Litvinenko Suspect May Run For Sochi Mayor

Andrei Lugovoi in Moscow in January 2008

MOSCOW -- The alleged killer of former security officer Aleksandr Litvinenko may run for mayor of the city of Sochi.

The leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia's (LDPR) faction in the State Duma, Igor Lebedev, told journalists that Andrei Lugovoi is the LDPR's most probable candidate for the post.

Lugovoi, 42, is wanted in Britain for his alleged involvement in killing a former Russian security officer, British citizen Litvinenko, in November 2006.

On March 12, former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov told RFE/RL that he would run for mayor of the city of Sochi, where he was born.

Nemtsov, 49, a co-chairman of the opposition Solidarnost (Solidarity) movement, is a co-founder of the Union of Rightist Forces party and an outspoken critic of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The North Caucasus city of Sochi will host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.