The only thing that is surprising about the conclusion by UK, Netherlands, Sweden and Germany that Alexei Navalny was killed with epibatidine, is the specific poison. Yup. It's weird and not something that has been used before. The Russians (and allies) have long used unusual poisons as a calling card. These exotica attract media attention, which serves Russia's purpose to frighten the living daylights out of critics of the regime both inside and outside Russia. 1/n