As Alexander Litvinenko lay dying from radiation poisoning in 2006, he named the man he thought had ordered his murder: Russian President Vladimir Putin.
More than eight years on and with the U.K.-Russia relations at their iciest since the Cold War, an inquiry is opening into the killing of the Russian intelligence agent turned Kremlin critic.
Litvinenko was poisoned in London with radioactive polonium-210, and Britain has accused Russia of involvement.
Litvinenko's family hopes the judge-led inquiry that opens Tuesday will provide answers about what their lawyer has called "an act of state-sponsored nuclear terrorism on the streets of London."
But parts of the inquiry will be held in private, and judge Robert Owen has said it's "inevitable" that some of his final report will remain secret for security reasons.
