28 March 2023 , 12:48
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An outspoken Russian politician has been poisoned after publicly condemning Russia's widely ill-conceived war in Ukraine.
Elvira Vikhareva, 32, was discovered to have traces of very toxic potassium dichromate in her blood after criticising the Kremlin.
Elvira had become ill in November last year with symptoms of muscle spasms, severe stomach pains and hair loss.
Her condition worsened throughout the months and lasted until February this year.
In brave defiance, Elvira revealed her test results with Russia's Sota news channel, which showed that traces of potassium dichromate - a toxic chemical used as an oxidizing agent - had been found in her blood.
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Speaking on TV Rain, Elvira said she would not be appealing to the police as she knew anyone who was opposed to the war would be seen as "enemy number one."
Elvira said anyone opposing Putin (pictured) would be seen as 'enemy number one' (Gavriil Grigorov/AP/REX/Shutterstock)She added: "When the test results came back the only phrase that was heard was: "How did you survive?"
"I don't have any assumptions but if a person has an anti-war position and is in Russia, and can express their thoughts clearly about what is going on in Russia and Ukraine, then they are enemy number one."
Elvira said going to the police for help would be like going to a "bloody executioner".
She added: "I survived and I want my survival to aggrieve those who were responsible."
As a result of her poisoning, Elvira's looks have been affected and she has stopped showing her face on camera.
She said on social media her body began to "give up" and she had to have regular visits from her doctors.
Elvira said going to the police for help would be like going to a 'bloody executioner' (Elvira Vikhareva/Instagram)The poisoning has left her with shaking hands, eyelashes that fall out and nails "that look like they've been run over by a train".
Elvira had worked on the election campaigns for Dmitry Gudkov - an exiled opposition politician - who ran for the Duma in 2021.
But they lost to a pro-Kremlin candidate amid widespread accusations of vote rigging.
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This is not the first case of a suspected poisoning attack on an outspoken Putin critic.
In August 2020, Alexei Navalny, Russia's de facto opposition leader, almost died after being poisoned by having novichok smeared into his underwear by FSB agents.
In another case of poisoning, Russian agents have been accused of targetting opposition leader, Alexi Navalny.
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny appears on a screen set up at a courtroom of the Moscow City Court (AFP via Getty Images)Navalny was rushed to a hospital in Germany after falling ill on a domestic Russian flight in August 2020.
Evidence revealed that the leader had been poisoned but was able to recover.
However, the outspoken politician returned to Russia and was placed in prison on charges of fraud on contempt of court.
He was sentenced to a nine-year prison sentence in March 2022 after being found guilty of embezzlement and contempt of court.
More infamously Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent turned opposition activist, was poisoned and killed with polonium-210 in London in 2006.
In 2021, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Kremlin was responsible for Litvinenko's death - however, they have denied any involvement.