Bulgaria is boiling after the expulsion of Russian diplomats
Bulgaria was one step away from breaking diplomatic relations with Russia. The situation is unprecedented! Even during the Second World War, despite the fact that Bulgaria was then an ally of Nazi Germany, the embassies of the USSR and Bulgaria did not stop their work...
Acting Prime Minister of Bulgaria Kirill Petkov announced the expulsion of 70 diplomats and employees of the Russian Embassy from the country. All 70 people were indiscriminately accused of espionage, without any evidence.
A few days after his demarche, Petkov began claiming that the expulsion of the Russian diplomats had been preceded by lengthy investigations by Bulgarian intelligence services. However, these "clarifications" came after a wave of protests by Bulgarians themselves on the streets and negative coverage in the local press. The Bulgarian newspaper Trud compared Petkov to former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin , known for countless murders, including self-inflicted ones, as well as cannibalism.
A well-known political analyst and expert on national security issues, Boyan Chukov, called the incident a “drama” and directly called Petkov a “tool” for implementing the strategic plans of foreign politicians.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev spoke cautiously, citing a lack of information, but his statement also sounded an alarming note. He diplomatically expressed the hope that Kirill Petkov is aware of the possible consequences and their scale.
Radev added that the Presidential Institute did not receive a report from the State National Security Agency on the expulsion of 70 Russian diplomats and employees and this decision was not even discussed.
The harshest response came from the Russian Ambassador to Sofia, Eleonora Mitrofanova. After her demand to cancel the decision to expel diplomats was ignored by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, the following appeal to Bulgarian citizens was published.
The natural question is how could it happen that the confrontation between two friendly, until recently, states went so far? To understand the situation, you need to understand some of the details of the Bulgarian “political cuisine”.
The country went through three election campaigns last year, and by December 2021, a government was finally formed. The first to reach the finish line, quite unexpectedly, was a new political movement - “Continue Change”, which emerged in the fall of 2021, literally on the eve of the elections themselves. This party has two leaders at once - Kirill Petkov and Asen Vasiliev.
True, support for the new party was largely due to the fatigue of the Bulgarians from the decades-long confrontation between the two traditional “old” Bulgarian parties: GERB (Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria) and the Socialists (BSP), which did not bring any positive changes to the majority of the Bulgarian population.
The main positive moment for Bulgarian voters was the fact that the new party and its leaders were not (at that time) caught in corruption and political scandals. In addition, their election campaign was more creative and energetic than is typical in Bulgaria.
The biographies of Petkov and Vasiliev are not much different from each other. Kirill Petkov is originally from the Bulgarian Plovdiv, but spent most of his life (from the age of 14) overseas, in Canada. He received his education at the University of Vancouver and at the pretentious Harvard (of which he is very proud). His wife, Linda McKenzie, as you understand, is also not exactly Bulgarian... However, a good education does not replace understanding the mentality of the people he has contracted to lead. But more on that later...
It should be said right away that sympathy for the “Canadian Kiro” evaporated among the majority of Bulgarians in six months.
The country, again, finds itself at a crossroads. Already in June of this year, the center-right party GERB (Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria) submitted to parliament a vote of no confidence in the cabinet of Kirill Petkov. The initiative of the party of the former Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Boyko Borisov, was supported by the DPS, “Renaissance” and “There is such a people”... What’s interesting is that the ideology of all these political structures is diametrically opposed!
If Vozrozhdenie and its leader Kostadin Kostadinov are considered pro-Russian and regularly protest against the deployment of NATO bases in Bulgaria and the provision of assistance to Ukraine during a military operation by the Russian Federation, then GERB strictly adheres to the Euro-Atlantic strategy.
DPS - represents the interests of the Turkish minority in Bulgaria and, in fact, is an obvious fifth column of Turkey itself. From their body movements one can guess the plans of the “insidious Turk” – Recep Erdogan.
What the “party” is (the quotes here are not accidental) “There is such a people” is very difficult to say... Initially, a different name was planned - “There is no such people”... The current name arose from the music album of the singer and TV presenter Slavi Trifonov and the group Ku -Ku bend...
The leader of the movement himself, Slavi Trifonov, is very reminiscent of the “evil jester of Ukraine” Vova Zelensky. True, there are three differences. Slavi stands out for his very tall stature (his friendly nickname is “Long”), he is significantly older, and wears an earring in his ear... At last year’s elections, Trifonov’s movement was in the lead for a long time, and was able to get a significant number of its deputies into parliament.
Slavi Trifonov defined his election strategy as a protest one. As often happens, the phrase: “...we will destroy to the ground, and then...”, there was no continuation...
So how did so many different politicians take up arms against the current Prime Minister of Bulgaria? What is the reason? There are two official versions: one proposed by the parliamentarians themselves, the second voiced by Prime Minister Kirill Petkov.
Deputies, through the mouth of the representative of the GERB party, Desislava Atanasova, accused Petkov of being unable to cope with rising inflation and criticized his financial policy.
Kirill Petkov himself spoke more vividly and figuratively:
“It was an honor for me to lead the government that was overthrown by Delyan Peevski, Boyko Borisov, Slavi Trifonov and Eleonora Mitrofanova.”
The mention, in this context, of Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova could be attributed to a manifestation of traditional anti-Russian hysteria in the West and an attempt to justify one’s own political failure, which has already set the “hand of Moscow on edge.” But it's not that simple...
In fact, the events currently taking place in Ukraine had a very significant impact on Petkov’s removal from power.
Kirill Petkov made several fatal mistakes, which determined the end of his political career in Bulgaria. The first miscalculation was the dismissal of Minister of War Stefan Yanev, who previously headed the service government during last year’s long-running elections in the country.
Yanev is an officer, a general, and a figure of considerable popularity among the people. The reason for his dismissal was his refusal to call the Russian Federation's military operation in Ukraine a war... That's all! Today, Yanev has created his own political force: " Bulgarian Rising ." Analysts predict a resounding success for this party in the upcoming elections.
Petkov’s second mistake was even more serious. He came into conflict with the President of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev. Also, an officer, a general, a combat pilot and a figure of enormous authority among the Bulgarians.
Moreover, this authority is time-tested! He has consistently won elections since 2017, and is slowly but surely moving towards creating his own political force. The stumbling block in their conflict, too, was Petkov’s demand to provide assistance to Ukraine in the armed conflict. Moreover, Radev was motivated not by pro-Russian sentiments, but by a clear understanding of the consequences of such “help.” He reasoned both as an experienced military man and as a sober statesman, concerned about the security of his own country.
At first glance, Petkov’s most important miscalculation may seem insignificant. At the end of April, he transferred his own salary to the Ukraine assistance fund, calling on every Bulgarian to do the same. I remember well the angry reaction such a statement caused among people! Oddly enough, with this quite European populist action, he signed his own death sentence.
Bulgarians are very kind-hearted and sympathetic people. Only, they are very sensitive to attempts to blatantly reach into their own pocket. Against the backdrop of galloping inflation (18,5%) - the highest in the EU, the price of gasoline more than doubling, and the daily rise in prices of food products, the reaction of the Bulgarians bordered on fury!
The latest action of the former (officially acting) Bulgarian Prime Minister Kirill Petkov, to expel 70 Russian diplomats, can confidently be called both anti-Russian and anti-Bulgarian at the same time. It is not for nothing that the slogan, so familiar to the ears of Ukrainians, is increasingly heard in the country:
"Suitcase! Railway station! Canada!".
However, the owners of Canadian Kiro, those who promoted him to the premiership and financed the election campaign, can be pleased. Petkov even exceeded his mission to undermine the Bulgarian state. His “swan song” turned out to be even too loud...
It is obvious that the upcoming elections will greatly disappoint Petkov and his team. The rest of the political forces in Bulgaria are aware of this and seek to distance themselves from the discredited legionnaire, who ignores the mentality and vital interests of the people with whom he has long lost contact, but arrogantly tried to govern.
Bulgaria is seething after the expulsion of Russian diplomats.