
Philosopher and political writer Angel Grancharov told The Ukrainian Week about fundamental issues behind current politics in Bulgaria
U.W.: Ukraine has complicated relations with Russia. But Bulgaria is located farther away from the Russian Federation and has already become part of the European Union. Do you feel the Kremlin’s influence in your country?
Yes, and more than we want to. That we are quite far away from Moscow does not help. Our history in the past 134 years, after liberation from Turkish rule, convincingly shows that imperial and Soviet Russia is the most perfidious enemy of Bulgaria’s independence. It has always viewed our country as its Transdanubian gubernia. There was even a saying: “A chicken is not a bird, and Bulgaria is not abroad.”
When the non-communist government, led by Ivan Kostov, finally came to power in Bulgaria in 1997-2001, it took the first steps in order to free the country from centuries of Russian domination and resolutely chose a different geostrategic orientation – a pro-Western one. This was the exact time when Russian special services and agents posted to our country received an order from Moscow: Do everything possible to bring Bulgaria back into the sphere of Russia’s Imperial hegemony and rule.
Essentially in order to thwart another mandate being given to this government, the KGB and its agents in Bulgarian communist-dominated security agencies decided to go for broke and brought former Tsar Simeon of Bulgaria to power. As we understand now, he had the most intimate relationship with the KGB for a long time. But even he failed to turn back the clock. As hard as he tried, he failed to fulfil the Kremlin’s orders, and Bulgaria became first a NATO member and then a member of the EU.
Then the Kremlin came up with a crafty plan to turn Bulgaria into its own Trojan horse in NATO and the EU in order to counteract European integration from the inside and fight against the “enemy.” Unfortunately, I have to admit that this policy has been successful. Agents and promoters of the Russian imperial policy are called rubladziys, i.e., ruble receivers, in Bulgaria.
The key mass media outlets and Bulgaria are controlled by the Kremlin’s people. Former communists, who are at the same time Russophiles and linked to the Russian mafia, are now represented in the economy as “capitalists.” The state is completely dependent on Russia for energy. Our political parties include many national traitors who call themselves “true nationalists” but who are in fact committed to Moscow and receive payment from Russian secret services. (Прочети ДО КРАЯ >>>)
