How Putin Learned to Poison His Opponents

The Soviet Union had a long history with poisoning.  It killed artists, writers, musicians, and even dancers. It killed them secretly, usually using poison to avoid accountability. Among its victims was Anna Pavlova, perhaps the greatest dancer ever, because she dared to defy Stalin.  Sarah Wynne is the co-author of The Dancer and the Devil which traces Marxism’s century-long fascination with poison and bioweapons.  Putin has embraced the tactic, having carried out his own string of poisonings, most recently of opponent Alexei Navalny.