Novichok

Series of nerve agents developed by the Soviet Union

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Interest in “Novichok” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-02-25.

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2026-01-27Peak: 4,3342026-02-25

30-day total: 35,384

Key Takeaways

Novichok (Russian: Новичо́к , lit.
The agents were developed at the GosNIIOKhT state chemical research institute by the Soviet Union and Russia between 1971 and 1993.
Dispersal of solid form agents is thought possible if in ultrafine powder state.
Iran has also been associated with the production of such chemical agents.

Novichok (Russian: Новичо́к, lit. 'newcomer, novice, newbie') is a family of nerve agents, some of which are binary chemical weapons. The agents were developed at the GosNIIOKhT state chemical research institute by the Soviet Union and Russia between 1971 and 1993. Some Novichok agents are solids at standard temperature and pressure, while others are liquids. Dispersal of solid form agents is thought possible if in ultrafine powder state.

Russian scientists who developed the nerve agents claim they are the deadliest ever made, with some variants possibly five to eight times more potent than VX, and others up to ten times more potent than soman. Iran has also been associated with the production of such chemical agents.

In the twenty-first century, Novichok agents came to public attention after they were used to poison opponents of the Russian government, including in the attempted assassination of Sergei Skirpal in the United Kingdom which resulted in the poisonings of 5 people and the death of an unrelated civilian in Amesbury (2018), as well as the poisoning of Alexei Navalny (2020). However, the use of Novichok domestically against Russian citizens has been known since at least 1995.

In November 2019, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is the executive body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), added the Novichok agents to "list of controlled substances" of the CWC "in one of the first major changes to the treaty since it was agreed in the 1990s" in response to the 2018 poisonings in the UK.