Russian Billionaire's Bitter Feud With Putin A Plot Line in Poisoning

The Washington Post has brought a commentary in its Saturday edition revising the bitter relationship between Boris Berezovsky, the exiled Russian billionaire, and Vladimir Putin. Following the death of Alexander Litvinenko, Berezovsky found itself once again at the center of the international intrigue. His personal relationship with Putin makes the recent events even more bizarre.

Berezovsky was prominent among the group of Russian oligarchs who helped the then relatively Putin win the presidential election in 2000 following the abrupt abdication of Boris Yeltsin. However, Berezovsky was not able to retain his prominent position in the inner cercle of the Kremlin that he held under Yeltsin. Berezovsky's supporters claim that he was appalled by the increasing consolidation of power in the hands of Putin and his former KGB colleagus. According to Putin's followers Berezovsky unhappily discovered that the new president would not be his puppet like the ailing Yeltsin.

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