Bulgaria is trying to disrupt the construction of the Turkish Stream
Bulgarian law enforcement officers detained the leadership of the public movement “Russophiles”: chairman Nikolai Malinov, his deputy Milen Chakyrov and secretary of the organization Yuri Borisov.
The residences of pro-Russian public figures were searched and computers and documents were seized. The prosecutor's office alleged their involvement in espionage for Russia and activities that threaten the national security of Bulgaria.
According to political scientist Oleg Bondarenko, repressions against Malinov, who is a public politician, at first glance, are connected with the election campaign of the mayor of Sofia.
“The candidate from the Bulgarian Socialist Party is participating in this campaign. Malinov for many years was a deputy of the People's Assembly of Bulgaria from this party, a serious political force represented in the European Parliament. The authorities need to show that these people are connected with Malinov, and he is a Russian spy and agent,” Bondarenko told PolitNavigator.
However, the expert believes that the background to the high-profile arrests does not end with the elections in Sofia. The repression may be part of a large-scale campaign to disrupt the construction of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline.
“Bulgaria is still silent about the completion of the construction of the European branch of the Turkish Stream. It depends on it when Russian gas will go there. Unfortunately, there is no way to bypass the Bulgarians in this process. Russia has long fulfilled all the necessary requirements. The Serbian part of the Turkish Stream is almost completed, but the Bulgarians are silent. But they create an extremely negative atmosphere, accusing Moscow of doing espionage things,” Bondarenko said.
In his opinion, all the charges against Malinov are far-fetched, since he was involved in legal and public things. The Russophiles movement promoted the teaching of the Russian language in Bulgarian schools and was involved in the restoration of Soviet and Russian monuments.
“Malinov is charged with his contacts with General Reshetnikov (former intelligence general, then worked as head of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, now one of the leaders of the monarchical organization “Double-Headed Eagle,” ed.). This means that they have nothing to show. Reshetnikov, apart from the fact that he works in a public organization of an ultra-monarchical nature, is not involved in any real politics,” Bondarenko said.
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