Vladimir Putin critic 'wakes up fearing every day will be his last', revealing he's not safe in UK

Boris Karpichkov, a former Russian spy, says he is a 'dead man walking' because the UK is not protecting him.

1997 prediction

Boris Karpichkov is a Latvian national who used to work as a spy for the KGB when the country was still part of the Soviet Union.

After the breakup, he became a part of the FSB, Russia’s Secret Service, until 1995 when he wanted to quit. However, his Russian supervisors refused, threatened him, and placed him under surveillance.

In 1997, a Moscow-based newspaper, the Vechernyaya Moskva, published an article about Karpichkov by revealing his spy identity, The Guardian reports.

The newspaper claimed that Karpichkov was wanted by Interpol, the Russian authorities, and by organised crime groups, so they predicted his assassination.

Nevertheless, more than twenty years later, Karpichkov is alive living in London with his wife.

In 2020, UK authorities received a request from Latvia to extradite Karpichkov accusing him of embezzlement of funds, or what the former-spy has called made-up charges ordered by Russia.

The case went to court andthe judge in the UK ruled in favor of Karpichkov as there were ample reasons to believe that his life would be endangered if he leaves the UK.

However, during the trial, Karpichkov’s location was revealed to Latvian authorities, which compromised his cover.

Last month, Karpichkov says he received a threat via the post, most likely from Russia, containing a bullet and a death note, Mirror reports. The letter read:

Die, you scum. You will soon die writhing in terrible torment. No matter how much you change your residence, you cannot avoid your punishment. Traitors like you have no place on earth. Wait, death is on the way for you.

'Dead man walking'

Karpichkov, who already survived one assassination attempt by Russia in New Zealand in 2006, blamed the UK authorities for failing to provide adequate security to his family:

I need for me and my family more than ever a secure safe house but they will not spend the money to supply one. I wake up fearing every day will be my last. My only protection now is my own wits and counter-­surveillance training.

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According to The Guardian, now Karpichkov describes himself as a 'dead man walking':

I expect to be killed and I can’t protect myself. My fate can only be described as a dead man walking.

Despite his cover, Karpichkov was quite active in providing numerous testimonies to various media. In 2022, the former spy claimed that Vladimir Putin has been sick with cancer.

Sources used:

-TheGuardian: ‘‘I’m a dead man walking’: ex-Russian spy says defectors in UK are at risk’

-Mirror: ‘EXCLUSIVE: Putin's enemy fears for his life after receiving bullet and death threat in post’

-Spectator: ‘Boris Bondarev: Why more Russians aren’t defecting’