Kiss of Death, Lipstick Pistol
The Kiss of Death, Lipstick Pistol, was a weapon issued by the KGB during the Cold War. It was a single shot 4.5 mm pistol hidden inside a lipstick holder. It was discovered in West Berlin at an American checkpoint.
This weapon was issued by the KGB about 1965. The KGB was the security agency for the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991. Its chief functions were foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, guarding the borders, and the leadership of the Soviet Government as well as combating anti-Soviet activities.
The KGB reached the height of its reputation during the Cold War. After the dissolution of the USSR, the KGB was split into the Federal Security Service and the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation.
This weapon was designed during the Cold War, which was a state of political tension from 1947 to 1991 between the Soviet Union and its satellite states and the United States, its NATO allies. The term “cold” is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two sides, but they each supported regional wars or proxy wars.
During the Cold War, both sides conducted long-term Spy operations. Although most spies were unarmed, some missions required the use of lethal weapons for emergencies or assassinations.
Kiss of Death, Lipstick Pistol
- Title: Kiss of Death, Lipstick Pistol
- Year: 1965
- Type: 4.5mm single-shot weapon
- Issued by: KGB
- Museum: International Spy Museum
A Tour of the International Spy Museum
- Scaramanga’s Golden Gun
- Los Alamos, Manhattan Project, S-Site Badge
- Manhattan Project, Service Certificate
- Forged British Bank Note from Operation Bernhard
- Enigma Cipher Machine
- British Special Forces Bobbins
- Sleeve Dagger with Sheath
- British Special Forces Lapel Knife
- Kiss of Death, Lipstick Pistol
- Glove Pistol
A Tour of Washington, D.C. Museums
- National Gallery of Art
- National Museum of American History
- National Air and Space Museum
- National Museum of African American History and Culture
- National Museum of Natural History
- National Portrait Gallery
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- The Phillips Collection
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
- International Spy Museum
- National Museum of Women in the Arts
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Tour of Military and War Museums and Memorials
- Imperial War Museum, London
- Intrepid, Sea, Air & Space Museum, New York
- Australian War Memorial
- Darwin Military Museum, Australia
- Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne, Australia
- Changi Museum, Singapore
- War Museum of Thessaloniki, Greece
- Churchill War Rooms, London
- Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, New Zealand
- Household Cavalry Museum, London
- National Army Museum, London
- MacArthur Museum Brisbane
Spy Museums
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“It is because politics is more difficult than physics.”
– Einstein
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Photo Credit: 1)JOM