Silent Killers, Not Signals: Why States Use Poison in Assassinations

Contrary to popular belief, states often use poisons in assassinations for concealment rather than to send a public, theatrical message. The famous poisonings of figures like Alexei Navalny and Sergei Skripal were only exposed due to operational failures, such as incorrect dosages or unexpected medical intervention that allowed for detection. Had these assassination attempts gone as planned, the true causes of death would likely have been obscured and misattributed to natural causes. The use of a weakly traceable toxin like epibatidine in Navalny's final assassination further demonstrates that the primary goal was a silent, deniable kill.