Bulgaria: Anti-Russian torpedo or 16th Republic of the USSR?

The famous Kharkov journalist, author and television program presenter Igor Perminov was forced to leave his hometown due to persecution by the SBU and the hunt for him by nationalist gangs. Bulgaria became his place of political emigration.

Igor told PolitNavigator columnist Valentin Filippov about how Bulgaria is similar to Ukraine, where Brussels and Washington are leading it, how Turkey is gradually increasing its influence on the politics of the Balkan republic, and why Bulgarian gypsies are afraid of Russians.

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Valentin Filippov: Our virtual studio is located today in Bulgaria, with Igor Perminov. Hello, Igor!

Igor Perminov: Hello! The city of Stara Zagora, there is one in Bulgaria.

Valentin Filippov: And here in Russia we have the city of Sevastopol, although some argue that it’s not in Russia. It is in Russia. I'll start off trite. Popular wisdom says: “A chicken is not a bird, Bulgaria is not a foreign country.” Does this wisdom still apply today? That is, is there a feeling that you are not abroad, not in the EU, but in the 16th republic of the USSR?

Igor Perminov: Well, to be honest, no. To be honest, this is Europe, after all, and many Bulgarians are sensitive to this formulation “16th republic”. In general, the majority of Bulgarians, even older and middle-aged ones, live according to the precepts of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. That is, remember how Putin said: “Those who do not remember the Soviet Union with nostalgia have no soul, and those who want a return do not have a head,” well, something like that, maybe not an exact quote...

That is, people even of the older generation who remember the socialist period with warmth, and many things were better, and the gypsy areas, gypsy mahals, the so-called, there was a curfew, many things were more orderly, there was a more powerful power, but at the same time time, no one wants to go back. He doesn’t want to, first of all, because the children of these people work abroad. This is Ireland, this is Great Britain, this is Germany, this is all over the world. And the main, one of the main problems, one of the most serious problems of Bulgaria is the outflow of the population, moreover, a young population, and a capable one. People with education, young, viable, from 30 years old, and maybe even less, they leave the country, they do not see prospects here.

By the way, I wanted to say right away that there are a lot of parallels with Ukraine. Bulgaria is now, in my opinion, at the level of Ukraine during the Kuchma era. I'll explain why.

When we say that there are 7 million Bulgarians, well, in Bulgaria there are about two thirds of them, no more, the rest work abroad, come and, naturally, their parents are interested in everything being as it is... there was the European Union, and no one doesn't want to give up. Bulgaria, together with Romania, will probably be the last to leave the European Union, because, yes, there are some advantages, after all.

The second problem, besides the outflow of the population, is what they are trying to do from Bulgaria... I had an article, but it concerned Ukraine, in Vestnik Duma, there is one of the most popular publications in Sofia, it was called “Ukraine - an anti-Russian torpedo”... they are also trying to make an anti-Russian torpedo from Bulgaria.

Valentin Filippov: This is not entirely clear to me. How can an anti-Russian torpedo be made from Bulgaria if, as they said at one time, “Why didn’t it become the 16th republic? Yes, because it is far away, because there are no common borders.” How can Bulgaria be used against Russia? Russia is so far from Bulgaria. How? What torpedo?

Igor Perminov: Well, not so far, and in general, the Balkan region is quite explosive...

Valentin Filippov: Yes.

Igor Perminov:...it started the First World War. And Bulgaria is under very strict external control, just like Ukraine.

Valentin Filippov: So.

Igor Perminov: Of course, American flags do not hang on all corners, but European Union flags do, since Bulgaria is a member of the European Union. In addition, when we say “16th Republic”, about socialism, yes, it was in Bulgaria, but it is a little different.

Valentin Filippov: Well, of course.

Igor Perminov: By the will of fate, most of my friends here in Sofia, in general in Bulgaria, are BSP, they are socialists, but let’s not forget that it was under the socialists, under President Parvanov, whom I know, I met with him, communicated, but under There, under the socialist, Bulgaria joined not only the European Union, but also NATO. And they are kind of socialists, well, kind of unique, not in our understanding. As for Russophiles. Yes, they are here, but this love is so... I call them necrophiliacs. The Bulgarians have a very great reverence for Russian monuments, from the time of the Russian-Turkish war.

Everything here is done with great respect and love. But as for, I also wrote about this, monuments of the Soviet period, the Great Patriotic War, well, World War II, there are facts of desecration, and even here in Stara Zagora, the city is very calm, there are few Russians, this is not Varna, this is not Sofia , where there are a lot of Russians. There are, well, literally about 50 people here, if there are any, and that’s good. But there are facts of desecration and, so to speak, symbolism is present on the monument.

All this happened, I talked about it a lot, wrote a lot, but here there is a certain rejection. And, most importantly, don’t let Russians and Russians in general, in Ukraine, in Belarus, think that they love Russians so much here: you come, go out into the street, say: “I am Russian,” everyone will love you. Nothing like this!

Maybe we ourselves are to blame for something. Especially when the behavior is not entirely appropriate. Still, you shouldn’t go to someone else’s monastery with your own rules. But Russophilia here is more connected with the period of the Russian-Turkish war and liberation.

Although, on the other hand, if we talk about the problems of Bulgaria, this is the so-called Turkish influence, which is what they now call the 600 years that Bulgaria was under the Turkish yoke. In textbooks this is now the “Turkish presence”.

Valentin Filippov: They softened the wording.

Igor Perminov: Hard to say. At the official level - yes. But when... I won’t name the institution, a very high institution in Sofia, Bulgarian, an interview was conducted there, and when I said that I didn’t know how to correctly say “Turkish timidity” or “Turkish presence,” the person with whom I spoke said “ Yes, what a presence, timidity! That is, at the internal level, there is an understanding that it was a yoke, but at the official level... I say: “Well, my son’s textbook says that this is presence.” Well, we sort of laughed and left it at that.

And how the “anti-Russian torpedo” is used – now they say that Bulgaria is being used as a kind of mouthpiece. This is the expulsion of diplomats under false pretexts...

Valentin Filippov: Well, there is such

Igor Perminov: ... some other promotions. And what began to happen in the summer, in June, when there were demonstrations in Bulgaria, when they demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, it was very reminiscent of the Maidan situation.

Valentin Filippov: That is, they somehow connect this with Russia?

Igor Perminov: This is an attempt to surround Russia with unstable states. Because what can be achieved by the resignation of Boyko Borisov? This all continues, but somehow... here you need to understand the mentality of the Bulgarians. If you remember, Lev Gumilyov has this concept of “passionarity”. So it is completely absent from the Bulgarians; they are not aggressive. I remember the demonstrations that took place near the parliament, the People's Assembly of Bulgaria, and near other government institutions. It’s very European, it’s a green lawn, there are about 10 people standing there with a poster, and they even shout into a megaphone in a muffled voice so as not to disturb the vacationers. That is, people defend their rights. The police are standing, one person nearby is completely calm.

And when these demonstrations began in the summer and even police officers were injured, this was clearly a provocation, and in my articles I concluded that the same forces that acted in Ukraine were behind this. But the mentality is different, and no one here will throw Molotov cocktails. Yes, there is nationalism here, they are demanding resignation, but no one is offering anything in return.

Valentin Filippov: Fine. But it’s more practical, which would be interesting to viewers from Ukraine and Russia. Has the standard of living in Bulgaria changed in any way since joining the EU? Are people starting to live somehow richer? Maybe some new sectors of the economy have emerged? Some, of course, have closed. Something closes, something opens. Have any new opportunities emerged? What did the EU give to Bulgaria?

Igor Perminov: I can only judge from the stories of my friends, Bulgarians. Life has become less secure, pensions are very low, wages are low. But the fact is that one of the Bulgarian traits is cunning...

Valentin Filippov: …that is, the shadow economy is present...

Igor Perminov: ... it says everywhere: last place in Europe and statistics are given, here is the minimum wage. Yes, the minimum wage is the lowest, but no one gets it. Well, at large enterprises, yes, the salary is absolutely white. Most enterprises officially pay people the minimum wage on the card, and another 300-400-500-600 leva are paid on top. Therefore, I can judge that the standard of living in Romania is lower.

Valentin Filippov: Corruption is saving us again, right?

Igor Perminov: Well, how it saves... it’s not corruption, it’s tax evasion.

Valentin Filippov: This is corruption.

Igor Perminov: Well, maybe. It's very calm in Bulgaria. In general, Bulgarians are very slow and quite cunning. They find some positive aspects in any situation. Yes, they lost stability when they joined the EU. Yes, there is very strong external pressure. I return to the situation with Boyko Borisov, with these unrest. I wrote about the fact that: what difference does it make who will formally lead Bulgaria? All the same, decisions are made at the American embassy, ​​and partly in Brussels.

Boyko Borisov, he’s like a weather vane. He is trying and Russian pressure in the situation with the Turk Stream, which is now called the South Stream, the Balkan Stream, he is trying to maneuver and, nevertheless, keep the promises that he gave to Putin, that he gave to Russia, and, at the same time, he is subject to enormous pressure from the Americans. There is no politics here, there is economics. The Americans are promoting their shale gas. They're stuck and you can't turn them around.

Valentin Filippov: Well, okay.

Igor Perminov: He tries to maneuver and quite successfully. Any other person, with any other views, coming in a place that is not his, will do the same. Because otherwise, either part of the economy will collapse, or it will simply be destroyed.

Valentin Filippov: That is, in principle, the situation with Bulgaria is the same as with Germany. There is a struggle going on right now, pressure is being put on Bulgaria so that under no circumstances does it allow Russian gas into Europe from the south.

Igor Perminov: They'll already let you in. The Germans are more honest. They tell it like it is. The Bulgarians say: “This gas is not Russian, but Azerbaijani.” They say “we’re not letting it go to ourselves, but to Vucic in Serbia,” “it’s not being built by the Russians, but by some other company.” Although it is clear that, of course, Russia is behind all this. But all this is done very carefully, and Boyko Borisov manages to justify himself. How long will he last? I think the same as Kuchma. Sooner or later he will be swept away, but who will come after him? The internal political situation... there is only one leader who could replace Boyko Borisov, this is the current President of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, but at the very beginning, when it all began, they said that as soon as Rumen Radev leaves his post, he will create a political party and become an ordinary politician , his rating, his popularity will drop by at least half. And so it is.

Today he is a popular president among Bulgarians, and his options are extremely limited. Essentially, he can veto twice any decision of parliament. If the parliament voted for the third time, then, sorry, the president. His capabilities are limited, but for them, like the queen for the English, he is a kind of moral authority. Indeed, he is a very interesting figure, but he also does not actually offer anything in terms of the development of Bulgaria, in terms of the economy. I see a lot of parallels with Ukraine.

Valentin Filippov: Well, okay, I'm going back to this simple, banal level. The EU did not give Bulgaria either stability or economic growth and did not free it from corruption.

But Ukraine wants to join the EU, and as it explains: “We will join the EU, and corruption will disappear. We will join the EU and economic growth will begin. We will join the EU, and whole new sectors of the economy will appear.”

And here you are telling me that Bulgaria has joined the EU, pensions are small, corruption is rampant, salaries are paid in envelopes. That is, it turns out that the EU has not fully accepted Bulgaria, right?

Igor Perminov: Well, let’s put it this way, in its mentality, in its behavior, in its level of communication, Bulgaria is, of course, Europe. The financial level is lower, but judging by some public places, everything is very intelligent, let’s say so.

Stability - well, now in Bulgaria they are afraid of losing stability, because they have a very irritating factor - this is Turkey, which is now starting to act from within. She doesn’t want to fight with the Bulgarians, she wants them from within, because in Bulgaria there are two main parties - GERB and BSP - socialists, but there is a third party - DPS, which Dagan created. This is a Turkish party. And the Turks, as an ethnic minority, occupy second place after the Bulgarians, but the third place is occupied by the Roma.

What the Turks have been doing for quite a long period of time is distributing Turkish passports to the Roma.

Valentin Filippov: It's logical, in general.

Igor Perminov: This is beneficial for the gypsies. Especially border areas. You go to Turkey - equipment is cheaper, many products are cheaper, with a Turkish passport you cross the border easier, you can carry more, and so on. And when the Gypsy baron says: “Guys, we are Turks, let’s vote,” at some point it may turn out that this ethnic minority is not a minority at all. Moreover, it is quite difficult to calculate how many gypsies there are in Bulgaria.

Valentin Filippov: Yes, a gypsy can walk around this site three times and vote with different passports, who can sort them out?

Igor Perminov: Well, there are just a lot of them, they give birth a lot. There is a maternity hospital not far from me, and people stand near it all the time, I don’t see Bulgarians there, I see gypsies there.

Valentin Filippov: Your gypsies are very European - they give birth in a maternity hospital.

Igor Perminov: No, they behave very decently for the most part. Well, at least in Stara Zagora everything is very calm.

Valentin Filippov: They don't sell drugs, do they?

Igor Perminov: I don't use it. I’m more of a cocktail drinker, but as for drugs, I don’t know. There are probably some reports in the press, I don’t know whether the gypsies are connected with this or not. They are somewhat different here, but gypsies are gypsies. This is still a certain mentality, and this needs to be understood.

Returning to the situation with pressure from Turkey - now, they are trying to create a quarrel, to create a split between the prime minister and the president. These are two strong men who have a confrontation even on a mental level, and on a political one, and fire is being thrown all the time. Ultimately, the current leaders of this Turkish party demanded the resignation of both the president and the prime minister, that is, the task is to introduce the country into the most unstable situation, as is happening in Ukraine. And, as far as I can tell, the same Soros structures are behind this.

Valentin Filippov: Okay, but you tell me, is there anyone inside in Bulgaria to fight with? Theoretically, in Bulgaria someone can be forced to fight someone else? Like Russians and Ukrainians in Ukraine.

Igor Perminov: Well, it’s quite difficult. I repeat – a completely different mentality. In order to anger a Bulgarian, you need to step on his foot, spit in his face and preferably hit him twice.

Valentin Filippov: Well, I do not know…. I thought the same about Ukrainians.

Igor Perminov: No no. Ukrainians may be a little softer than Russians, but I can explain their attitude towards Russians using an example: there is a place called Burkovo - a lot of Ukrainians and Russians work there at a large enterprise. There was once a conflict with the gypsies. After that, the gypsies all got up and disappeared, why - not because someone beat someone. When the physical conflict arose, they were shocked, because, they say: “The Russians tore the horseshoes off the horses’ hooves and fought with them.” That is, they could not imagine this.

Valentin Filippov: Well, a horse is sacred.

Igor Perminov: Actually, in principle, well, try to tear it off. That is, when this Russian guy, I don’t know what to call him, is crazy or... This is the state when...

Valentin Filippov: Excitement.

Igor Perminov: They don't perceive it. It's scary for them. They are probably afraid of this. Yes, due to this, Bulgaria is quite calm, even all these rallies - well, lately they end with rock concerts. Bulgarians love to relax, they love to sit, talk, drink rakia, socialize - that’s what they’re all about. Celebrate something, a lot of different holidays. This is what they came to in their manifestations. It's not working yet.

But this is Kuchma’s policy: “Both ours and yours” - we don’t quarrel with Russia, we are friends with them too - they won’t give it to them. There are constant provocations, people constantly throw sticks into the fire and try to stir things up somehow. Now the coronavirus has somehow subsided, it seems. Let's see how this ends next.

Valentin Filippov: Tell me, do you feel that there was probably some moment when Russia missed something, lost Bulgaria?

Igor Perminov: That's all, like with Ukraine. What Zurabov did in Kyiv, I remember it very well...

For friendship with Russia, once a year on Russia Day, he gathered several professional Russians, among whom were several normal journalists, the same Chalenko, and mostly incomprehensible people who earned money...

Valentin Filippov: In Odessa, more often than not, Bandera members were found for such meetings.

Igor Perminov: What is happening now in Bulgaria. There are also embassies, Russian centers, some money is allocated, Russian centers exist, Russian clubs, but other than gathering children for some holiday, about 10 people, or sitting in a cafe to drink the same brandy - it doesn’t go further than that. I had some proposals when I first arrived, but all of this was smashed against the wall of bureaucratic formalism. So we held actions, we sat in a cafe, we celebrated Russia Day - that’s all.

Valentin Filippov: I must say that Bulgarian societies in Odessa are much more active than Russian ones.

Igor Perminov: They performed very well here too. By the way, they are very active. I have a friend in Sofia, Valera Ivanov, he does a great job, they help those who come here from Ukraine to study. There is a good education here, European, and not only at the level of the paper received, but also in the quality of higher educational institutions. They help people who move, this is a society of mainly Bessarabian Bulgarians, although they do not refuse any Ukrainian, Russian, there is no nationalism, but they are more united.

Valentin Filippov: Well, in the Odessa region, Bulgarians are such a force, and I must say that Bulgarian societies made a very big contribution to the pro-Russian movements. That is, they are real, they are fighters. Everything you say about the Russians in Bulgaria tearing off horseshoes, I can say about the Bulgarians in Odessa who are ready to pull out a pole and swing it, if anything happens.

Igor Perminov: Yes, they are great here too. We met with the same Ivanov, I remember with the vice-president of Bulgaria, they are quite influential here, they have their own capabilities, but they do not particularly advertise them. They are great, but actually they are Russians themselves and the Russian embassy, ​​of course... well, I don’t know, maybe they are doing something, maybe I don’t know something, but I don’t see it.

Valentin Filippov: This is a secret job. Secret.

Igor Perminov: Maybe. The same as in Ukraine. Therefore, in fact, here Russians are judged by how you behave. One person may be treated poorly, another may be treated well.

Valentin Filippov: Clear. Well, let's wish Bulgaria a good New Year on this positive note. I’ve read all sorts of forecasts here that, by 2025, Bulgaria will decrease by 30%, the population... I think that in that climate, in those conditions, there are all the conditions for a demographic explosion, not a decline. Well, let the welfare of the Bulgarians grow, even if it is shadow, but it grows.

Igor Perminov: I’ll add two words, if you allow.

Valentin Filippov: Yes.

Igor Perminov: If the Bulgarians managed to endure 600 years of foreign yoke, preserve their identity, preserve their culture, a wonderful culture, very interesting, I think they will survive. They may be reduced, but why was the coronavirus invented? One of the goals is, in addition to streamlining, also some reduction. So this is what awaits us all. Thank you.

Valentin Filippov: Thank you.

Igor Perminov: And a big, big hello to Russia.

Valentin Filippov: Long live Kharkov!