Bulgarian umbrella Bulgarian umbrella A Bulgarian umbrella is an umbrella with a hidden pneumatic mechanism which injects a small poisonous pellet containing ricin. It has a hollowed stalk into which the pellet neatly sits. Such an umbrella was allegedly 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 in London. Markov died three days later. It was also allegedly used in the failed assassination attempt against the Bulgarian dissident journalist
Ricin was charged with manufacturing ricin in his dorm room, as well as the intent of "[using] the ricin on another undergraduate student with whom he had a relationship". Mohammed Ali from Liverpool, England was convicted after attempting to purchase 500 mg of ricin over the dark web from an undercover FBI agent. He was sentenced, on 18 September 2015, to 8 years' imprisonment. Ricin Ricin ( ), a lectin (a carbohydrate-binding protein) produced in the seeds of the castor oil plant, "Ricinus communis", is a highly potent toxin. A dose of purified ricin powder the size of a few grains