Characters

Just as Alfred Hitchcock made furtive appearances in his films, Hergé couldn’t resist joining in the adventures of his characters. He discreetly drew himself into the scenery, appearing as a reporter dutifully taking notes when Tintin embarks for the Congo, or interviewing a local in front of the gates to Marlinspike Hall, in hope of gaining the latest on the story of the broken glass in The Calculus Affair. In Hergé’s universe, it’s hard to find a character that has been created from scratch: most were inspired by real people who were either close to the author in some way, historical figures or celebrities at the time.

Bazarov

Surname: Bazarov
First name: Basil
Occupation: Arms dealer

The model who inspired the character of Bazarov was Basil Zaharoff.

Sir Basil Zaharoff, of Greek origin, demonstrated such business acumen that he made himself indispensable to the leaders of the great powers. He sold arms to any side, supported in his endeavours by politicians and banking powers under his sway. In Le Crapouillot, he is listed among the world's powerful. In The Broken Ear, he becomes Basil Bazarov, also an arms dealer.

Bazarov operates through the Korrupt Arms GMBH and sells his warlike junk to San Theodoros and Nuevo Rico, and through his accomplice R.W. Trickler tries to pit these two countries against each other over the oil-rich Gran Chapo region. The prefix chosen by Hergé to create the Russian-sounding name says a lot about his view of this type of merchant.

Characters

From Abdullah to Zorrino

Bazarov