Georgi Markov
Georgi Ivanov Markov () (
March 1,
1929 -
September 11,
1978) was a
Bulgarian dissident. Markov originally worked as a
novelist and
playwright, but in
1969, he defected from Bulgaria, then a
communist state under the leadership of President
Todor Zhivkov. After moving to the West, he worked as a broadcaster and journalist for the
BBC World Service,
Radio Free Europe, and the German
Deutsche Welle. He criticised the Bulgarian communist regime many times on radio, and it is speculated that as a result of this, the Bulgarian government decided to dispose of him, requesting
KGB assistance to do so.
Agents of the Bulgarian secret police assisted by the
KGB had previously made two failed attempts to kill Markov before a third attempt succeeded. On
September 7,
1978 (the anniversary of
Todor Zhivkov), Markov walked across
Waterloo Bridge, which crosses the
River Thames, and was waiting at a bus stop on the other side, when he was jabbed in the leg by a man holding an
umbrella. The man apologized and walked away. Markov would later tell doctors that the man had spoken in a foreign accent.
Markov recalled feeling a stinging pain from where he had been hit by the umbrella tip. When he arrived at work at the offices he noticed a small red
pimple had formed and the pain from being jabbed had not gone away. He told at least one of his colleagues at the BBC about this incident. That evening he developed a high
fever and was admitted to hospital where he died three days later.
Due to the circumstances and statements Markov made to doctors expressing the suspicion that he had been poisoned,
Scotland Yard ordered a thorough
post mortem examination of Markov's body. At the post mortem, forensic pathologists discovered a spherical metal pellet the size of a pin-head embedded in Markov's calf.
The pellet measured 1.52 mm in diameter and was composed of 90%
platinum and 10%
iridium. It had two holes with diameters of 0.35mm drilled through it, producing an X-shaped cavity. These holes had been made using a powerful laser. Further examination by experts from
Porton Down showed that the pellet contained traces of
ricin toxin. Even if the doctors treating Markov had known this it would have made no difference because there was no known antidote to
ricin poisoning.
|
The umbrella that killed Markov |
Several high profile KGB defectors, such as
Oleg Gordievsky have confirmed that the KGB was behind the assassination, even presenting the Bulgarian assassin with alternatives such as a poisonous
jelly to smear on Markov's
skin, but to this day no-one has been charged with Markov's murder, largely because most documents relating to Markov's death were probably destroyed. The leading newspaper
The Times reported on 17 May 2006 (page 27) that Francesco Gullino is the prime suspect and notes that the Bulgarian Statute of Limitations runs out in 2008.
Markov was married with two children. His grave can be found in a small churchyard at
Whitchurch Canonicorum in
Dorset.
*The
Scottish postpunk group
Fingerprintz recorded a song for their
1979 album
The Very Dab that was inspired by Markov's assassination. The name of that song is "Wet Job", and the song itself references how Markov "was waiting for a bus [..] in the rush hour" when he was assassinated (the song also mentions that the deed was "a hit").
*In an episode of the
Discovery Channel television show
MythBusters, the two hosts of the show,
Adam Savage and
Jamie Hyneman created working replicas of the umbrella used to assassinate Markov.
*The assassination of Markov with a
Bulgarian umbrella inspired the creation of the French film "Le coup de parapluie" ("Umbrella coup") starring
Pierre Richard and directed by
Gerard Oury.
*
Times Online(UK) article revealing Dane as the umbrella killer.*
1984 audio interview of Annabel Markov about Georgi Markov by
Don Swaim
