Вил Мирзаянов - State Secrets - An Insider's Chronicle of the Russian Chemical Weapons Program

No. Fedorov couldn’t quite say now precisely, but it seemed to him that such information had been published in many sources, for example, in the proceedings of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). [340] SIPRI was established in 1966 as a tribute to Sweden’s peaceful history. This venerable international research organization focuses on various ways to curtail warfare and keep the peace, including numerous publications on the development and use of poison gas and methods to eliminate chemical weapons. For more, see www.sipri.org . However, there was no way to calm down Judge Sazonov, because Fedorov had toyed with the self-esteem of this author of published works. “Tell us, exactly in what year was the edition published with such information? However, I am again warning you in advance, that according to Article 181 of the RSFSR Criminal Code, perjury by a witness is punishable by up to 2 years of imprisonment.”

These words took Lev down a notch, and he wilted. Jail just wasn’t a part of his grandiose plan. He started explaining pitifully that he couldn’t remember, and you know it wasn’t so very important. He said it was easy to guess anyway, because, for example Americans openly wrote that they had developed binary weapons. And our country always responded to such things with a mirrored reaction, and reproduced the same kinds of weapons.

Sazonov decided to strike Fedorov a final blow and asked acidly why he hadn’t answered in the same way to the investigator during his interrogation in the Investigation Department.

“Here is the transcript of your interrogation from October 22 1992, according to which you claim that the defendant had provided all the information about the development of chemical weapons and you only edited it, giving it a literary treatment,” the judge pressed on. “What is more, you testified that Mirzayanov had given information about the new chemical weapons when you and the defendant met with the American correspondent Will Englund.”

Fedorov faded out completely and answered that he renounced his former testimony. The judge immediately asked the reason for this decision. Lev obscured the issue and explained that he had been inexperienced, and he was frightened when the Chekists had burst into his apartment early that morning.

After these words I felt squeamish about Fedorov who had perjured himself for the second time. I knew the real reason why he renounced his testimony. He did it only after I had distributed a copy of the transcript of his interrogation, which exposed his own behavior! However, I don’t think that my former co-author could justify his words. Lev wanted to make everybody doubt me. He did his best to convince everybody (but the judges, of course!) that I wasn’t the person I pretended to be. Later he probably wanted to impart substance to his testimony and share it with the public, so they would admire how bravely and selflessly he had assumed the entire responsibility of “protecting” me. While thinking about this, I probably unwittingly winced and shook my head. The judge noticed it and asked me, “What’s the matter with you, defendant? Do you feel bad?”

I answered, “No, I’m all right, but this is totally repulsive. I would be grateful if you could spare me this extremely disgusting spectacle.”

“Do you have comments, remarks, or additions?” he asked readily. He obviously wanted Fedorov and me to enter into a verbal battle. But that was even more loathsome for me. I answered that I didn’t wish to argue with the witness, and this was why neither my lawyer nor I had any questions for him.

Strange as it may seem, the judge showed leniency toward me and stopped the interrogation of Lev Fedorov.

When Fedorov left the courtroom, he told the correspondents, as if nothing had happened, that he had given testimony which could break open the whole hearing…

Andrei Mironov was the next to testify. He had been the interpreter during the interview I gave to Will Englund that was published in the newspaper the Baltimore Sun on September 16, 1992. Mironov also accompanied Englund as an interpreter when he was interrogated in the Investigation Department of the RF Ministry of Security. So, Mironov was well informed about all the events. However, the experienced former dissident who had spent many years in a Soviet prison had made a blunder after the interrogation of Will Englund. The American had refused to sign the transcript of the interrogation, but thuggish Shkarin managed to get Andrei Mironov to sign it. That signature confirmed that the testimony of his American friend was translated in exact correspondence with the original. This allowed the investigation to do without the signature of Will Englund, because he didn’t have to sign a transcript in a language that he didn’t know.

Evidently this is why Mironov said that he denounced his signature, which had presumably made Englund’s refusal to sign the transcript worthless at the very beginning of his testimony. Mironov persistently stressed that I hadn’t given Englund any technical or any other detailed information when I made a statement about the new weapons during the interview. Then Andrei said that the American journalist knew about the development of new chemical weapons from other sources as well. He didn’t specify these sources, referring to a law about Russian mass media practices. When he was talking about “other sources”, I am certain that he meant the interview with Andrei Zheleznyakov. [341] The KGB intentionally omitted Will Englund’s article from my case materials, “Russia is Still Doing Secret Work on Chemical Weapons,” Baltimore Sun, October 18, 1992, in which he gave information about the development of a series of Novichok agents, and details about Andrey Zheleznyakov’s poisoning, with comments by Dr. Yevgeny Vedernikov, who prolonged his life. Moreover, Shkarin didn’t even mention Andrey’s name in any documents, despite the telephone conversations taped from my home phone (8 big cassettes were attached to my case), in which I asked him to give an interview to Will Englund, and then later to Oleg Vishnyakov, the reporter from Novoe Vremya. Another colleague of mine, Dr. Eduard Sarkisyan was brought to Lefortovo on October 22, 1992 for interrogation. He didn’t give any information about the Novichok program. According to one of well informed reporter, it was exactly Andrey’s first interview which pushed the KGB to arrest me trying to prevent further revelations about the plot of the Chemical Military Complex. See also ref. 40.

At that time I noticed that Prosecutor Pankratov was furiously writing something down. Andrei then argued a little with the judges, answered their questions, and finally said that he thought that my prosecution and the closed trial were illegal. I could see by the faces of the judges that they were not well disposed towards Mironov. However, their faces also expressed some confusion. Something hadn’t gone as they had planned.

After Andrei Mironov left, the prosecutor took the floor. He said that the trial had gone on for a long time, but new circumstances had been brought to light in the case. The experts clearly had a difference of opinion, so it was impossible to depend on their conclusions. This is why it was becoming more doubtful that the court could resolve all these contradictions objectively and impartially, based solely on material provided by the investigation. With pathos, the prosecutor further concluded that in his opinion the preliminary investigation was insufficient. Therefore, he had to ask the court to stop investigating the case and to send it back for repeated investigation, with a newly appointed expert commission. New witnesses should be called, especially regarding the allegation by witness Andrei Mironov.