Timeline: The Poisoning and Death of Alexander Litvinenko
Oct. 7, 2006
Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian journalist and critic of the Russian government, is shot in Moscow. Alexander Litvinenko begins an investigation of her death.
Oct. 19, 2006
Litvinenko accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin of involvement in Politkovskaya's murder.
Nov. 1, 2006
In the morning, Litvinenko meets with two men at a London Hotel. One is a former KGB officer and colleague Andrei Lugovoi; the other remains unidentified. In the late afternoon, he meets with Italian security expert Mario Scaramella to discuss Politkovskaya's murder. That evening, he begins to feel ill and is admitted to Barnet General Hospital in London.
Nov. 11, 2006
Litvinenko tells the BBC Russian service that he has been poisoned and is in "very bad shape."
Nov. 17, 2006
Litvinenko's condition worsens, and he is transferred to University College Hospital in central London and placed under armed guard.
Nov. 19-21, 2006
The media and health experts report that Litvinenko may have been poisoned with radioactive thallium. Litvinenko is moved to intensive care.
Nov. 23, 2006
After suffering a heart attack overnight, Litvinenko dies at 9:21 p.m. in London.
Nov. 24, 2006
British officials find large doses of the radioactive element polonium-210 in Litvinenko's body and traces of it in his North London home, his room at the Millennium hotel, and at places he ate.
Nov. 28, 2006
Scaramella, who fell ill after returning home to Italy, arrives back in the United Kingdom for radiation testing.
Dec. 1, 2006
Scaramella tests positive for polonium-210 but does not have serious symptoms of poisoning.
Dec. 5, 2006
Lugovoi checks into a hospital with his wife and three children.
Dec. 6, 2006
British police announce they are treating Litvinenko's death as a murder. Scaramella is released from the hospital.
Sources:
BBC
CNN
Associated Press
Agence France-Presse