Litvinenko ending explained: What happened to Lugovoy and Kovtun?
The ITVX show's final episode saw the inquiry into Alexander Litvinenko's death dramatised.
David Tennant's new ITVX series Litvinenko is now available in full on the platform, with each of the four episodes following a different protagonist in their efforts to get justice for the titular figure, following his poisoning in 2006.
The fourth episode largely follow Marina Litvinenko, Alexander Litvinenko's wife, as she works with British barrister Ben Emmerson to secure a public inquiry into her husband's death.
The final episode ends in 2016, but just how did it play out, and what happened to some of the major real-life figures, such as Andrey Lugovoy and Dmitry Kovtun who were accused of Alexander's murder?
Read on for everything you need to know about the ending of Litvinenko and what happened to the real people next.
What happens at the end of Litvinenko?
At the end of the fourth episode of Litvinenko, the judge at the inquiry into Alexander Litvinenko's death, Sir Robert Owen, finds that he was deliberately poisoned by Andrey Lugovoy and Dmitry Kovtun, and that they were acting on behalf of others, with there being a "strong probability" that it was on behalf of the FSB.
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The then-Home Secretary Theresa May is then seen reading a statement in the House of Commons in archive footage, in which she says the inquiry found the FSB operation was probably approved by the then-head of the FSB Nikolai Patrushev and by President Vladimir Putin.
Brent Hyatt and his wife are then seen meeting with Marina, Anatoly and Alexander Goldfarb. Brent and his wife reveal that they plan to name their baby Sasha, after Alexander's nickname. They subsequently lay flowers at Alexander's grave.
What happened to the real Lugovoy and Kovtun?
As stated at the end of the episode, Lugovoy and Kovtun have always strongly denied having any involvement in the death of Litvinenko. Russia has also denied claims that it was in any way involved.
Lugovoy is now reportedly "high up in Moscow’s Security and Anti-Corruption committee". He is still currently wanted in the UK in relation to Litvinenko's murder, but Russia has rejected requests for his extradition.
Kovtun died in Moscow in June of this year, reportedly from COVID-19.
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What happened to Marina Litvinenko?
In the years since the inquiry into Alexander's death came to an end, Marina Litvinenko has continued to seek justice for him and to campaign on issues in relation to the Russian state.
These have included the 2018 Skripal case, which was formerly dramatised in The Salisbury Poisonings, in which former Russian military officer and double agent for the British intelligence agencies Sergei Skripal, as well as his daughter Yulia, were poisoned in Salisbury.
The subsequent death of British civilian Dawn Sturgess was later linked to the same poison, a nerve agent called Novichok. The British government has accused Russia of the attempted assassination of the Skripals, which the Russian foreign ministry has always denied.
Marina Litvinenko has also spoken out regarding the situation of Alexei Navalny – the Russian opposition leader who was poisoned in 2020 and arrested in 2021 when he returned to Russia – and against the country's ongoing war in Ukraine.
She has also given her approval to the ITVX drama, and spoke extensively with both the cast and creatives behind the drama.
She recently explained to RadioTimes.com and other press why she agreed to the drama, saying that "it's so important to keep his voice alive, whether it’s [through a] documentary, or whether it’s [through a] drama".
She continued: "I realise with this drama, [there] will be more understanding for what happened. There’s still some questions [from people]. ‘Are you sure it's happened like this? Are you sure he was poisoned?’ – when they watch this episode, I think more and more people will realise what happened."
Read more:
- Litvinenko star says David Tennant is “remarkable” in ITVX drama
- Litvinenko director: Nailing David Tennant's Russian accent was "tricky"
- Litvinenko is a "feat of acting" from David Tennant, says Neil Maskell
- David Tennant explains how he transformed into Litvinenko for drama
Litvinenko is available as a full boxset on ITVX now.
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