As Arkadi Vaksberg reveals in his shocking new book, the poisoning of political opponents is as prevalent in today’s Russia as it was at the height of the Soviet era. Since the Revolution of 1917, the Kremlin has used the most advanced methods of poisoning to eliminate whomever they thought to be against the regime. In 1921, Lenin decided to create a “poison laboratory” in order to “combat the enemies of the Soviet Power.”

After a thorough investigation—with access to previously undisclosed information—Vaksberg uncovers the truth behind numerous mysterious assassinations that were often disguised as accidents or deaths by natural causes. We would be wrong in thinking that these disturbing practices ceased along with the death of Stalin. Lenin’s widow, the Soviet general Frounze, the writer Boris Pilniak, and the former mayor of St. Petersburg are among the long list of victims. The poisoning of Ukrainian president Viktor Ioutchenko (who survived) and, most recently, the death of former Soviet agent Alexandre Litvinenko only confirm the frightening truth that the poison laboratory is still very much in use today.