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Russian ex-PM has mystery illness Russian ex-PM has mystery illness
(about 2 hours later)
Former Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar is being treated in a Moscow hospital after falling violently ill on a trip to Ireland on 24 November. Former acting Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar is being treated in a Moscow hospital amid rumours about the cause of his mystery illness.
Speculation is rife that he may have been poisoned. He fell ill a day after former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko died of radiation poisoning in London. Mr Gaidar became violently ill during a visit to Ireland last week, and his daughter Maria told the BBC that doctors believe he was poisoned.
Mr Gaidar's daughter Maria said "doctors incline towards the view that his symptoms... indicate poisoning". An aide to Mr Gaidar said his condition was improving.
Mr Gaidar was rushed to intensive care in Dublin, then flown to Moscow. Mr Gaidar, 50, fell ill a day after Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko died of radiation poisoning in London.
Mr Gaidar, 50, suffered from a nose bleed and vomiting before fainting in Dublin last Friday, during a visit to promote his book The Death of Empire: Lessons for Contemporary Russia. Mr Gaidar briefly served as prime minister in 1992 under Russian President Vladimir Putin's predecessor, Boris Yeltsin.
His daughter was quoted as saying he had eaten "a simple breakfast of fruit salad and a cup of tea". He now heads a Moscow-based think-tank which has criticised President Putin's economic policies, but he is a marginal political figure who is not regarded as a prominent political opponent of the Russian leader.
Economic role 'Pale and thin'
He has criticised President Vladimir Putin's economic policies, but is not regarded as a prominent political opponent of the Russian leader. Mr Gaidar suffered from a nose bleed and vomiting before fainting in Dublin last Friday, during a visit to promote his book The Death of Empire: Lessons for Contemporary Russia.
His programme of economic "shock therapy" under Mr Putin's predecessor Boris Yeltsin angered many Russians who saw their savings devalued. The programme lifted price controls and launched large-scale privatisations. It could be a political poisoning because there are no personal or business reasons why someone would want to do that Maria GaidarDaughter Ms Gaidar was quoted as saying her father had eaten a "simple breakfast of fruit salad and a cup of tea".
Maria Gaidar said she expected doctors to announce their diagnosis of his mystery illness on Friday. Ms Gaidar, an anti-Kremlin activist, told the BBC doctors in Moscow had been unable to find any other cause except poisoning.
"His condition is satisfactory and he is speaking, but he looks very bad - he looks pale and thin," she told Reuters news agency. "The doctors think that they don't find any other reason of his condition that he was poisoned with some strange poison they cannot identify," she said. "But to have an official conclusion they're still waiting for the information of the doctors of Dublin."
Anatoly Chubais, who oversaw Boris Yeltsin's privatisation programme and now heads Russia's electricity monopoly Unified Energy Systems, saw his illness as suspicious. She said that if her father had been deliberately poisoned "it could be a political poisoning because there are no personal or business reasons why someone would want to do that".
He linked the case to Mr Litvinenko's death and last month's murder of investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya - both of whom were fierce critics of President Putin. She told Reuters news agency her father was speaking, but looked pale and thin.
"The theory of attempted poisoning, attempted murder should undoubtedly be considered seriously," Mr Chubais told state-run Rossiya television. Mr Gaidar was treated in intensive care in Dublin after he collapsed, before being flown to Moscow.
"A chain of deaths of... Politkovskaya, Litvinenko and Gaidar would perfectly correspond to the interests and vision of those people who are openly talking about a forceful, unconstitutional change of power in Russia as a possible option." The Irish government has said it had no reason to believe there was anything untoward about Mr Gaidar's illness.
As acting prime minister, Mr Gaidar was responsible for introducing sweeping economic reforms following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
His programme of economic "shock therapy" under which price controls were lifted and large-scale privatisations were launched angered many Russians who saw their savings devalued.