Russia film shows Litvinenko's crusade against 'uncontrollable' FSB

CANNES: A Russian documentary about Alexander Litvinenko, the spy-turned-rebel poisoned in London, details the dead man's crusade against Moscow's now "uncontrollable" FSB secret service.   

Rebellion: The Litvinenko Case, a late entry at the Cannes filmfest which was to be released Saturday, adds no significant new information on his November 23 death by poisoning in London.   

"I have no proof it came from the FSB (ex-KGB)," filmmaker Andrei Nekrasov said.

"What I do know is that the FSB is uncontrollable."   

The 48-year-old director began work on the documentary in 2000 after meeting Litvinenko in London, where the former FSB Lieutenant Colonel with 10 years of service fled after publicly accusing his bosses of corruption, murder, extortion and links with organised crime.   

"The FSB is in charge of Russia today," Nekrasov added.   

The film blasts President Vladimir Putin's regime and hammers home alleged wrongdoing by Litvinenko's former FSB bosses, accused posthumously by the poisoned spy of being "the hand that carries the weapon of a corrupt ruling clan."   

But above all it is a tribute by a friend to Litvinenko, whose widow and 12-year-old son will be in Cannes for its official premiere.   

The spy, poisoned with the radioactive isotope polonium 210, is portrayed as a principled FSB agent who rebelled against the practises of the agency and was then hunted down and made to pay for his criticism.   

Britain is hoping to press murder charges against ex-KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi and is preparing an extradition warrant. Russia in turn said Friday it would try Lugovoi for the London killing if Britain provides sufficient evidence of guilt. "In the highly charged atmosphere around this movie, a lot of people want simple answers," said Nekrasov. "But I don't think there are any simple answers to this story."   

Nekrasov, who shot right up until the Russian ex-agent's last days in a London hospital where he died on November 23 last year, said he and Litvinenko shared a belief that after the liberal 1990s Russia was turning its back on democracy.   

Citing fudged inquiries into suspect bombings in 1999, murders and people gone missing, Nekrasov said: "Slowly but surely we lost our freedom of speech."   

"Sasha's (Litvinenko's) thesis was that freedom of speech had to be stopped."    

The FSB, he said, had more power today than the KGB had under communism, where it was controlled by the party.   

His 90-minute film, co-produced with Olga Konskaya, was not complete when Cannes announced its official line-up in April and in a rare move for the festival was hastily added as a late entry this week.   

Quoting official documents and experts, the scathing denunciation accuses Putin of involvement in the massive misappropriation of humanitarian aid destined for his home region of Saint Petersburg in 1991 and 1992.   

It also alleges that Putin could be party to a Mafia-linked international money-laundering network transiting Germany and Liechtenstein.   

"I'm not a detective and I prefer to leave this affair in the hands of detectives," Nekrasov said.   

"British investigators have done a good job and they wouldn't have accused the Russians if they hadn't had extremely specific reasons to."   

The filmmaker's house in Finland was trashed three weeks ago though nothing was taken. Asked if was afraid because of the release of the film, he said "a little bit" but added: "Fear is like a disease that can overwhelm you."   

"But we love what we do, saying what we believe."