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The bizarre death in London of Bulgarian dissidentGeorgi Markov on 11 September 1978, has long beenregarded as the work of the KGB. It was a chilling ColdWar incident that sparked a huge international manhunt.Markov’s death briefly baffledinvestigators, but the truth, when itemerged, seemed more science fictionthan fact. Every effort was made by Scotland Yard tocapture Markov’s killer, but political gamesmanship andCold War spy games often hindered the police.

Though forensic specialists quickly determined howMarkov died, it has taken 27 years for his killer to beidentified. The irony is, the murderer was actuallydetained and questioned in the early 1990s.

was a brilliantnovelist and playwright in the formercommunist country of Bulgaria. In 1969he defected to the West and appearedregularly on radio broadcasts for theBBC’s eastern European service andother foreign radio stations. His out-spoken criticism of Bulgaria’s links toMoscow made him a target and he waswarned on more than one occasion that

his life was in danger.The Security Service(MI5) monitored hismovements and oftenpassed on warnings. Inthe end, one particularthreat was takenseriously - Markov wasinformed intelligencehad been received that

spoke of a foreign assassin armed withpoison. The Bulgarian changed a few ofhis habits and would only eat withfriends, but his anti-Soviet broadcastscontinued.

In June 1977, Todor Zhivkov, Bulgar-ia’s fanatically pro-Soviet ruler, in-structed his interior minister, GeneralStoyan Savov to “silence Markov.” Atleast three attempts on Markov’s lifewere made. In Spring 1978, Markovattended a dinner at Radio Free Eu-rope. He began to feel unwell. Investi-

gators deduced that someone hadslipped poison into his drink. Hesurvived. The second assassinationattempt came on the island of Sardiniawhile visiting his family. Full details arenot known, though it has been sur-mised that pieces of fruit were lacedwith toxins. The third attempt wassuccessful and involved a cunning plotsponsored and devised by the KGB.

On 7 September, Markov woke to his49th birthday, but this did not stop him

Todor

Zhivkov

Bush House, London, where Markovbroadcast his anti-communistprogrammes

AGENT PICCADILLYNamedas DeadlyUmbrellaAssassin...

GEORGI MARKOV

ENDURING LONDONSPY MYSTERYCLOSURE NEAR

Waterloo Bridge, London. Itwas here while waiting for abus, Markov was jabbed inthe leg by an assassin usingan umbrella and a ricin-lacedpellet (above)

© EYE SPY