Coup de Main

Vilhelm Konnander asks:

Finally, has Putin simply invented this attempted coup d'état as a coup de grâce for Berezovsky? Does the Kremlin seriously consider the exiled and immensely unpopular Berezovsky a threat to power? Or is it Berezovsky's mere existence that is unbearable for Putin?

No need for such dramatic speculation. Mr Berezovsky is simply being employed as an irritant to the government of Mr Blair, to the West's security policies, and as a further thrust in the Kremlin's laborious "double standards" campaign.