Karakurt is a Russian assassin and member of The Blacklist.
Background[]
Known in the intelligence community as “the Left Hand of the SVR”, Karakurt (Turkic languages: kara (black) and kurt (wolf)), whose real name remains unknown, is an assassin employed to silence Russian dissidents and known high-profile critics of the Russian regime. He specializes in making his murders look like non-criminal causes, such as accidents, suicides, or the actions of other criminals. He has at least 2 assassinations to his name. The first was Stanislav Markelov in January 2009, a human rights lawyer who was shot to death in Moscow. The murder was blamed on a Neo-Nazi youth group. The second was 4 years later, Boris Berezovsky, another critic of the Russian regime, who died in a staged suicide in 2013. Karakurt is also known to have lent his skills to the Cabal.
Season 2[]
“Quon Zhang”[]
Karakurt is seen being smuggled into America, in a coffin.
“Karakurt”[]
Karakurt bombs the Office of Russian and European Analysis (OREA), a CIA intelligence analysis center in Washington D.C., with a bomb hidden in a truck, killing the 14 agents working there. The attack provokes a response from Senator Clifford Hawkins, who warns that the act will not go unpunished. With Reddington's help, the FBI find the apartment where Karakurt is hiding. However, Thomas Connolly forces Cooper to send a team to Union Station. There, Liz spots a hooded figure resembling Karakurt in a surveillance photo and follows him and is assaulted by him.
When the FBI spots Karakurt at a memorial service for the OREA victims, Liz arrests him. However, Liz, thus infected with the rotavirus created by Leo Andropov, is blamed for Senator Hawkins rotavirus-related death.
Season 3[]
“Marvin Gerard”[]
Harold Cooper accesses the Karakurt file.
“Eli Matchett”[]
Cooper gives Tom Keen a file on Karakurt.
“The Djinn”[]
Cooper briefs Tom that after Karakurt betrayed his country he underwent extensive plastic surgery to change his appearance, as evidenced by the scars below his ears and in his face, and sought refuge with his brother-in-law, Charlie Volkens. Volkens is a ruthless gangster who runs a criminal syndicate dealing in extortion, drugs, and underground fights.
“Sir Crispin Crandall”[]
After Tom is taken to Karakurt, he kills the 2 guards and Volkens while Karakurt begs not to be killed. Tom knocks him out and drags him away.
“Zal Bin Hasaan”[]
Tom transports Karakurt to Cooper's home in the trunk of a car he stole and brings it into Cooper's garage. Karakurt tries to kill himself by drinking soap made of soy, which he is allergic to, but they inject him with an Epipen in time. Tom tortures Karakurt for a confession to everything he did in Cooper's garage, which he eventually agrees to do.
“Kings of the Highway”[]
After Cabal agents attack Cooper's house to kill them, Karakurt is forced into a car with Tom, Cooper, and his wife Charlene. Karakurt reveals that the Cabal found him through a tracking chip they implanted in his chest. After they go into an underground tunnel to try and lose the signal and the Cabal, Tom fashions a can lid into a makeshift knife and digs the chip out of Karakurt's body. The group escapes the tunnel and head towards a cabin owned by a neighbor of the Coopers, whom Charlene has been having a affair with.
“The Director”[]
He aids Tom and Ressler in fighting the Cabal after Hitchin tells Peter Kotsiopulos of his location at one point saving Tom's life from a Cabal agent.
“The Director: Conclusion”[]
While still captured by Tom, he is shown the news about Elizabeth Keen's arrest and her risk of facing death for the actions he has done. After the trial begins, he is sent to the courthouse by Tom to confess his actions, for which he will presumably be incarcerated by the US government.
Unanswered Questions[]
- Is Karakurt still loyal to the Cabal?
- A: Karakurt had to face death from the Cabal when he was presumed to be a liability to Elizabeth Keen's arrest, it is likely that he no longer is after the Cabal attempted to kill him.
- If he is Russian, why does he have a Turkish name?
- A: It is his code name.
- A: Russia is a diverse country with many Turcic people living inside. The name is not necessarily Turkish as “kara” and “kurt” exists in other Turcic languages as well. Karakurt is a Russian/Kazakh name for black widow spider.
