Igor Karkaroff

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Harry Potter character
Image:Igor Karkaroff GoF.jpg Igor Karkaroff, played by Predrag Bjelac in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Igor Karkaroff
Gender	Male
Hair Colour	Grey (formerly black)
Eye Colour	Brown
School	Durmstrang
Parentage	Pure Blood
Allegiance	{{{allegiance|Unknown}}}}}}
Film Portrayer	Predrag Bjelac
First Appearance	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Igor Karkaroff is a fictional character in the Harry Potter series, first appearing in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He is the headmaster of Durmstrang Institute, an East European school of magic.

Karkaroff is a former Death Eater. He was captured by Auror Alastor Moody after the fall of Lord Voldemort. Moody is responsible for Karkaroff's imprisonment in Azkaban.

Later, the Ministry of Magic released him from Azkaban in exchange for the names of other Death Eaters. While some of the names he provided were useless (Death Eaters who were dead or arrested), he traded information for his freedom.

Karkaroff went on to become Headmaster at Durmstrang. During his time there, actual Dark Arts are said to have been studied by the students of Durmstrang (instead of just defense against them). Moreover, Durmstrang was only open to pure-blooded wizards and witches. It is not known how much of this was Karkaroff's direct influence to Durmstrang and how much existed before his tenure.

Karkaroff was seen to show exceptional favouritism towards his most famous student, Bulgarian Quidditch player Viktor Krum.

In book 4, Durmstrang entered the newly-revived Triwizard Tournament with Hogwarts and Beauxbatons schools. As headmaster, Karkaroff was a Triwizard judge. After the unexpected inclusion of a second Hogwarts champion, Harry Potter, Karkaroff was angry and threatened to drop out of the Tournament.

During the course of the year he met fellow ex-Death Eater Severus Snape, with whom he shared several conversations regarding past events. In June 1995, at the end of the Triwizard Tournament, Karkaroff went into hiding after sensing the summons of Lord Voldemort.

According to Viktor Krum, Karkaroff did not steer the Durmstrang ship moored in the Hogwarts Lake but rather let his students do all the work.

After his return, Voldemort made a comment referring to making a certain one of his cowardly Death Eaters pay for his disloyalty. Though it is not indicated this is Karkaroff, in book 6, he was found dead in a shack with the Dark Mark hovering over it, indicating he was killed by Death Eaters, which strongly suggests that it was he who was referenced in Voldemort's declaration. Arthur Weasley considered it impressive that he survived for a year after deserting Voldemort.

Igor Karkaroff's nationality is uncertain. He speaks without a foreign accent, but the Durmstrang winter clothing, consisting of fur capes, appears to be a reference to traditional Nordic clothing most often associated with Russian Ushanka headdress. His full name is Slavic, however it is fictional and points to him being a generic "Eastern foreigner", rather than to any specific country. The first name "Igor" is very uncommon outside Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, being a Slavic version of Scandinavian "Ingvar" and appearing in history as early as 9th century AD. "Karkaroff", on the contrary, is a variation of a surname that is most likely to be encountered in Bulgaria, and Slavic last names are usually transcribed with the last "ff" in German-speaking countries. In the film version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Karkaroff is played by an actor who is clearly meant to bear more than a passing resemblance to Grigori Rasputin, a Siberian, who like Karkaroff was reputed to be a master of supernatural powers who held ambivalent or equivocal alliances. Karkaroff's accent in the film and his behavior -- particularly the affectionate bearhug he bestows upon Dumbledore -- indicate that he was at least enculturated as a Russian.fr:Igor Karkaroff he:הארי_פוטר_-_קוסמים#.D7.90.D7.99.D7.92.D7.95.D7.A8_.D7.A7.D7.A8.D7.A7.D7.A8.D7.95.D7.A3 no:Igor Karakoff