Although the official position of Russia is that Colonel-General Eduard Chernovoltsev has retired, reports suggest that he was actually fired.
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'Regretted' the situation in Ukraine
Metro reports that Chernovoltsev repeatedly condemned the Ukraine war in private. This is according to a source who made this claim in an interview with The Insider,saying Chernovoltsev,
greatly regretted the start of the military operation in Ukraine and, in the company of his friends, said more than once that it has all gone too far.
Reportedly, Chernovoltsev was also responsible for sensitive data including databases about associates of Vladimir Putin, which have frequently leaked to journalists.
According to Metro, Chernovoltsev has also been caught twice by traffic police driving while intoxicated.
Infamous poison lab
Chernovoltsev was the head of a secret FSB research lab dedicated to coming up with new forms of poison.
The FSB is Russia's federal security service, while Chernovoltsev was in charge of the infamous NII-2 research facility which is reportedly behind the development of novel poisons.
Putin’s main opponent, opposition leader Alexey Navalny, was allegedly poisoned by the nerve agent Novichok by Chernovoltsev's staff, Mirror reports.
Chernovoltsev’s staff are also allegedly behind the two-time poisoning of another Putin opponent Vladimir Kara-Murza in 2015 and 2017.
Both Navalny and Kara-Murza barely survived and are now behind bars as political prisoners.
Besides the poison lab, Chernovoltsev, who is only 52, was in charge of other important FSB departments, but the official country position is that he has retired, although he is still below the official retirement age.
Sources used:
-Metro: ‘Head of Putin’s secret poison labs ‘sacked for criticising war in Ukraine’
-Mirror: ‘Head of Vladimir Putin’s secret poison labs fired after criticising war in Ukraine’
