DISINFO: Neither the USSR nor Russia have never researched or manufactured Novichok
SUMMARY
Neither the USSR nor Russia have ever conducted research on a substance codenamed Novichok. The most likely sources of the poison gas are the UK, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden and the United States.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative concerning the Novichok nerve agent. The claim that Russia has never studied or stockpiled Novichok is false and contradicts recent statements by the Kremlin. It is well established that Novichok was developed in the Soviet Union beginning in the 1970s. The existence of the research programme was first acknowledged in the 1990s, and the first confirmed victim of the nerve agent was one of the scientists involved in the project. Just one week before the present claim was made, Russian foreign intelligence boss Sergey Naryshkin stated that Russia had destroyed its Novichok stockpile "in accordance with OPCW procedures and rules." See here for a full debunk by POLYGRAPH.info.