Who is Marina Litvinenko?
THE shocking death of Alexander Litvinenko made headlines around the world but was felt most profoundly by his wife Marina Litvinenko.
The former Russian spy died in 2006, weeks after poison was slipped into his cup of tea, and a public inquiry later concluded that the killing had most likely been sanctioned by Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Who is Marina Litvinenko?
Marina Litvinenko is a former ballroom dancer and wife of the late Alexander Litvinenko.
She was born in Moscow, Russia, and met Alexander in 1993, when he was working for the FSB — successor of the KGB — investigating organised crime.
Marina, who fled Russia and moved to the UK with Alexander in 2000, gave her husband the affectionate nickname Sasha.
Since her husband's death, Marina has been a staunch advocate for justice.
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She established the Litvinenko Justice Foundation in 2007.
What has Marina said about her husband Alexander Litvinenko's death?
In an interview with The Sun Marina recalled the day her husband was poisoned in 2006.
Alexander began vomiting in the home he shared with Marina, hours after meeting with Russians Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun.
He had been drinking tea with the men at the Millennium Hotel in London's Mayfair and a later investigation revealed his tea had been spiked with a dose of polonium-210.
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Marina said: "Almost immediately Sasha realised he had been poisoned. I tried to treat it as food poisoning on that first day.
"On the second day it became worse and he couldn't stop vomiting, so we called an ambulance."
Alexander was transferred to the University College Hospital, in central London, and placed under armed police guard.
The dose of polonium-210 that Alexander drank was estimated to be twice as strong as those at the epicentre of the Chernobyl nuclear power station disaster had received.
Alexander fought for 23 days before dying, aged 43, on November 23, 2006.
His wife said: "Sasha was unbelievably strong. The murderers wanted him to die sooner.
"Then people would never know about the polonium, would never know who was behind the crime.
"It would be just another unexplained death in London."
Marina also confirmed that Alexander phoned the police from his deathbed to report his own murder.
The shocking moment was dramatised for ITVX series Litvinenko, which sees former Doctor Who star David Tennant play Marina's late husband.
In 2020 Marina sued Russia for £3.1m through the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
The ECHR concluded that Russia had to pay €122,500 in costs and other damages to Marina.
As of 2023 it had not yet done so.
Marina did not remarry after Alexander's death but she did have a relationship with a man who died of cancer in 2018.
She has said that anyone who enters a relationship with her "must accept that Sasha is never 'ex'. He is always there."
Marina has also said that her ambition is to see Putin tried for war crimes and the murder of her husband.
She said: "Although Alexander isn't alive, I've always tried to keep his story alive.
"After the invasion of Ukraine it's more important than ever."
Does Marina Litvinenko have any children?
Marina and Alexander had one son together called Anatoly.
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As of 2023 he is 28 years old and working in IT in the UK.
Marina told The Sun that life "wasn't easy" for Anatoly after his father's death, and that he had been "traumatised by what happened".