If you look at the news flow from Bulgaria on May 9th, 2023(Day of USSR WWII Victory), you are very likely to get the impression that there are anti-communist and anti-Russian radical groups in Bulgaria. You will hear on national television that nationalists have gotten into a fight with Russophiles. On social networks, showing Nazi salutes Bulgarian politicians from VMRO, give the impression that they are nationalists. But in Bulgaria, nationalists are a bit different.
Echoes of Putin's Propaganda
Poster of the march ,,Let's keep children from debauchery'' used in 2013, 2019 and 2023 in the promotion of traditional values and against the European Union. They are, of course, in connection with VMRO, BNS, NFSB, ROD, COD, BORD, etc. The march has been announced for 12 June, coinciding with the date of Sofia Pride. In 2014 the caption on the poster read Anti-gay parade. On the poster we see a couple of men and a couple of man and woman with a child. On the man's T-shirt is the logo of the Revival party, which has become popular recently with its paid protesters in Burgas, who burned the LGBTI flag, threw bombs, stones, bottles and pawed cucumbers. Right. Nazi poster from Latvia in 1941. In the background is a Jew and it says ,,Jews are not like you! Wipe them off the face of the world!''. Now replace Jews with LGBTI people and see what you get. Is it a little clearer to you now what the ultimate goal of these ,,civil'' organizations and parties is? A rhetoric completely overlapping with the ideology preached by the Kremlin and Putin's Ultra Nationalism and Traditionalism, which is now clothed in legal frameworks by Moscow.
The First Major Russian Hybrid Attack in Bulgaria and the rise of the Patriots
How fake news and extensive media coverage influenced the election result, bringing the Bulgarian Socialist Party to power. Which a few years later put forward Rumen Radev's candidacy for president after a poll conducted by Nikolai Malinov on behalf of General Reshetnikov behind the Russian billionaire Malofeev. Bulgaria, Russian Media Environment (theangel.today) So the official start of the rise on the political scene of the Bulgarian Patriotic and Nationalist Movements can be considered the Fake News Affair in Kostinbrod and the rise of media expert and journalist Nikolai Barekov.
On the day of reflection before the elections for MPs in 2013, an operation was launched, led by (then) acting city prosecutor Roman Vassilev (who a year later found himself with a huge deposit in CCB) and supervised personally by the prosecutor general. The aim was to uncover and detain persons who had printed and prepared for shipment "fake ballots" at the printing plant of the company "Multiprint" in Kostinbrod, which won the public contract for printing the ballots for the elections. Later it turned out that the prosecutor's office had been triggered by a signal filed a day earlier by the current ombudsman and then - "spearhead" of the Bulgarian Socialist Party(BSP) - Maya Manolova. A police operation with the overwhelming participation of the gendarmerie was launched during the night to suggest to the architects of the affair that they did not trust the police, who were probably complicit in the forgeries. By midday, the director of TV7, where hundreds of millions from the Tsvetan Vassilev - Delyan Peevski tandem sunk, Nikolai Barekov, was personally involved in the scenario with a live broadcast on TV7. The "journalist", who later became an MEP, successfully implemented the world's first such brutal exercise in mass public disinformation to manipulate election results.
On 11 September 2013, journalist Nikolai Barekov left his position as director at TV7 and began the formation of the Bulgaria Without Censorship political party. A party which in 2014 entered into a coalition with VMRO and brought two MEPs to the European Parliament, one of whom is the extreme nationalist Angel Dzhambazki.
Borislav Sarafov was the investigator in charge of the most provocative pre-election police action in Bulgaria. Borislav Sarafov became Prosecutor General in 2023 after the intervention of President Rumen Radev. He is at the heart of the biggest political scandal in Bulgaria's recent history, in which the Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev was assassinated and sparked a series of high-profile murders and landmark political processes. The Power of Terror- Bulgaria, next to Ukraine (theangel.today)
The name of Borislav Sarafov gained extreme popularity along the links with the Political Party Gerb and circles for influence peddling and an organized criminal group of former policemen to take away profitable businesses.
Bulgarian Nationalists in Moscow
If you look deeper into the provincial structures of these same vociferous anti-communist nationalists, you might be surprised.
Dr Komitski was named 2015 Doctor of the Year in Bulgaria. Обявиха д-р Комитски за "Лекар на годината" (bulnews.bg) He is a nationalist leader of VMRO from Vratsa. But the same doctor (from the Anti- Russian VMRO), as seen on social media, is a good friend and supporter of the Russian Youth Para Military Organization "Vityazi-Khan Asparuh", and that Dr. Komitski is a member of the Russian Youth Para Military Organization "Vityazi-Khan Asparuh". Komitsky and his wife Polina in 2020 together with the leadership of Vityazi are in Moscow on May 9th for the Victory Parade. More about the Russian Youth Para Military Organization that train Bulgarian kids in Russian millitery camps read here Child Soldiers- Para Military Bulgarian Russian Organization from Pazardzhik (theangel.today)
A little deeper look at the Komitski family from Vratsa, Bulgaria makes an even stronger impression with their political presence from leaders of the ruling "pro-Western" GERB, through the "pro-Russian" ABV.
As the family controls even the most appetizing in Bulgaria (and for certain groups in Italy) the processing of garbage. In general, in Bulgaria nationalism, communism and loyalty to Russia in general are in many cases in symbiosis.
A little more about GERB, VMRO, European Garbage and Russia
Bulgaria is a hub for the processing of European waste, controlled by the Italian and Russian mafia. Kovachki is the hidden owner of some of the largest energy sites serving to incinerate European waste, and officially presents himself as their consultant.
Born in Samokov, son of a Communist Party activist. In 1988, in the midst of major political changes in the USSR, Kovachki graduated in physics from the Leningrad Institute of Precision Mechanics and Optics. In 1991 he defended his thesis on lasers and microelectronics there. At the dawn of the 1990s, he exported canned goods to Russia, participated in speculative trading in Bulgaria, and held stands in various markets. He was seen as a small player. It never occurred to anyone that he would suddenly find himself at the head of the energy business. According to Free Europe, there is no certain data about Kovachki's first million, but three assumptions are most often mentioned - that it was accumulated from trade with Russia in the troubled times that followed Perestroika; that it came from patronizing Konstantin Dimitrov's (drug) business - Samokovets; that it was accumulated from bank loans. Or all three together.
Only in 2002 he acquired several state or municipal enterprises, among which stand out the names of "Fina Mechanika", "Bulgarblod-Boyana", "Bulvarko" or "RUM - Denitsa". It was also then that it acquired its first mine - Chukurovo. It was also then that he registered his first company in a building in the Industrial Zone "Orion" in the Vrubnitsa district, where almost all his companies would be located from then on. 2003 also brought him success in privatization, but then the emphasis no longer fell on the quantity of acquired enterprises, but on quality. He then bought his second mine, Beli breg, establishing himself as a serious player in the energy market.
The success followed him throughout Simeon Saxe-Coburggotsky's term (2001-2005) and almost throughout the term of the next government, which was jointly ruled by the BSP, the MRF and the NMSV and which was called the government of the triple coalition (2005-2009). Kovachki's greatest success was achieved during two terms - that of Saxkoburggotsky and that of Stanishev. At the end of these two mandates, Kovachki now owns - personally or through related companies - also the mines Cherno More, Bobov Dol, Stanyantsi, and Open Pit - Pernik. He has already entered the tets business through TPP "Bobov Dol", TPP "Maritsa 3" - Dimitrovgrad, "Atomenergoremont", factory "Brickel". https://www.svobodnaevropa.bg/a/30450695.html
At the beginning of 2023, European prosecutors, together with 150 officers from the SANS and the DGCOP, carried out searches and seized documentation for the last few years from the offices of TPPs and district heating companies linked to businessman Hristo Kovachki. The companies that operate the plants submit data on how much carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere during their operation and what fuels are used, which determines the cost of carbon allowances - without them polluting industries like coal plants cannot operate. Underestimate greenhouse gas emissions and the allowances are less, as is the money that has to be paid for them. Emissions are also reduced with evidence that, for example, biomass rather than coal is burned.
The data is certified by a private company that works with these companies and submits the reports to the state's Environmental Executive Agency (EEA). And the EEA to the European Environment Agency and so confirms them. There is a 'double certification', as no one at the EEA has ever doubted the veracity of the data over the past five years or so.
If the empire of audited thermal power plants and district heating companies linked to businessman Hristo Kovatchky had paid for as many emissions as it actually needed, it would probably have gone bankrupt. On the occasion of the scandal and the recently published report by Greenpeace-Bulgaria, entitled "The eight circles of Kovachki's coal empire", Deutsche Welle asked Meglena Antonova, director of the international environmental organisation's office, "Did you suspect illegal practices with the reporting of emissions from some of the biggest polluters in Bulgaria?" Absolutely yes, Antonova said. One of the examples she gave was the TPP Bobov Dol, which paid BGN 13.308 million for allowances in 2020, and the state-owned TPP Maritsa East 2, which paid BGN 339. 677 million leva. The private TPP has produced 1 535 258 MWh, and the state-owned one almost 2.5 times more - 3 820 142 MWh. The discrepancy is too large , even if other factors are taken into account - technological, special allowance prices, etc.
In 2007, Kovachki created the LEADER party, which grew into the Bulgarian Democratic Centre. The party later merged with VMRO. In a 2008 interview(Ковачки си хареса и ВМРО | Днес.dir.bg), the Energy Oligarch explains his political positions and his investments and interests in Serbia and Macedonia. Today in 2023, in Macedonia, accusations are made against IMRO and the nationalists that they are directly guided by the KGB.
"I think Bulgarian business is undervalued at the moment. A foreign investor wins here and invests elsewhere," Kovatchky told BNT. "I really like Serbia as a country, we are close in spirit to them. The same applies to Bosnia - it is an interesting country," Kovacic said on his investments in these countries. He repeated several times that he likes IMRO because it is a patriotic party. The "Leader" party, which the businessman actively supports, will participate in the parliamentary elections next year in coalition with VMRO and the farmers." "Why not, the parties' ideas are similar and I like them," Kovacicki told today's issue of the newspaper 24 Hours. VMRO leader Krasimir Karakachanov confirmed the same to the newspaper. Both define the formation as centrist. On the information that he had advised Prime Minister Stanishev not to rush with the recognition of Kosovo, the Samokov businessman said. I think that there should be no hurry with the recognition of Kosovo. This is my position and I put it through the media." He reiterated that Bulgarian investments in neighbouring Serbia are worth over 500 million euros. "We have invested more than 100 million euros in Serbia," Kovachki said.
The energetic oligarch Kovachki with the leader of IMRO Krasimir Karakachanov. Karakachanov was an agent of the Communist Secret Services until 1989. He was a staff agent of the Sixth Directorate of the State Security Service, Department 03 for "Combating the subversive activities of the enemy in the field of religion, Zionism." In the early 2000s VMRO was a major force against freedom of religious movements in Bulgaria.
The Bulgarian nationalists together with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church are the main pillar against the establishment of Religious Freedom in Bulgaria. On the West and Evil- the wisdoms of Plovdiv Archbishop Nikolai (theangel.today)
VMRO and the Agents of the Communist Secret Services
Another extremely interesting example is one of those closest to Karakachanov, the self-styled pro-Western evangelist writer Alyaksandr Urumov, characterized by his homophobic, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic positions. This example reveals how right Churches are promoted with right people working for the Secret Services and what happens to the wrong ones. As this is a generalization about Religious Freedom in Bulgaria in general.
His introduction on social networks is of a prominent writer and homophobe: "Alexander Urumov is a famous Bulgarian writer and playwright. He is the author of a number of beloved books and plays, popular in Bulgaria and abroad. He graduated in Bulgarian philology at the Sofia University. He is a graduate in Bulgarian Literature from the University of St. Kliment Ohridski. A staunch defender of family and Christian values, he was the first to start the battle against the Istanbul Convention. He is a staunch fighter against the Brussels gender ideology and homosexual propaganda.
Director of the Public Relations and Protocol Directorate of the Ministry of Defence. Public communication expert, head of the national "Be a Soldier" campaign. Bulgarian. Christian. Family man with two children. "
But the examples of the radical Right and the Parties of Corruption should not leave the wrong impression that there is a living opposition in Bulgaria that provides an alternative. The alternative in Bulgaria is like the opposition to Navalny in Russia, one of the tentacles of a huge Octopus. Why the West is Failing(was it failed by...) in Bulgaria (theangel.today)
Bulgarian nationalism and radicalism products of the Kremlin
Bulgarian nationalism and radicalism in most cases is a direct product of the Kremlin. Although in the Bulgarian political life PR actions on the back of the Kremlin or against the Kremlin have brought to the fore more than one party that aimed to get Western funding.
One of the biggest Political PRs for the Bulgarian Democrats(20/04/2023) comes at the most pivotal moment of the Bulgarian Political Crisis, started in 2020 by the pro Kremlin President Radev. And this Political PR came from the Russian Ambassador Mitrofanova, at her biggest tribune- the supposedly "unrejected and alternative" journalist Martin Karbovsky (who for decades was one of the most favored in Bulgaria). At the moment a coalition is forming in the Parliament between the supposedly Pro-Western Alliance, the party that ruled Bulgaria for 14 years (the whole period of Euro-Financing) and the young reformers protesting against corruption, in the name of the West and against Russian influence. The focus was shifted by the "Pro Russian" Revivalists who took the attention on themselves and declared themselves the real Enemies and Evil. Which is not far from the truth, but onlythat is only half the truth, the other is glossed over and presented as pro Western, and good. Why the West is Failing(was it failed by...) in Bulgaria (theangel.today)
Short Brief
In Bulgaria, 35 years after the fall of Communism, nationalism was to a large extent a fairly successful project of the Kremlin, which fulfilled its main tasks. In Bulgaria nationalism is divided into generations, one replaces another, but the reality remains the same. Something similar happens with democratic movements, which are also "supposedly" from the right spectrum. The only stable and unshakable player is the BSP (the former communist party), a party that does not even aspire to rule, but has some old structures, higher and lower councils that have been there since before the changes in 1989, unchanged. However, unlike everywhere else, in Bulgaria there was a gentle transition without any lustration.
The main ideology that fuelled nationalism and patriotism was Nostalgia. Nostalgia for the lost Dignity. Because if in Turkey and Portugal the nostalgia was for lost Empires, in Bulgaria it was for lost human dignity. Feelings of sadness, humiliation, frustration that charged generation after generation of far right or far left, no matter, but people who hated the West that brought them to this miserable existence. A promise that Justice and Truth will prevail. Hope that there will be justice for those who have humiliated the people. Creation of Myths and Rehabilitation of the Totalitarian Regime.
Pro Russian Political Party Vazrazhdane which started from the nationalists VMRO
02/04/2023 the fifth elections in a row were held. Bulgaria has been in a political crisis since 2021, with the real power in one form or another in the hands of President Rumen Radev. But the biggest surprise is not that the third political party is the Pro Russian and Euro Skeptic Vazrazhdane Party. The big red light is that in a number of European countries, this party is either first or second, which paints a scary picture for Bulgarian communities abroad. A community that first of all supports Russia in its aggression against Ukraine, shares the values of Putin's ideology - they hate the Western countries they live in, share radical Ethno Nationalism, profess Traditionalism resembling other terrorist movements, are supporters of Conspiracy Theories and do not want Bulgaria to be in the EU and NATO. The pro-Russian and anti-Western rhetoric in Bulgaria over the last 15 years has only changed its form to reach its rebranding as Vazrazhdane.
The Leader- Kostadin Kostadinov
The little grumpy intellectual, Museum director,highly educated, erudite, rich in culture... parents decent working people. Father a welder, worked in the shipyard, a large factory during Socialism. Mother cleaner. People who earned their livelihood with hard work and dignity, not with corruption and robbery, as in the new times.
Нещата, които не знаете за семейството на Костадин Костадинов | Bradva.BG
In the early nineties, there was a great shortage of items and food in our country. My mom was laid off from work and unemployed and my dad was supporting the whole family. We ate mostly on a diet of lean. One day, however, when my sister and I came home from school, we found a lot of nice foods laid out on the table, there were even chocolates. Without thinking twice, we sat down and munched on them, while our mother and father watched and enjoyed us. It was only since we had eaten that we saw there was nothing for them. My father worked in a shipbuilding shop. Yes, father was a welder and I was proud of that. Few people have faith that the son of a man with a specialty as a welder and a woman working as a cleaner could be a contender for mayor.
Семейството му едва свързвало двата края Лидерът на Възраждане“ Костадин (novini247.com)
The image of the Bulgarian nationalist is adaptive, like all deceived people of the transition. Forced to wander and be lied to, from one place to another. Mimicking and skin changing.
In Bulgaria there is currently a staunch Pro Russian Vazrazhdane Party with Konstantin Konstantinov as its leader. But he started his political path from VMRO (supposedly far-right, part of the European conservatives), using the same tactics and methods as Volen Siderov's ATAKA (supposedly far-right, with a Russia slant) in earlier years - protests, provocative clashes with the police, screaming nationalism, pro-Russian outbursts, calls to leave NATO and the EU.
VMRO the beginning
At the very beginning of his career Kostadinov was in VMRO. His development in the party began in 2002. Then he became regional coordinator of VMRO for Varna, Shumen and Dobrich regions. In 2009 he reached the post of deputy to Krasimir Karakachanov (leader of VMRO). He was elected at the same congress where Angel Dzhambazki became deputy chairman.
Two years later he was elected a municipal councillor in Varna. In 2015 he ran in the local elections in coalition with Ataka of Volen Siderov(Siderov’s book The Boomerang of Evil has been described by critics as anti-Semitic. The same year, critics said that the book called on “Orthodox believers” to take revenge on the “murderers of Jesus”.).
Сидеров: Не мразя евреите, тормозят ме | Glasove.com
Although Volen Siderov claimed in front of the media that he does not hate the Jews, but they just persecute him, it was hard to believe him.
The very strange VMRO
Angel Dzhambazki, together with Konstantinov they started their political path in VMRO. The main driver behind the successful blocking of Albania and Macedonia from becoming full EU members and allowing the functional expansion of NATO's borders after the start of the conflict with Russia in Crimea.
Dangerous Cliques: Secret Service Networks and Russian Influence in Bulgaria | West Observer
But let you introduce another of the founding fathers of VMRO:
16/03/2023 In an interview with Trud newspaper, one of the founders of IMRO answers how the problem of immigrants in Bulgaria should be solved. The title of the article is "There should be an army at the border and it should shoot!" Александър Сиди, съпредседател на ВМРО, пред „Труд news“: На границата трябва да има армия и да се стреля - Труд (trud.bg)
22/05/2017, interview for Frog News, one of the founders of IMRO Bulgaria Alescander Sidi about his Jewish background. The title of the article:
"I'm Jewish and I can't be accused of being a Fascist!" Александър Сиди от ВМРО: Аз съм евреин, няма как да съм фашист (frognews.bg)
Ku Klux Klan exhibition in Moscow
Volen Siderov in Moscow in 2002, in the company of Russ Granata, Jurgen Graf, Fredrik Toben, Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and others. Of particular interest is the man in the front row on the far left - Morocco's Ahmed Rami
Top Bulgarian Nationalist Presents B-day Gifts to Putin - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency
Сидеров бил наречен "коалиционен партньор" от млади кадри на БСП - bTV Новините (btvnovinite.bg)
It is interesting to note that Volen Siderov is the editor-in-chief of the first Center Right- Democratic(in Bulgaria strangely democrats are called Rights) newspaper - Democracy in Bulgaria. He also graduated in Theology at the Seminary (a religious university of the Orthodox Church) during the Communist regime.
Ataka and VMRO were for a long time partners in the governance of Bulgaria together with GERB
As Moscow managed to protect and promote all its interests in Bulgaria.
Just like the Fatherland Front (the old one in Bulgaria and the new one in Russia) the Patriots took it upon themselves to morally educate the nation on what is right and what is wrong. Men were men, women were women, and the family was about having more children and having them flow into the economy. Educating the youth, in addition to creating healthy socialist families and having children was also about military and para-military training, folk traditions and respect for elders and authority, all standing peacefully in front of bronze heroes and monuments reciting nationalist texts while dealing with immigrants, sexual and religious minorities, under the umbrella of pseudo Putin Orthodoxy.
Като ОФ: това ли е ролята на "Патриотите"? – DW – 7.05.2018
Как "патриотите" измамиха избирателите си – DW – 5.05.2017
Борисов, "патриотите" и скандалният законопроект – DW – 27.07.2017
ГЕРБ и "патриотите" не се разбраха за доброволните отряди към МВР - Политика - Дневник (dnevnik.bg)
Съдебната реформа пое курс към Путин (capital.bg)
ГЕРБ & Ко. Игри на ластик - Тоест (toest.bg)
Защо години наред България плащаше най-скъпия газ в Европа? - Последни Новини от DNES.BG
Решетников: За Русия ГЕРБ и БСП са горе-долу еднакви frognews.bg
"Пари на вятъра". Ще си върне ли България трите милиарда лева за "Турски поток" (svobodnaevropa.bg)
The United Patriots(Bulgarian Nationalists), even when a Russian MP said that Russia has bought the whole Bulgarian Black Sea coast and soon it will happen to the whole Bulgaria- just took a lawyer's position saying it was a joke:
Kostadinov With the Communists
Konstantinov supports the leader of Movement 21 (far left, with deep roots in the Bulgarian Communist Party). As in 2019 BSP (former communist party) - Varna had initially agreed to nominate Kostadinov Kostadinov as an independent mayoral candidate.
The Under-the-Radar EU Vote That Opens the Door for Russia | AJOT.COM
Bulgarian Socialists refuse to condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine – EURACTIV.com
Bulgaria, Russia's best friend in the EU (tribune.com.pk)
Bulgarian socialist MEPs vote against Russian terrorism resolution – EURACTIV.com
In Bulgarian politics, there was a period when the main players were agents of the Communist Intelligence (State Security). But now the ancestral links are more important to understand the play.
The New Generation- addaptation according to the international situation
At first glance in Bulgaria hate Russia, Cultural Case from Panagyurishte (theangel.today)
Деца и роднини на доносници от ДС са в листите на Демократична България ᐉ Новини - Tribune.bg
Децата на агентите от Държавна сигурност | Български хелзинкски комитет (bghelsinki.org)
Над половината партии на изборите говорят с езика на Кремъл – кафенето (wordpress.com)
