DanMargarita.com

Two American women, former Russian citizens, were recently treated in Moscow for thallium poisoning while in Russia to attend a wedding. I guess that makes the “smear cake in my new spouse’s face” seem pretty tame by comparison. I don’t know if the Russians have a traditional song to go with it such as “and the groom poisons the bride, the groom poisons the bride…”

This is just the most recent example of poisoning of a former Russia citizen. It became an international story last year when former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, an outspoken Kremlin critic, died after ingesting polonium-210 in London. Authorities believe Litvinenko received the poison in a cup of tea and not in a plate of sushi, which as uncooked fish, would be potentially deadly enough on its own.

The two American women were poisoned with thallium, also known as “the poor man’s polonium-210.”

Authorities aren’t certain how the women ingested the poison which is odorless and colorless, making it indistinguishable from many other poisons (that joke is a tribute to the late Don Adams of "Get Smart" fame). Thalluim poisoning can take weeks to show it's effects, leading Russian detectives to suggest that they were poisoned before they came to Russia. That could mean that the women poisoned themselves as a pre-emptive measure to beat Russian authorities to their poisoning.

According to CBS News, thallium was used by Saddam Hussein to kill several opponents and the CIA allegedly used thallium to try and kill Cuban leader by sprinkling it in his shoes. While American ingenuity is legendary, we clearly are way behind other countries when it comes to poisoning people.

Many critics of the Russian government and it’s president Vladimir Putin, have died under mysterious circumstances. Ivan Safronov, a frequent critic of the war in Chechnya, died recently when he fell from the fifth-story window of a stairwell at his apartment. Speculation is that he was merely dizzy from being poisoned and lost his balance before falling out the window.

Anna Politkovskaya, a renown journalist whose reporting of conditions in Chechnya won her worldwide acclaim, was shot to death outside of her home last December. Rumors are abundant that Mrs. Politkovskaya was shot in an effort to end the suffering that she was experiencing from her latest poisoning.

Mrs. Politkovskaya was a staunch critic of Russia's war in Chechnya which had become quite bloody due to the Russian military's inability to get poison into the Chechen's food supply. She has also documented the plight of Russian soldiers; mainly their fear of eating or drinking anything.

Authorities have intimated in the press that Mr. Safronov's death was the result of suicide. They have also intimated that Mrs. Politkovskaya's shooting was also the the result of suicide.

The Russian government has become increasingly authoritarian, giving citizens an unpleasant choice: keep your mouth shut and suffer a miserable life, or criticize the government and risk your life.

It's a simple case of "pick your poison."