Between Amnesia and Miasma: Bulgaria’s Battle for the Truth About Russia

What happened with Radev’s attempt to be convenient to both the West and the East, as well as the incident in Plovdiv, once again showed how wide the gulf is between Bulgarians and the truth about Russia and our shared past. Until Bulgaria overcomes this bipolar hatred and amnesia, nothing will change.

I read such incredible fictions about Russophilia—invented in the mainstream media, on social media, and in all circles of our public space—that it makes my hair stand on end. Not because of what is happening, but because of the information war on the subject, deliberately stoked by the Russophobic stratum that is still in power in Bulgaria. Very little time in power remains for them—37 years have passed, 8 years remain, and then it is gone.

It is very difficult to speak of genuine Russophilia in our country, but it does exist and on a particularly large scale—much more than in any other country from the former Eastern Bloc. But that is not what matters. What matters to me are the attempts to rewrite history; as unbelievable as it may seem, the West deliberately erases facts, alters facts, and changes the significance of facts. And this practice is quite well established here.

I do not know what Rumen Radev will do in politics, nor do I know what vision he has for Bulgaria and its place among the world’s cardinal directions, but I want to point out two extremely severe problems.

Beyond the extreme, malignant Russophobia that poisons Bulgaria, there is another problem. People who are not actually Russophiles claim to be such (I wrote a post about this regarding a reception at the Russian embassy)—people who engage in no public activity for the benefit of shared relations, but merely profit personally from their Russophilia. An example of this is the chairman of the “Russophiles” Association.

This is one of the two reasons why Russia neglects the selection of people in our country to act as contacts with Russia itself. In fact, Russia is relying on long-standing momentum regarding its influence here, but very soon the tires of this bus will blow out. Natural Russophilia in our country has been abandoned to fate, neglected both by our official Russophile figures or organizations and by the Russians themselves. That is why Western propaganda flies its flag completely unhindered, rewriting history however it pleases and harassing society at all levels. Meanwhile, people like me are left to fend for themselves as best they can.

I am in contact with people from other Eastern European countries who, like me, are trying to change the public climate toward normalizing the insane attitude toward and with Russia, and I know they face the exact same problems. It was then that I realized the main reason for the rabid Russophobia in Europe (and in Bulgaria) is the severely neglected—if not entirely abandoned—Russian propaganda toward Europe. The truth—and it is shocking, because talking heads appear on European TV all day long finding Russian spies everywhere and in everything—is that Russia has completely neglected its work with its supporters on the continent. It is not just here; it is the same in other Eastern European countries. This is a failure of their foreign policy and a weakness in every respect on the information front.

You cannot rely on oligarchs and lumpens to represent you and expect results. The Russian leadership must keep in mind that, despite them, Bulgaria manages to breathe through these poisonous Russophobic miasmas thanks to the deep spiritual strength we carry. And one day we will demand accountability for this oversight!

That is why all kinds of nonsense about Russia and Russophilia are possible here.

^{The author’s views are their own and do not necessarily reflect the blog’s.}

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