Vladimir Uglev Dies at 80
Vladimir Uglev, a co-creator of the Novichok nerve agent who later assisted media investigations into its deployment by Russian intelligence, died at the age of 80 on October 26, according to the outlet The Insider. segabg.com reported that Uglev passed away in Anapa, a city on the Russian Black Sea coast where he had lived in recent years. His death closes the life of a key technical figure whose public disclosures challenged official Moscow narratives regarding the toxic chemical family. Prominent Russian journalist Natalia Gevorkyan, who lived and worked in Bulgaria during the 1980s and has long lived in Paris, wrote on Facebook regarding Uglev that he refused to emigrate and never refused help to journalists.
Uglev commented on Skripal and Navalny poisonings
Uglev’s name gained international prominence in 2018 following the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury, United Kingdom. When Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was poisoned with Novichok in 2020, Uglev again provided detailed commentary to various news outlets. German government officials announced that three independent laboratories confirmed Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny was poisoned with Novichok.
He maintained that Novichok could not be produced outside a specialized laboratory. That technical assessment directly contradicted the official position of Moscow, which denied involvement in the Salisbury attack.
Russian scientist who helped develop Novichok nerve agents dies at the age of 80 Vladimir Uglev later denounced the use of Novichok against civilians, challenged the Kremlin’s denials, and helped The Insider investigate the poisonings.https://t.co/2yvzWyMFav
The British government subsequently assessed that Vladimir Putin may have ordered the operation against Sergei Skripal because the former spy held secret information regarding the alleged misappropriation of metal production profits.
Western nations work with Novichok nerve agents
Novichok designates a family of highly toxic nerve agents classified as prohibited by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The OPCW decided to add the Soviet chemical warfare agent Novichok used in the Salisbury attack to its list of prohibited substances.
Vladimir Uglev, the original developer of Novichok, has died. While responsible for the development of the powerful toxin, in later years he was an outspoken critic ofcits use to target civilians. Uglev openly contradicted the Kremlin denials in both the Skripal and Navalny cases
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated in a Saturday position reported by TASS that at least 20 Western nations work with toxic substances from the Novichok group, with data indicating the existence of roughly 140 variants of such chemical compounds. Meanwhile, Bulgarian authorities examined whether Novichok was used in the 2015 poisoning of arms trader Emilian Gebrev, according to responses from then-Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov.
Vladimir Uglev lived and died in Anapa
Where did Vladimir Uglev spend his final years?
Uglev lived in the Russian Black Sea city of Anapa, where he died on October 26 at the age of 80, according to reporting by The Insider.
What institutions did Uglev work for during his career?
Vladimir Uglev was born on September 20, 1946, in Kirovsk, Russia.
Which international bodies regulate Novichok agents?
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons classifies Novichok agents as banned chemical weapons and added the specific substance used in Salisbury to its prohibited list.
Died how, exactly? @christogrozev https://t.co/HINAQVwPTG