Bulgaria–United States relations to work. Bulgaria became a member of the Warsaw Pact on May 14, 1955. Though no Soviet troops were stationed on Bulgarian soil, in 1968, Zhivkov sent a Bulgarian division to join Polish, Hungarian and Soviet troops to crush a popular uprising in Prague. In 1978, the Bulgarian secret police were implicated in the assassination in London of Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian dissident who was a correspondent for the BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle radio and the U.S. sponsored Radio Free Europe. Markov was assassinated with a poisoned umbrella on September 7, Zhivkov's birthday. The rise of democratic movements across
The Venue (Victoria Street, London) The Venue (Victoria Street, London) The Venue was a live music club at 160–162 Victoria Street, London, England, owned by Virgin Records. It opened its doors on 1 November 1978 and operated until 1984. The first act to play there was Graham Parker and The Rumour, followed by the last live performances by Alex Harvey before his death. Todd Rundgren played some dates there just before Christmas in 1978, as part of the tour to back up the "Back to the Bars" album; released for the Christmas market, at the time. Two shows were sometimes played per night, and the