Codename: Piccadilly
The story reads like something out of bad James Bond
fanfiction: September 7, 1978. A man
walks through a dark London alley on his way to work. Suddenly, he feels a sharp “bite” on his
leg. He looks around to see the only
other man in this alley. The man seems
startled, apologizes for nothing, and both travel on their way. Four days later the bitten man dies. Over a decade later the world finds out
why.
 |
| Journalist Georgi Markov |
But this is not the product of a lonely, over-imaginative
teenager’s laptop. The dude that died? Journalist Georgi Markov. The reason? Communist dictators have fragile egos.
Shall we? …….
Georgi Markov was born in 1929 in Sofia, Bulgaria. As an adult he first studied chemistry before
turning his attention to writing. By
1961 he had joined the Union of Bulgarian Writers and had become close to the
leader of Communist Bulgaria, Todor Zhivkov1. Markov probably didn’t realize that he was,
at that point, inescapably intertwined with arguably the most impactful period
of modern history: The Cold War.
The Cold War refers to that point of ideological and
political hostility and competition between the democratic west (led by the US,
and including Britain, etc) and the Communist east (essentially the Soviet
Union and its satellite states).
Beginning almost immediately after the close of World War II (because
Nazis > Communists….), the Cold War shaped the world that we know
today. It is difficult for those of my
generation to fully understand the consequences and implications of the Cold
War, the ending of which is typically said to begin somewhere either slightly
before or just a few years after we were born (mid to late 1980s, depending on
who you ask), but it is essential history.
This era was marked by a military arms race, proxy wars (see: Korea,
Vietnam, Afghanistan), and international espionage2. Which all actually sounds pretty
intriguing.
It wasn’t.
What this era eventually led to was the fracturing of the
international order along ideological lines that we still live with today. Why is the Middle East such a tangled mess? Perhaps second only to the effects of
colonialism, the region was a Soviet buffer area for years causing the west to
continually vie for influence in the region.
Like 12 year old boys playing Risk, the region was continually being
invaded, and re-invaded, and then sold weapons, and then invaded for having
weapons, and so on. Why do we care? Because the west still doesn’t trust Russia (or former KGB operative Vladmir Putin)
and therefore we tend to alienate those that chum up to Russia (see: Iran,
China, Korea). Some areas were actually fractured through this
ideological fuckery—the wars in Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan (the first time
‘round) are largely considered to have been proxy wars—wars fought to either
stop or spread Communism or democracy through the entanglement of world powers
in civil conflict3. Why did
we send almost 60,000 Americans to die in Vietnam? We couldn’t risk “Indochina” falling into
Communist hands4. How did
poor shepherds and poppy farmers get anti-tank ballistic missiles? We couldn’t risk more of the Middle East
falling into Communist hands. (Note: I’m
oversimplifying large and important concepts of international politics for the
purposes of time and space. Please see
links5 at bottom for more info.)
I know what you’re thinking:
“Okay. Cold War=Important. Got it.
Can we get back to all the James Bond-esque story telling now?”
Yes. In just a
minute.
 |
| For the geographically challenged... |
In 1960s Bulgaria the Cold War informed the realities of
daily life. Bulgaria had only recently
overthrown their monarchy (19446.
Seriously.), and swiftly established a one-party Socialist state with
deep ties to the Soviet Union. Under
then leader, Georgi Dimitrov, Bulgaria did what most new Soviet satellites did—they
industrialized faster than Usain Bolt can get to the end of the block and back,
and repressed any and all form of dissent.
This trend continued and by the 1960s the People’s Republic of Bulgaria
was almost entirely submissive to the Soviet state7. Similar to other states in the Soviet sphere
of influence, nationalism and pride in Bulgarian heritage and culture were
basically required from its citizenry and the leader, Todor Zhivkov—who would
go on to become the longest serving leader in Bulgarian history—allowed for
exactly zero criticism8.
Enter Georgi Markov.
Markov, initially, was a good Bulgarian. He went to university, worked at a state run
industry and, when he became a writer, wrote well enough to be considered a
Bulgarian artist that Bulgarians could be proud of. However, by the 1960s he was becoming
critical of the regime under which he and his fellow countrymen lived. No less than five of his plays were censored
by the Communist party, and his novel The Roof was banned. He was beginning to be seen as a dissident—which
was a fantastic way to end up dead or in prison in the Soviet controlled east9.
So he left.
Initially, Markov moved to Italy, but when his passport was
yanked by the Bulgarian authorities he eventually found his way to
England. After learning English he began
working for the BBC, Radio Free Europe, and the German Deutsche Welle as a
journalist and commentator on Bulgaria and Soviet politics10.
Bulgaria was less than impressed.
 | |
| Todor Zhivkov. Handsome devil, huh? |
Zhivkov’s ego was not prepared for this.
And so we arrive in an alley in London, near the Waterloo
Bridge on September 7, 1978. Markov, on
his way to work, paid little attention to the sharp “bite” he felt and the
unknown man that apologized as he picked up his umbrella. He continued about his day, only barely
noticing when what appeared to be a bug bite developed on his calf. Something wasn’t right though; by the end of
the day Markov was in the hospital with a high fever, and by the end of the
week he was dead. The doctors were
baffled by the fever’s sudden onset and the kidney failure that followed and,
ultimately, proved fatal13.
An autopsy was ordered.
I’m not sure how quickly the enterprising doctor that
examined the “bug bite” on Markov’s calf shit himself after finding what looked
like a bullet from a BB gun in said “bug bite”, but I’m assuming it was pretty
quick. Upon further examination this
bullet began being described as bizarre.
It was small—no larger than the head of a pin—and contained an X-shaped
cavity culminating in two open holes. Inside
this cavity the examiners found traces of ricin14.
 |
| The "BB" |
Ricin is a deadly poison made famous more recently because
of its use by Walter White in Breaking Bad.
Previous to US culture being conducive to the concept of a teacher
needing to sell meth in order to pay medical bills, however, ricin was the
poison of choice for spies everywhere.
That might be an over-statement.
But it was used a lot, Markov’s case being arguably the most
famous. Extracted from the seeds of the
castor oil plant, there is no known antidote.
Upon ingestion (either through inhalation, actual ingestion, or
injection) ricin immediately enters the cells of the body and stops those cells
from making the proteins they need to live.
This leads to massive cell death.
Outwardly, the poisoned victim will experience respiratory distress,
vomiting and diarrhea, fever, fluid in the lungs, dehydration, organ failure,
and death15.
None of this is nearly as fun as it sounds.
Markov’s cause of death was determined and, essentially, so
was the motive. See, it’s not easy to
get ricin. Most countries only allow
scientists to work with such a deadly poison and those scientists are typically
required to get a permit or special permission of some variety to obtain ricin16. Of course, it is possible to make your own
ricin (you didn’t hear that from me), but the process is lengthy and
complicated and people are lazy. Also,
Markov’s criticism of the Bulgarian and, by extension, Soviet regimes was
well-known. It didn’t take Scotland Yard
to determine that he had been killed by a foreign operative. Though it was, in fact, Scotland Yard that
determined that he had been killed by a foreign operative17.
But how?
 |
| The breakup of the USSR |
It would take more than a decade for this question to be
answered, and the reason for that is also tied to the history of the Cold
War. The Cold War had started defrosting
in the early 80s as the Soviet Union began to warm up to the west under the leadership
of Mikhail Gorbachev. They weren’t
warming up to the west because they suddenly found themselves in need of more
people at their slumber party, they were, instead, succumbing to radical
nationalist movements that had broken out across the USSR and its satellites,
many in response to crashing economies.
On Christmas Day 1991 the Soviet Union officially disintegrated and
fifteen separate states emerged. What
followed was confusion the world had never seen before. These states had to rapidly reorganize
themselves without a global hegemon guiding them, some had fallen to coups,
others had completely re-engineered their governments. In the aftermath, previously unknown
information regarding the practices and policies of the Soviet-led governments
were revealed. Entire basements of
documents relating to the Soviet KGB and other intelligence organizations were made
public through one channel or another18.
And among these documents, deep in a basement somewhere in
Russia, a number of oddly constructed umbrellas were found.
These umbrellas had been constructed with hollowed tubes,
triggers, and the ability to “shoot” a projectile. This was the delivery method of the ricin
that killed Georgi Markov. A super spy
umbrella essentially fired a small BB-esque round filled with ricin kept in
place by a sugary coating set to melt at 98 degrees (the standard temp of the
human body) into the leg of the dissident journalist in exile19.
The love-child of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie
couldn’t make this shit up.
The documents relating to Markov’s murder were never
discovered, or released, and were probably destroyed. However, former KGB agents have verified that
there was a KGB connection to the killing20. The assassin, however, has never been
identified, though suspicion falls on a former Bulgarian secret agent codenamed
Piccadilly21.
In London the investigation is currently active.
References:
1. Kenety, Y. 2006. The Poison Umbrella. New Presence: The
Prague Journal of Central European Affairs. Retrieved from: ebscohost
2. The Cold War Museum. Coldwar.org
3. Mastny, V. 1998. The Cold War and Soviet Insecurity: The
Stalin Years. Retrieved from: Google Scholar
4. The National Archives.
Archives.gov
5. Links for more information regarding the Cold War and the
current international order:
Coldwar.org
Walker, M. 1993. The
Cold War and the Making of the Modern World. Amazon.com
How Did the Cold War Affect Modern Europe? https://www.reference.com/history/did-cold-war-affect-europe-dba70cdf6747f030
Vegso, R. 2012. The
Naked Communist: Cold War Modernism and the Politics of Popular Culture.
Melley, T. 2012. Covert
Sphere: Secrecy, Fiction, and the National Security State.
6. Binder, D. 1998. Todor
Zhivkov dies at 86; Ruled Bulgaria for 35 years. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/07/world/todor-zhivkov-dies-at-86-ruled-bulgaria-for-35-years.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
7. CIA World Factbook. People’s Republic of Bulgaria.
8. Binder, D. 1998. Todor
Zhivkov dies at 86; Ruled Bulgaria for 35 years. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/07/world/todor-zhivkov-dies-at-86-ruled-bulgaria-for-35-years.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
9. Kenety, Y. 2006. The
Poison Umbrella. New Presence: The Prague Journal of Central European
Affairs. Retrieved from: ebscohost
10. Kenety, Y. 2006. The
Poison Umbrella. New Presence: The Prague Journal of Central European
Affairs. Retrieved from: ebscohost
11. Kenety, Y. 2006. The
Poison Umbrella. New Presence: The Prague Journal of Central European
Affairs. Retrieved from: ebscohost
12. Kenety, Y. 2006. The
Poison Umbrella. New Presence: The Prague Journal of Central European
Affairs. Retrieved from: ebscohost
13. Paploucas, C., Paploucas, G. Stergilous, A. 2008. Ricin and the Assassination of Georgi
Markov. Retrieved from: europemc.org
14. Paploucas, C., Paploucas, G. Stergilous, A. 2008. Ricin and the Assassination of Georgi
Markov. Retrieved from: europemc.org
15. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Facts About Ricin. http://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/ricin/facts.asp
16. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Facts About Ricin. http://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/ricin/facts.asp
17. Holdsworth, N. 2013. Prime
Suspect in Georgi Markov “Umbrella Murder” Tracked Down to Austria. The
Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9949856/Prime-suspect-in-Georgi-Markov-umbrella-poison-murder-tracked-down-to-Austria.html
18. The Cold War Museum. Coldwar.org
19. Paploucas, C., Paploucas, G. Stergilous, A. 2008. Ricin
and the Assassination of Georgi Markov. Retrieved from: europemc.org
20. Holdsworth, N. 2013. Prime
Suspect in Georgi Markov “Umbrella Murder” Tracked Down to Austria. The
Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9949856/Prime-suspect-in-Georgi-Markov-umbrella-poison-murder-tracked-down-to-Austria.html
21. Holdsworth, N. 2013. Prime
Suspect in Georgi Markov “Umbrella Murder” Tracked Down to Austria. The
Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9949856/Prime-suspect-in-Georgi-Markov-umbrella-poison-murder-tracked-down-to-Austria.html
