Kremlin critic critically wounded for speaking out against Russian gov't

You would have figured that the British government's push to expose the KGB's involvement in the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy would have made the Russian government think twice about continuing to engage in aggressive behavior.  Think again.

Just four days after telling Dateline NBC about the KGB's terrorist capabilities, Russian expert Paul Joyal was gunned down outside his home:

A few hours after meeting a former KGB general outside theInternational Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., an outspoken critic ofthe Kremlin was shot Thursday outside his Maryland home.

So what did he say on Dateline that could have caused such a stir? 

The shooting occurred four days after the critic, Paul M. Joyal, warnedon “Dateline NBC,” the television news magazine, that a “message hasbeen communicated to anyone who wants to speak out against the Kremlin:‘If you do, no matter who you are, where you are, we will find you andwe will silence you in the most horrible way possible.”

Maryland police say the shooting was unrelated.  But the way things have been going with regard to KGB behavior on foreign soil, many would think otherwise.

Fear can keep people in check.  Sooner or later though, fear leads to a populist backlash.  That was what happened yesterday in St. Petersburg, Russia, where thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest Vladimir Putin's recent consolidation of power.

Comments

[NMS]

Just FYI, Joyal was not murdered, at least not yet. That's because he survived the attack, and is in critical condition. Just thought you would like to know.

[Administrator: Todd]

Thanks for the correction. The title of the post has been changed.