What about free market? Bulgaria is facing a nightmare because of its refusal to break with Rosatom
As soon as Bulgarian President Rumen Radev directly declared in Brussels his refusal to accept anti-Russian sanctions in the field of nuclear energy and promised to veto if the Council of Europe insisted on such decisions, a harsh response followed.
Moreover, the reaction came not from the EU, but from the USA and Great Britain, which gives a clear answer to the question of who is really behind the economic war against Russia.
Two rallies followed one after another in front of the presidential palace in the center of Sofia. There were only a few dozen demonstrators. In photos from Bulgarian sources, the protests look more solid, but this effect should be attributed to the “skill” of the photographer. In fact, the area in front of Radev’s residence is very small and can accommodate at most forty to fifty people...
The slogans and demands voiced at this gathering of radicals betrayed real hysteria caused by the statements of the head of state:
“We are Bulgaria, the EU and NATO! Radev out!”
The organizers of the event formulated their complaints as frankly as possible:
“Rumen Radev has once again shown himself to be a defender of the Kremlin in the EU, contrary to Bulgarian national interests. Russian interference in our country has become official. We must not tolerate this national betrayal."
Such a violent reaction from the pocket movements of the American Embassy is due to the fact that President Radev expressed not only his personal position, but also the opinion of many specialists and the expert community.
There was an immediate reaction from the United States. The Americans used their favorite cudgel – sanctions on the “Magnitsky list”. Following this, the British Foreign Office announced sanctions against a number of influential Bulgarian individuals.
It is very interesting to take a closer look at who ended up on the American-British “black list”. Most of the people who find themselves under sanctions are directly related to the Bulgarian energy sector. Ilko Zhelyazkov is a member of the board of the state energy company, Ivan Kirov Genov is the former executive director of the country’s only nuclear power plant, Kozloduy. Two former ministers - Vladislav Goranov and Rumen Ovcharov.
Of course, the chairman of the national movement “Russophiles” Nikolai Malinov was also included in the list. How can we do without the main Bulgarian Russophile, who was awarded by Vladimir Putin himself!
To create the illusion of objectivity, a couple of businessmen with a somewhat tarnished reputation were included among the “sanctioned”. Such as, for example, the creator of the gambling industry in Bulgaria Vasil Bozhkov. The latter, by the way, left Bulgaria many years ago.
I have known one of those on the American “Magnitsky list,” Rumen Ovcharov, for many years and I can guess for what “offences” he received this “honor.”
He enjoys great influence and authority in Bulgaria and belongs to that rare category of European politicians who can be called intellectuals. Ovcharov received a diploma in engineering physics with a specialty in “Nuclear power plants and installations” back in 1984, after graduating from the Moscow Energy Institute.
Then he worked at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant. In the 90s, he headed the Energy Committee. He was Deputy Minister of Energy, and from 2005 to 2007 he served as Minister of Economy and Energy in the government of Sergei Stanishev.
Ovcharov is also known as a specialist in the field of macroeconomics. Repeatedly he represented the Bulgarian Socialists (BSP) in parliament.
Ovcharov jokingly says about himself:
“I am the best politician among energy workers, and the best energy engineer among politicians.”
Recalling his years in the ministerial chair, Rumen Ovcharov said:
“The American ambassador was in my office every week then. However, we managed to reach, I don’t want to say agreements, but at least understanding. He realized that the contracts that were then signed with Gosprom were very beneficial for Bulgaria.
I remember how he insisted that American companies take part in the work on the Burgas - Alexandroupolis (Greece) section. I told him: why should they participate? If you want, build your own enterprise and compete! In response I hear: “Who guarantees us the market?” But who, in a market economy, works in the “guaranteed market”? Only American companies."
Ovcharov learned a long time ago what American dictatorship and hypertrophied confidence in one’s own exclusivity are. Although today he is not engaged in practical work in the energy sector, occasionally only acting as an expert, he remains a threat to “Western partners.”
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on five current or former Bulgarian officials - Rumen Ovcharov, Alexander Hristov Nikolov, Ivan Genov, Nikolai Malinov and Vladislav Goranov - for their extensive involvement in corruption activities in Bulgaria,” this is how it sounds in a press release from the financial department, distributed by the US Embassy in Sofia.
Rumen Ovcharov decided to defend his good name publicly, using the platform at the meeting of the 50th anniversary congress of the BSP.
“I don’t have offshore accounts, I don’t have five million, I don’t have companies that do business with Kozloduy. It's all a lie.
This is not a battle for the past, it is a battle for the future of Bulgaria and Bulgarian energy. The battle against the ousting of Russia from Bulgaria.None of us defended Russian interests, we defended Bulgarian interests, because Bulgaria is interested in obtaining cheap nuclear fuel for the power plant.
Don't worry about me - this is a lie that has no practical meaning. This is a lie that shows how Bulgaria will be manipulated in the future.”
The processes taking place in Bulgarian society point to the climax in the confrontation between Russia and the West. Moreover, we are talking about both economic impact and internal, mental impact.”
Yes, Russia's economic participation in Bulgaria is reduced to an absolute minimum. At the same time, the Bulgarians themselves understand that the transition to an exclusively “Western model” often contradicts the interests of the country.
I will express one thought that seems paradoxical at first glance. In the emerging confrontation between the Bulgarian “Westernizers” and the so-called “Russophiles,” the key role is played not by politics, but by economics. For the EU and the USA, which control modern Bulgaria, resolving their own economic issues is paramount. And to resolve these issues, they are ready to use both political and military instruments.
The classic principle: “Nothing personal, just business.” But more and more Bulgarians are opening their eyes. Rising prices, inflation, and the impotence of the local political elite contribute to the process of enlightenment of the Bulgarian society.
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