Russian President Vladimir Putin survived an assassination attempt on the 15th of September, 2022. This event came approximately a week after a group of politicians in Russia demanded Putin’s resignation from the presidency, due to the military’s loss in Ukraine. The attempted assassination occurred when Putin was traveling in his limousine and the front left wheel was hit with a loud ‘bang’. Putin was unharmed and a number of arrests have been made. Taking all of this into account, it got me thinking: How was the whole concept of assassination brought into the world? And more importantly, Who is the culprit for creating a culture of fear that one may perish from the purposeful actions of others? Let us dive into the different methods of assassination throughout history.
Assassination, the murder of a prominent or influential person, dates back all the way to around 300BC, when the Indian philosopher Chanakya wrote about the idea of assassination in one of his treatises. One of his students, who founded the Maurya Empire in India, utilized this concept to weaken his enemies greatly.
Chanakya, Indian Philosopher
We can also see the main principles of assassination emerging during this same time period in China. At the time, China was in its Warring States period, which meant that there was high military tension between the many individual states. Because the Qin state was rising rapidly and unexpectedly, the Prince of the state of Yan thought it reasonable to ‘remove’ the Qin king by sending a man by the name of Jing Ke to carry out the job. However, the attempt was immensely unsuccessful, as Jing Ke was killed on the spot.
We know Putin was almost killed by the efforts of a bullet, one of the most prominent methods of assassination in modern times. But what are some of the more interesting and uncanny ways peoples’ souls have fallen through the hands of enemies? The former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko’s death may have been the most high-profile assassination in recent years. He fell ill on 1 November 2006, after having tea with 2 fellow KGB agents at a hotel in Mayfair, a district in London. Ironically, he had told the press that he would personally blame Vladimir Putin for everything that had happened to him. After 3 days in the hospital, his hair gradually fell out and his organs shut down, leaving his body motionless – but medical professionals could not find a cause. It was only later that scientists at Britain’s top-secret nuclear research site discovered that Litvinenko was dying from a substance called Polonium 210: a particle used in the first nuclear bombs, which, unsurprisingly, is 100% deadly.
A sample of Polonium 210
Another attention-grabbing assassination attempt was the 1978 death of Georgi Markov during the Cold War, also known as the case of the ‘poisoned umbrella’. He had been waiting for a bus on the Waterloo Bridge on the night of 7 September 1978 when he felt a slight pressure in his thigh. When he looked back however, all he saw was a man running away with an umbrella and taking a taxi. It was a day later when he started to feel a little under the weather, and by 4 days he was completely lifeless. It was later discovered by officials that the Bulgarian dissident was poisoned with ricin injected into his thigh, possibly by the umbrella. No one was ever charged for this murder, and it remains one of the most notorious murders of the Cold War to this day.
The original Waterloo Bridge, where Mr. Markov was assassinated
Reflecting upon all of these incidents, it’s fair to say that the human mind is devastatingly clever, yet sometimes twisted. Whether it be lifting or drowning others, it is without doubt that humans are highly capable of accomplishing what they want – which can be both benevolent and malevolent.
Now, I believe it is our job to decide whether we want our intelligence to help or harm people’s lives, to create or destroy our future, and to abide or break our ethical code. The choice is in our hands.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-38995424
https://www.britannica.com/topic/assassination
— Writer Bhuminan (Toya) Chotichaicharin can be reached at bhuminanc@gmail.com. Follow him on Instagram @toya_cho.
— Editor Rie Aiyama can be reached at riai23@patana.ac.th. Follow him on Instagram @rieaiyama.
