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February 4th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda - Ex-wife believes police might be trying to protect reputation of hotel
- Writer’s best friend in the city was a former Russian special forces soldier
- Family now bring body back to the UK for autopsy
By
Will Stewart
Last updated at 7:42 PM on 3rd February 2012
The last picture of writer Colin Adams in a Moscow bar, taken the evening before he died after becoming involved in an altercation with a hotel barman
The family of a British writer and former army officer who died last month in Moscow fear the Russian police are seeking to cover-up his murder or manslaughter.
Colin Adams, 70, who penned a book on climbing in the Welsh mountains, was staying at a large tourist hotel when a late night and unexplained altercation with a barman and a subsequent fall evidently led to his death.
In a plot that could have come straight out of a John le Carré thriller he became involved in a mysterious late night altercation with a hotel barman and a subsequent fall is believed to have led to his death.
But police have showed little
enthusiasm for fully probing events around the incident and an
investigation launched by his ex-wife Elena Adams, 57, and son Roger,
has raised some probing questions.
Mrs
Adams fears a cover-up may be underway to protect the reputation of the
Kosmos hotel, built for the 1980 Olympics and one of the largest in
Moscow.
The family
have now abandoned plans to have the author’s remains cremated in
Moscow and have brought his body back for a new autopsy in Britain.
As
a result, their suspicions have only deepened over the fate of a
healthy man who seemed ten or more years younger than his age, authored
authoritative book The Mountain Walker’s Guide to Wales, and is known to
have met members of the Royal Family.
‘Moscow
police now claim it was not a crime, and have ruled out any criminal
investigation,’ said Riga-born Elena, who remained a close friend after
her divorce from the writer.
She
went to Moscow on behalf of the family to collect his belongings but
immediately became deeply concerned over the circumstances of his
death.
‘I am not satisfied with what the police say, but I am at a loss what to do next.’
With the help of the British Embassy, she went to the mortuary where she was at first blocked from seeing Mr Adams’ body. Finally, she persuaded the director to let her in, and she was given one minute but banned from taking pictures.
‘To say I was shocked is to say nothing,’ she said. ‘I had read all the news stories on the web about his death, and so I knew he had fallen and received head injuries.
‘But I could not imagine such a hole in his temple. I could have easily put all my five fingers inside it.
‘It had dried blood all over it and when my eyes moved further I saw another hole right on the top of his head, also huge, large enough to insert my hand had I wanted to.’
She met the police investigator – ‘she was a very young woman, aged 20 I think, and I could hardly believe my eyes. I’m sure it is easy to influence somebody so young.
‘She showed me the short handwritten note in the official file where Colin’s injuries were described.
‘I could hardly read the scrawl. It was in bad handwriting and just several lines long. I was not allowed to make a copy of it. The only thing the investigator added was that when doctors turned Colin’s head left and right after his death, the blood kept pouring out.’
Elena Adams, ex-wife of author Colin Adams, at the Kosmos Hotel in Moscow, where the travel writer died. Mrs Adams fears a cover-up may be underway to protect the reputation of the Kosmos hotel
Earlier, this month the police decided against any legal action against barman Andrei Okhotin, who was initially detained. ‘Suspicions about him have all been dropped, ‘ said Mr Adams.
Further, the Russian authorities insisted that the writer died from a heart attack and there was no need to open a murder investigation surrounding his death.
After seeking legal advice in Russia, the family abandoned plans for a Moscow cremation and sent the body back to Britain to check the results of the Russian autopsy.
‘We were told that Colin really died from a serious heart attack but that this was highly likely to have been caused by his head wounds,’ said Elena.
‘So the question is how he got these wounds. Did he fall down or did somebody attack him leading to his death? This is what the British doctors cannot tell us.’
The British autopsy, the full results of which will go to an inquest in Britain, found that it would be surprising if he got both head wounds from a fall, it is understood.
‘If he was assaulted and this led to his death, it could be manslaughter,” said the victim’s son.
There was another deep shock for the family.
‘The second autopsy revealed one of Colin’s kidneys was taken out in Russia. I am not sure why and if they had any right to do so,’ said Elena.
Other mysteries remain.
One Russian suggestion fed to the local media, but not officially confirmed by police, is that after midnight Mr Adams had climbed onto the bar and fallen, apparently the worse for drink.
Yet Elena and several Russian friends suggest that such behaviour was entirely out of character, and that he was not a heavy drinker though enjoying the occasional beer.
The hotel has admitted that the 70 year old man did not buy drinks at the bar before the episode happened.
Attempts by the family to view CCTV footage of the incident and eye-witness statements taken by police are getting nowhere, despite the involvement of the British Embassy.
Next, while he evidently received the serious injuries at the hotel bar, rather than summon medical help, there is evidence that Mr Adams was carried by security hotel men to his room where he was later found to be dead.
‘I am very worried that they say it was just an accident, not a murder, because nobody wants it to be a murder, neither the hotel, nor the police, maybe even for some political reasons because it could disrupt relations,’ said Elena.
Having visited the Moscow bar, she insisted: ‘It is not possible to get such injuries when you just fall down.
‘And I never ever saw him badly drunk. He could drink a pint of but always controlled himself.
‘He was a true gentleman. I can’t imagine him starting a fight, especially in a public place like hotel. He was a very tall and strong man, and surely he would not let anybody abuse him.
‘If this happened he would have replied with something strong and maybe rude in return, but no fighting, no way.’
Another intriguing question is why Mr Adams was in Moscow. He returned to it year after year on regular trips to the Russian capital. Could he have, perhaps unwittingly, crossed somebody?
One theory is that he was writing a travel book. Another suggestion from a Moscow cafe owner that he often frequented was that he enjoyed the company of younger Russian women who he sometimes entertained to meals.
‘Colin had a passion for Russia. He liked its cool climate and the people,’ said Elena, who did not think he was romantically involved in Russia or had business dealings.
Taxi driver Yuri Novikov, 52, said he had known Mr Adams for around 14 years since his first visit to Moscow.
‘I was the person who knew him best,’ he said, explaining they shared a drink together on the eve of his death.
‘Both of us were ex-army men. I served in the Soviet special forces in the Caucasus. For some reason Colin didn’t talk about his military career.
‘I don’t know if was involved in business as well as writing, he never told me, I only know he liked to collect impressions about places.
‘Colin was a cheerful and curious person. He liked Russia, and was interested in understanding Russian people.
I am not exactly sure of the purposes of his previous visits here, but he came twice a year, every spring and every autumn, and stayed for a couple of weeks.’
A lover of the beauty of the Welsh mountains, it seems, incongruously, that the bleak Moscow cityscape also held attractions for him.
‘He was very constant about the places he liked. He kept coming back to the same hotel and bars, even the same pond and park.’
But the driver was always left wondering: Why?
At the final meeting, Mr Novikov took a picture of the author who had a strange request for him.
‘He was very keen in seeing the cheapest entertainment places where the rougher kind of Muscovites and guest workers were staying,’ he said. ‘I don’t know why he wanted this and I didn’t take him, explaining it may not be safe.’
The driver is adamant that Mr Adams – a former army physical training instructor – would not have got into a fight.
‘I never saw him badly drunk. Not a single time,’ he said. ‘He was never was aggressive, impatient or anything like this towards me or any other people I saw him with. He was tall, well over six foot, a gentle giant.’
Hotel deputy director Andrey Chernyshov said it was up to police to determine what had happened.
‘It is not clear at all why Mr Adams came down to this bar at 1 am,’ he said.
Moscow police said there was no evidence to open a criminal investigation.
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“But most British still think that Russia is a third world country.”
Surely even our school children would not be so stupid as to think such a thing Paul? If they did I would want to know who was teaching them history!
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I stayed at this hotel in 1993, after drinking in the hotel bar 1 night I was mugged in the lift by a Russian guest…nice place not, seems not much has changed!
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But most British still think that Russia is a third world country.- Paul, UK, 4/2/2012 8:35—- because it is.
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This is a sad story. The Kosmos Hotel is packed to the gunnels with ladies of the night. It’s also not a good idea to drink in the lobby bar as too many ‘nice looking strangers’ are looking for golden opportunities. I wonder if the police checked his bloodstream for a Mickey Finn (which is used on both males and females for the purpose of theft).
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Very sad case. I’m sure there is far more to this than anyone will admit. But that is the thing about Russians. They see no need to tell the truth. The Russian police are no different than the local criminals and mostly work together for their own ‘benefits’. Like most situations where Russians are involved we will never know the truth about this case.
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I stayed there too – VERY creepy! I don’t remember the security guards/very large ladies “sleeping” – they were always awake, upright and looking for potential trouble
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I stayed in the Cosmos Hotel in 1986 and for a top hotel it was more like a prison camp. A security guard slept outside the lift on every floor to check you into your room and out and probably to stop you entertaining guests, mind you the ordinary Russians weren’t allowed into the hotel at all, strictly for foreigners.
– Adrian Swall, Northumberland, 03/2/2012 19:58
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A lot has changed since. It used to be a USSR, now it’s completely different! But most British still think that Russia is a third world country.
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Not a place to be taken lightly when travelling.
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The death of Mr. Adams and his visit to Moscow sounds very suspicious. I hope he will rest in peace.
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Not surprised. It was a well known fact amoung British business men in the 60’s to VERY wary of the Russians Not only did they nick the goods over night to photo the items, they also followed you to hopefully catch you in a compromising situation. I know,. was followed many a time by them in the Eastern block countries. It was good training for your 6th sense!!
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