Litvinenko's widow urges Medvedev to reveal truth

LONDON (Reuters) - The widow of poisoned emigre Alexander Litvinenko appealed to Russia's new president Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday to assert his independence by revealing the truth behind her husband's murder.

Marina Litvinenko said the new Kremlin chief, a protege of outgoing leader Vladimir Putin, had the chance to prove he was his own man and distance himself from his predecessor.

"Mr President, today there is no bigger stain on the reputation of the Russian state than my husband's murder," she said in a statement on the day of Medvedev's inauguration.

"You have an opportunity to reveal the secret of this crime to the world, to name the instigators and the perpetrators, and to close this dark page of Russian history. This would let you distance yourself from the legacy of the previous regime and to begin your reign with a clean slate."

She told Medvedev: "If you do not do it, all predictions of your lack of independence would unfortunately be confirmed. You would become a hostage of the people who committed a barbarian act of terror."

Litvinenko, a former KGB security officer who had become an outspoken Kremlin critic in exile, died in London in November 2006 after being poisoned with radioactive polonium. His family and supporters believe the Russian state was behind his murder, an allegation which Moscow has rejected as absurd.

Relations between Moscow and London suffered serious damage last year after Russia refused a British request to extradite the chief suspect in the case.

(Editing by Jon Boyle)