The Russian secret service authorized the “elimination” of individuals living overseas who were judged to be enemies of the state and ordered the creation of special units to conduct such operations, according to a document passed to “The Daily Telegraph“.

The directive refers specifically to the European Union and western Europe and appears to be signed by the head of counter-intelligence of the FSB, the successor to the KGB. It is dated March 19, 2003 which is almost one year before the assassination of former Chechen Republic of Ichkeria President Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev in the Qatari capital, Doha. Labelled “Secret documentation. For internal use only. Do not copy“, the leaked document refers to a law on “countering extremist activities” passed eight months earlier, although that law does not refer to the use of force. The objectives, the directive says, are “observation, identification, possible return to the Russian Federation” of their targets. But it also allows for “under special directives” the “elimination outside of the Russian Federation in the countries of Near Abroad [former Soviet states] and in the European Union, of the leaders of unlawful terrorist groups and organizations, extremist formations and associations, of individuals who have left Russia illegally [and are] wanted by federal law enforcement”.

Apparently with leaders of rebellions in the Caucasus in mind, among others, it names the crimes of those sought as terrorism, “extremist activity,” murder, kidnapping and “others classified as especially serious crimes against citizens of the Russian Federation and directed against the Russian state and government”.

The order sets up the “intensive training of the newly formed groups and units in relation to specific conditions of work in Western Europe and countries of the European Union”. It says there will be “in-depth training of individual agent-analysts for work in the countries of the European Union”.

It is signed at the bottom by Colonel General Nechaev, First Deputy Head of the FSB counter-intelligence branch and also bears the organization’s stamp.

Colonel General Nechaev is a former civil and military health minister who was invited to London by the then UK’s health minister Virginia Bottomley in 1993 to “see the operation of the National Health Service at first hand”.

Vladimir Putin, then the Russian president and now the prime minister, pushed a law on “counteracting terrorism” through the Russian Duma in March 2006 which gave the FSB the power to kill “terrorists” abroad. However, the latest document suggests an extensive secret programme was already in place.

The Russians have conducted controversial assassinations of Chechens in London, Odessa, Qatar, Dubai, Vienna and Istanbul. Recall these murders carried out by Russia abroad:

On February 26, 1993 – London, UK: Ruslan Utsiyev (special representative of Dzhoxar Dudaev)
On February 28, 1993 – London, UK: Nazarbek Utsiyev (brother of Ruslan Utsiyev)
On November 10, 1996 – Odessa, Ukraine: Imam Alimsultanov (famous Chechen singer)
On February 13, 2004 – Doha, Qatar: Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev (2nd President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria)
On September 18, 2008 – Istanbul, Turkey: Gazi Edilsultanov (former resistance fighter)
On December 6, 2008 – Istanbul, Turkey: Islam Dzhanibekov (former resitance fighter)
On January 13, 2009 – Vienna, Austria: Umar Israilov (former resistance fighter)
On March 28, 2009 – Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Sulim Yamadayev (pro-Russian army commander, but dissident to Ramzan Kadyrov)
On February 27, 2010 – Istanbul, Turkey: Ali Osaev (representative of Dokka Umarov)
On September 16, 2011 – Istanbul, Turkey: Berg-Khazh Musaev (aka Emir Khamzat, representative of Dokka Umarov); Rustam Altemirov (former resistance fighter) and Zaurbek Amriev (former resistance fighter)

During this period, one Russian dissident also was murdered:
On November 23, 2006 – London, UK: Alexandr Litvinenko (former FSB agent)

*Text was written by Waynakh Online and edited by Michael Capobianco