Talk:Nikolai Khokhlov

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Old talk[edit]

Wow! Dr. Khokhlov was one of my professors at California State U., San Bernardino in 1993-1994. We knew that he was a Soviet defector, and he sometimes alluded vaguely to cloak-and-dagger stuff, but I had no idea about his history as a KGB hit man. He was a great teacher, and a really kind and warm person. I took History and Systems of Psychology and Perception from him as an undergrad. 209.142.143.71 08:56, 17 October 2006 (UTC) Jack Gillen[reply]

I found information that Nikolay Khokhlov was working as a consultant for US Government in the field of parapsychology(???), and that his wife and son were sent to labor camp. Can anyone veify this and add more to this article? Biophys 01:24, 20 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

He used to talk about parapsychological stuff he did at Duke University with the gov't. I don't remember any of the details, but he talked about how the Soviets were "ahead" of the U.S. in that area. He definitely believed in stuff like Kirlian photography and "auras" and things like that.209.142.167.206 01:43, 25 November 2006 (UTC)Jack Gillen[reply]

Died?[edit]

I remove this [1]. We need a reliable source for this. The source doesn't have to say he died, just have to confirm that there are rumours. Until we know otherwise, this is a BLP so it's normal practice to remove unsourced material especially if it's negative or potentially libellious. While having died may not necessarily be negative or potentially libellious it can be so it's wise to err on the side of caution. Nil Einne 18:54, 20 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Part of our lede paragraph, "The KGB unsuccessfully tried to kill him using thallium poison" is in dispute, even in the article.[edit]

Our article's lead paragraph, "Nikolai Evgenievich Khokhlov (Cyrillic: Николай Евгеньевич Хохлов) (7 June 1922, Nizhny Novgorod - September 2007 San Bernardino, California) was a KGB officer who defected to the United States in 1954. He testified about KGB activities. The KGB unsuccessfully tried to kill him using thallium poison." mentions thallium as the agent allegedly used against Khokhlov. Our own article presents evidence further down that it's in dispute whether the poison used was radioactive thallium or polonium-210, which was used in the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko. Khokhlov and Litvinenko were both treated for thallium poisoning initially, but Litvinenko was later found to have been given polonium-210, and our article quotes a former KGB officer, Stanislav Lekarev , as saying Khokhlov also was poisoned with polonium-210.

The best way to solve the issue is to omit the disputed specific name of the poison which was given to Khokhlov. The new lede would be shorter, and less potentially contentious:

"Nikolai Evgenievich Khokhlov (Cyrillic: Николай Евгеньевич Хохлов) (7 June 1922, Nizhny Novgorod - September 2007 San Bernardino, California) was a KGB officer who defected to the United States in 1954. He testified about KGB activities. The KGB unsuccessfully tried to poison him in 1957."

I'll be WP:BOLD and make that change, as lede paragraphs ought to quickly acquaint the reader with the article's contents - my proposed change doesn't confuse the reader as the existing lede paragraph might. loupgarous (talk) 21:32, 7 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Changed article lede parargaph to:

Nikolai Evgenievich Khokhlov (Cyrillic: Николай Евгеньевич Хохлов) (7 June 1922, Nizhny Novgorod - September 2007 San Bernardino, California) was a KGB officer who defected to the United States in 1954. He testified about KGB activities. The KGB unsuccessfully tried to kill him with poison in 1957.

I chose to say "kill him with poison" anticipating an objection to my proposed text which ended "The KGB unsuccessfully tried to poison him in 1957". The KGB succeeded in poisoning Khokhlov. The US Army Medical Corps succeeded in saving his life with immediate therapy to remove whatever the KGB gave him from his body (the therapy for thallium and polonium poisoning is similar, usually chelation with drugs like EDTA and DTPA). So I changed my proposed lede to reflect that the KGB tried to kill him. If Khokhlov had drunk all of the poisoned coffee he'd been served, he'd likely have died, according to Serhii Plokhy in his book The Man with the Poison Gun. loupgarous (talk) 21:55, 7 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

redirect?[edit]

There is a variant spelling of his name: Nikolaj Chochlow. I suggest a redirect so he may be found easier. Fah (talk) 15:58, 19 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]