The mysterious death of Alexander Litvinenko throws a harsh spotlight on the Russian secret services. The controversy has engulfed Russian President Vladimir Putin, forcing him to publicly deny any involvement in the killing. That's probably true: Mr. Putin loses far more than he gains from this incident. But he is responsible -- either by design or by omission -- for empowering the security services and creating an environment that blurred the lines between state and personal interests.

Mr. Litvinenko once worked for the FSB, a successor agency to the KGB, handling domestic security concerns in Russia. He first received public attention in 1999 when he claimed at a press conference that the FSB had ordered him to kill Mr. Boris Berezovsky, a high-profile Russian oligarch who had the temerity to challenge Mr. Putin by backing an opposition political party. (Mr. Berezovsky's readiness to cross the president forced him into exile in London.)

Mr. Litvinenko later published a book in which he claimed the FSB had carried out apartment bombings in Moscow in 1999 so that Chechen terrorists would be blamed. The case has never been solved. (Shortly after those attacks, security officials were arrested with bomb-making materials in another apartment building; they claimed they were conducting a security test.)