Colonel Stanislav Makshakov, who was named as the head of the group responsible for poisoning Alexei Navalny with “Novichok,” has been appointed as the head of the Institute of Forensic Science of the FSB, discovered by “Verstka”**. According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, he received the new position on April 23, prior to which Makshakov held the position of deputy director of the institute.
Makshakov, a highly qualified military medic, was allegedly one of the leaders of the group involved in the poisoning of Alexei Navalny with “Novichok” in August 2020. It was with him that the participants of the assassination attempt were particularly actively in contact on the eve of the poisoning and in the following few days . At that time, he held the position of deputy head of Research Institute-2 for science and was actively in contact with high-ranking FSB officers involved in the operation. Before this, he worked for several years in the closed military town of Shikhany-2, where research was conducted on the effects of types of poisons, including “Novichok,” on the human body.
Military Unit 34435, on the basis of which the Institute of Forensic Science is located, is a subdivision of the FSB specializing in conducting various examinations: from polygraph tests to linguistic analysis and speech recognition. In addition, the institute manages several sites for the refinement and application of chemical weapons, and its employees participate in assassination attempts on opposition figures.
* Included in the list of “terrorists and extremists.”
** Recognized as a “foreign agent” in Russia.