The investigation against Aleksandr Nikitin was officially launched on 5 October 1995. The sum of the events of that day is quite amazing, if FSB’s version is to be believed.

Adding what we know about events to the legal necessities of a criminal investigation, this, according to Aleksandr Nikitin, is what must have happened on that miserable day.

“Shortly after lunch on October 5, Perovsky enters the FSB office in St. Petersburg, delivering an early copy of the Northern Fleet report to FSB investigators,” Aleksandr tells us, with quite a sparkle in his eyes.

“The FSB investigators immediately recognises the potentiality of the material in the report, and hurriedly transfers a copy to the First Central Science Research Institute of the Ministry of Defence. Two persons there are also contacted by telephone.”

“The researchers receives the report, and starts reading,” Aleksandr continues. “Having read the 95 pages report, they have no doubts. They speedily write a resolution, confirming the presence of state secrets. They send this resolution back to the FSB.”

“Back at FSB head quarters, then,” laughs Aleksandr Nikitin, “the clever investigators instantiate a criminal investigation, immediately starting preparations for searches at several places. Many of those searches, among others at the Bellona office in Murmansk, took place on that very evening.”

“The FSB must have worked with unbelievable speed on that day,” smiles Aleksandr, obviously not underestimating the ‘unbelievable’ part of that sentence.

On the more sober side, though, is the fact that this is in actuality the way the investigation officially started. Hidden behind this story is obviously one that the FSB will not reveal. One can only wonder why.