"no hard evidence" is not the required standard. There may be no "hard evidence" that COVID came from the WIV, but there is overwhelming circumstantial evidence, which is more than enough to compel that it did as the only reasonable conclusion.
The weight of the evidence is that Stalin was behind the assasination. Stalin had the strongest motive to kill Kirov, and was in the highest possible position to be ordering assassinations. It is difficult to imagine that all the NKVD errors were due to stupidity and not intent, or that the NKVD would act as it did without Stalin's approval. It's a bit like saying there is no "hard evidence" the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia was involved in Khashoggi's murder.
upon his transfer (at the order of Stalin) from Azerbaijan to Leningrad, Kirov bitterly complained about the situation in letters to his wife. Kirov's letters show that he was very unhappy to have been called to vacation with Stalin in Sochi in the summer of 1934. Also a speech Kirov gave around the time of Stalin's fiftieth birthday. At that time, party leaders were revering Stalin in their orations. Kirov not only damned his boss with faint praise, but went so far as to bring up Lenin's Testament, in which Stalin was described as rude and unfit to rule.
the floor on which he was killed had restricted access; Kirov's bodyguard was too far behind him to be of assistance, and was killed the next day in a mysterious truck accident; and the shooter had been caught by the NKVD at least once prior to the assassination in possession of a handgun and released.
Although it was commonly assumed that Kirov had arrived unexpectedly at the Smolny Institute, in fact one of his bodyguards had called at least one-half hour before his arrival, leaving (limited) time for the plan to be set in motion. Strangely, the assassin was found unconscious at the scene. Witnesses in the hallway provided conflicting stories that were never investigated by the NKVD; moreover, the police did not close off the building immediately after the murder.
Russia was "Stalin did it" throughout the Cold War. Russian policy shifted around 30 years ago not to rehabilitate Stalin, but instead to rehabilitate the NKVD -> KGB -> FSB. Putin especially had an incentive to rehabilitate Stalin so that he wouldn't be accused of the same things.
"no hard evidence" is not the required standard. There may be no "hard evidence" that COVID came from the WIV, but there is overwhelming circumstantial evidence, which is more than enough to compel that it did as the only reasonable conclusion.
The weight of the evidence is that Stalin was behind the assasination. Stalin had the strongest motive to kill Kirov, and was in the highest possible position to be ordering assassinations. It is difficult to imagine that all the NKVD errors were due to stupidity and not intent, or that the NKVD would act as it did without Stalin's approval. It's a bit like saying there is no "hard evidence" the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia was involved in Khashoggi's murder.
upon his transfer (at the order of Stalin) from Azerbaijan to Leningrad, Kirov bitterly complained about the situation in letters to his wife. Kirov's letters show that he was very unhappy to have been called to vacation with Stalin in Sochi in the summer of 1934. Also a speech Kirov gave around the time of Stalin's fiftieth birthday. At that time, party leaders were revering Stalin in their orations. Kirov not only damned his boss with faint praise, but went so far as to bring up Lenin's Testament, in which Stalin was described as rude and unfit to rule.
the floor on which he was killed had restricted access; Kirov's bodyguard was too far behind him to be of assistance, and was killed the next day in a mysterious truck accident; and the shooter had been caught by the NKVD at least once prior to the assassination in possession of a handgun and released.
Although it was commonly assumed that Kirov had arrived unexpectedly at the Smolny Institute, in fact one of his bodyguards had called at least one-half hour before his arrival, leaving (limited) time for the plan to be set in motion. Strangely, the assassin was found unconscious at the scene. Witnesses in the hallway provided conflicting stories that were never investigated by the NKVD; moreover, the police did not close off the building immediately after the murder.
Russia was "Stalin did it" throughout the Cold War. Russian policy shifted around 30 years ago not to rehabilitate Stalin, but instead to rehabilitate the NKVD -> KGB -> FSB. Putin especially had an incentive to rehabilitate Stalin so that he wouldn't be accused of the same things.