Former Russian PM says hit by mystery illness - FT
Source: Reuters
LONDON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Yegor Gaidar, a former Russian prime minister, told the Financial Times he suffered a sudden, serious illness last week on a visit to Ireland. The mystery ailment struck a day after former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko died in a London hospital from radiation poisoning. There was no indication that radiation had been the cause of Gaidar's sickness, the newspaper said on Wednesday. "I have suffered sudden problems with my health on November 24 which posed a threat to my life," the former premier told the newspaper in a telephone interview from a hospital in Moscow where he is undergoing tests. "This threat has not been realised. After a few hours the situation stabilised," Gaidar said. He was unable to explain why he fell ill, noting that it occurred after he ate a simple breakfast where he had been staying near Dublin, the newspaper reported. Gaidar said he had been barely able to move any of his limbs and had spent most of the afternoon lying down. "So far none of the doctors who have examined me can explain the reasons for what had happened to me. All I can say is that I feel I have been born again," Gaidar said. Ekaterina Genieva, who helped organise a conference at National University of Ireland where Gaidar had been due to speak, said he had looked pale when he appeared. Gaidar left the room after about 10 minutes. "I rushed after him and found him lying on the floor, unconscious. He was vomiting blood and also bleeding from the nose for about 35 minutes," the paper quoted her as saying. Gaidar was treated in an Irish hospital overnight before returning to Russia. He declined to comment on whether he thought he had been poisoned. British police are continuing to investigate the death last Thursday of Litvinenko, a Kremlin critic. Significant amounts of radioactive Polonium 210 were found in his body.
| AlertNet news is provided by |  |
