientific paper on the chemical. The only known information on Novichok is based on various people’s personal knowledge. It brings into question the stated toxicity of the chemical.
The other reason it is some form of an organophosphate poison than a weird opoid are the symptoms described for Dawn Burgess.
“The man noted, quoting a friend named Sam, that Ms. Sturgess was the first of the two to be poisoned, leading to convulsions, foam coming out of her mouth and her pupils narrowing to the point that they could hardly be seen.”
It’s not only the convulsions (she was the only one to have convulsions) but at the hospital they would have checked for their acetylcholinesterase blood levels to help them differentiate between the intial diagnoisis of a drug overdose to an organophosphate poisoning.
Whatever specific variant of Novichok was actually used, it is not more toxic than VX, but much less. It does seem to be more like VX (not that volatile) than the very volatile Sarin. In the description given by Charlie Rowley you couldn’t ask for a more lethal method to administer the poison, but it took 15 minutes before any symptoms presented themselves.
“After getting the present Sturgess recognized the brand, sprayed what she thought to be perfume on her wrists and rubbed them together, according to Rowley. He said to the news, that he put the spray part to the bottle and “ended up tipping some on my hands,” but “washed it off under the tap.” According to the Amesbury survivor, it didn’t look and smell like perfume, but rather as an oily substance. “Within 15 minutes, Dawn said she had a headache. She asked me if I had any headache tablets. In that time she said she felt peculiar and needed to lie down in the bath. I went into the bathroom and found her in the bath, fully clothed, in a very ill state,” he said, recalling the sequence of those events.”
see: https://sputniknews.com/europe/201807251066672690-novichok-poisoning-amesbury/
VX would have killed them both in seconds. This Novichok is simply not that poisonous and therefore not likely to be used to assassinate anyone by anybody who knows what they are doing. It’s why I don’t believe the GRU or any competent and professional nation-state would use it to kill someone.
I see no justification to say it was not a binary organophosphate toxin, and even if it isn’t that toxic, nobody would travel with such in it’s toxic form. Too risky and no need.
I have no idea, and the British officials have given absolutely no credible narrative as to how the perfume bottle with the same chemical as used in the Skripal poisoning was found in a sealed box. There is no plausible way or motive for Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov to have sealed the perfume and got it to the nearby town.
Again, thanks for your reply. Other than five people came in contact with a variant of Novichok, nothing in the British narrative adds up.
All I c’n say is …. if those two are GRU Britain has nothing to worry about from Russia an’ Russia better jack up the GRU – A LOT.
Novichok. Deadlier’n VX. 5-8 times deadlier’n VX. Can only kill one (1) drug addict!
… Them Ruskies have lost it. KGB used to have it but it went the way of the KGB. An’ now the GRU employs stupid bumpkins. … Dunno what May’s got her knickers all knotted up about – obviously those Ruskies are now toooooo inefficient to pose any sort of threat.
As intriguing as this may be, right now it’s just pure and simple speculation.
But on one account I agree with the guy who came up with this story: Putin’s sentence sounded very odd to me as well. It really sounded like 50% warning – 50% threat. And the interview was setup in record time indeed, which seems to imply that some deeply connected people threw their weight around to make it happen.
So, what’s the story with this headline: ” Novichok suspects’ drug-fuelled night of ‘cannabis and prostitutes’ at £75-a-night East London hotel just hours before Salisbury attack ” https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/russia/article-6172497/Novichok-suspects-drug-fuelled-night-cannabis-prostitutes-75-night-London-hotel.html
Is this just some fake news article as such? Cause it seems that this is the one article under which the comments posted there, suddenly took turn from previously mostly believing in the “these are the Gru agents” narrative being reflected and liked by most of the public on DM, to than completely reverse the whole public believe into the: “so this are supposed to be the assassins? Yeah right !”
And after this article came out, a vast majority of the comments-likes tend to believe no more in the idea of these two being any kind of agents what so ever at all !!!
Any thoughts?
Only the Mail could manage to portray smoking a joint as getting “drug-fueled” lol
How Novichok was brought to UK? Ask Coco Chanel, Channel 9.
First Maria Butina, then these two, who’s next? This thing is going viral, men. Fuck!
But they did take luggage? One CCTV still photograph at the airport clearly shows one of them – at least – with a hard shell, wheeled suitcase with green trim.
That was on their way back to Russia, not coming in (see the two images of the accused with the same time stamp). As far as anyone has shown with CTTV, they showed up with no luggage, but who really knows?
Difficult to say from the photo’s, they are very poor quality, and the incoming channels are very narrow. Any rolling hand luggage could be obscured behind them, or it could be carried to the side of them, or in front of them but hidden, as we can’t see their legs either.
The guy with the blue puffer jacket definitely has his left hand visible and wrapped around something on the channel photos.
We also don’t know if either of them had luggage in the aircrafts hold.
AND were captured at the airport, on camera, separately, but at the same time, down to the second.
What? you gonna pay attention to details? What do you think this is? 60 minutes? Just gobble up what the gov is saying and shut up or we will send our secret secret service on you
The photo explains it all. The Teletubbies got bleached in the wash! :D
That there are two extra, some other shit went on too.
O_o
Foreign government assassins can fly into Britain with nerve gas, anytime they want, customs in Britain only looks for cigarettes, nerve gas is allowed. They don’t have detectors(dogs) in Britain that can detect minute quantities of dangerous substances like they have in other countries. Once the secret agents leave the airport, the MI5 agent tasked to watch secret agents traveling on false passports calls in sick.
In most countries, tourists are required to show their passport, and the hotel puts that information on a database designed to keep track of foreign nationals, but not in Britain it seems?
The bigger the lies that the UK tells, the more they make a laughing stock of British security services.
If these guys can so easily kill someone watched by MI5, then surely foreign agents could use the same methods to gas millions of Britain’s.
What Prime Minister May is actually saying, is British security services are totally incompetent, if you want to commit any kind of crime, the UK is the place to do it.
For the fact-checkers: Bern is the capital of Switzerland
Very good analysis. One may ask why a Russian oligarch would be living in Salisbury. However, the recipient of the documents does not have to be Russian. Could just as well be British, while his courier service hires Russians among others.