Bulgarian Umbrella
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A Bulgarian umbrella is an
umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used when protec ...
with a hidden pneumatic mechanism which injects a small poisonous pellet containing ricin.


Recorded usage

Such an umbrella was used in and named for the assassination of the Bulgarian dissident writer Georgi Markov on 7 September 1978 (the birthday of the Bulgarian State Council chairman Todor Zhivkov, who had often been the target of Georgi Markov's criticism) on
Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at the ...
in London. Markov died four days later. It was also allegedly used in the failed assassination attempt against the Bulgarian dissident journalist Vladimir Kostov the same year in the Paris ''Métro''. The poison used in both cases was ricin. Both assassination attempts are believed to have been organized by the Bulgarian Secret Service of the time of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
with the assistance of the
KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...
. Such an umbrella was intended to be used in the assassination of Pallo Jordan and Ronnie Kasrils by the South African Civil Cooperation Bureau death squad.


Cultural influence

These two cases inspired: * The episode "Hot Ice" of '' Quincy, M.E.'' (1979) * The Markov case was referenced directly, and a similar assassination method used, in the 1979 novel '' The Green Ripper'' by John D. MacDonald. * The French film ''Le Coup du parapluie'' ('' The Umbrella Coup'') directed by
Gérard Oury Gérard Oury (; born Max-Gérard Houry Tannenbaum; 29 April 1919 – 20 July 2006) was a French film director, actor and writer. Life and career Max-Gérard Houry-Tannenbaum was the only son of Serge Tannenbaum, a violinist of Russian-Jewish or ...
and starring Pierre Richard (1980) * The episode "At All Costs" of '' The Sandbaggers'' (1980) * Two episodes of the British political comedy series '' Yes Minister'' / '' Yes, Prime Minister'', where in " The Death List" (1981) the titular Minister Jim Hacker is told of various risks by methods of assassination, and in " A Diplomatic Incident" (1987) a Bulgarian umbrella is suggested as a way to kill a French puppy that was intended as gift to the Queen, to prevent a diplomatic incident caused by quarantine regulations * Bulgarian writer Stefan Kisyov's novel '' The Executioner'' (2003) * The episode " Seven Thirty-Seven" of the American
crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...
''
Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan for AMC (TV channel), AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Breaking Bad), Walter White (Bryan Cran ...
'' (2009), which features a plan by protagonists Walter White and Jesse Pinkman to kill a drug lord with ricin. During the introduction of the substance, White highlights the assassination of Markov as a successful case of ricin poisoning. * The episode "I, Murdoch" of ''
Murdoch Mysteries ''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick ...
'' (2009) * The episode "Obsession" of '' NCIS'' (2010) * The episode " Marionette" of '' Fringe'' (2010) * The 96th episode "A x Lawless x Home" of '' Hunter x Hunter'' (2011) features a character Feitan whose umbrella could shoot a projectile. * The episode " The Clock" of ''
The Americans ''The Americans'' is an American historical drama, period spy fiction, spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg for FX (TV channel), FX. It aired for six seasons from 2013 to 2018. Weisberg and Joel Fields also served as showrunners ...
'' (2013) * The video games '' Splatoon 2'' (2017) and '' Splatoon 3'' (2022) feature Brellas, a weapon class consisting of umbrellas that can shoot shotgun-like blasts of ink. * The Hindi-language film '' Raazi'' (2018) * The 2022
Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh ( ; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. A pioneer of modern Independent film, independent cinema, Soderbergh later drew acclaim for formally inventiv ...
thriller '' Kimi'' features a public injection of an unknown
sedative A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or Psychomotor agitation, excitement. They are central nervous system (CNS) Depressant, depressants and interact with brain activity, causing its decelera ...
using the tip of an umbrella.


See also

* Francesco Gullino, alleged Bulgarian umbrella murderer * ''MythBusters'' "Exploding Toilet" – the feasibility of this type of assassination was confirmed in the first episode of ''
MythBusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television series created by Peter Rees (producer), Peter Rees and produced by Beyond International in Australia. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast in ...
''.


References

{{reflist


Further reading

*
The Bulgarian Umbrella: The Soviet Direction and Operations of the Bulgarian Secret Service in Europe
' by Vladimir Kostov, Harvester Press (1988) *
The Global Investigative Journalism Casebook
' edited by Mark Hunter for UNESCO (2012) *
A Spy's London
' by Roy Berkeley and Rupert Allason, Pen & Sword Books (1994) *
Communication in Eastern Europe: The Role of History, Culture, and Media in Contemporary Conflicts
' edited by Fred L. Casimir, published by Lawrence Erlbaum (1995) Projectile weapons Weapons of the Cold War Umbrellas