GENERAL PETROVICH

General Petrovich, of the Bulgarian Secret Police, held a powerful position in the nation's State Security. However, he was involved in the corruption within his government, insisting that skimming was necessary in order to live on a government salary. A small part of that skimming was the theft of a collection of jewels that had been a part of the crown jewels of the German House of Hanover, worth 700,000 leva, more than $400,000. To keep them hidden, he had given the jewels to his sister, who was unaware of the crime and believed the jewels were fake.

His nephew, Stepan Frolov, his sister's son, had become a major with the Secret Police, largely through the support of his uncle, but he too was unaware of his uncle's criminal activity or the true value of the jewelry now in his mother's possession. Stepan had been smitten by Penny Parker, an American who had come to Bulgaria with a troupe of nightclub dancers. As their relationship began, Stepan gave Penny some of his mother's jewelry "just to wear," but when Penny ended the relationship and planned to return home, she took the jewelry with her.

In line at the airport, Penny encountered MacGyver, who had come to Bulgaria on a simple mission to retrieve a piece of microfilm. The microfilm contained proof of the government corruption and included the numbers of Swiss bank accounts of several people in Petrovich's department, including an account he had set up for his nephew without his knowledge. Petrovich was aware that documents had been stolen from his office and then returned, suggesting that they had been copied on microfilm by the underground. The microfilm and the jewels were the only evidence against him, and the proof could lead to his execution.

Stepan had followed Penny to the airport, hoping to convince her to stay, but when she refused, he asked only that she return the jewelry he had given her. However, Penny had secretly slipped the jewels into MacGyver's pocket to hide them, and when they triggered the airport metal detector, Stepan arrested and detained them both. When MacGyver and Penny escaped from the airport by breaking through a wall and riding a luggage conveyor belt, Stepan and Petrovich concluded that they had been collaborating as spies, and Petrovich ordered that they be recaptured and that the jewelry and the microfilm be recovered at all costs. To that end, Petrovich ordered the arrest of Anton Burak, a member of the underground and MacGyver's contact who had passed on the microfilm. Using water torture, Petrovich personally interrogated Burak, threatening the lives of his family until he confessed what he knew about MacGyver and Penny.

General Petrovich owned a home outside the city where Stepan and Penny used to spend time together. Penny remembered the home, and as she and MacGyver fled from the police toward the border, they stopped there for the night. Both Stepan and Petrovich suspected that they might be found there, and they arrived the next morning in time to take them into custody. General Petrovich insisted that there be no witnesses, and he ordered his nephew to shoot them both. However, Stepan did not share his uncle's ruthlessness, and his gentle nature prevented him from following his uncle's order. He had come to believe that Penny was innocent, and he could not bring himself to kill the woman with whom he had fallen in love. Instead, he and MacGyver overpowered the general, knocking him out, and Stepan agreed to join MacGyver and Penny en route to the border.

Petrovich regained consciousness as the police arrived, and he ordered the pursuit of MacGyver, Penny, and Stepan, who had fled in the general's car. MacGyver created a highway hazard by mixing diesel oil and water to create a slick surface, causing the police cars to lose control and crash. Petrovich and his men were not injured, but MacGyver, Penny, and Stepan were able to safely escape across the Greek border, still carrying the vital piece of microfilm that would seal General Petrovich's fate.

Portrayed by: Milos Kirek

Cross Reference: Bulgaria, Anton Burak, Stepan Frolov, Hanover Jewels, Penny Parker

Episode Reference: Every Time She Smiles