Part A

While Bulgaria’s constitution protects freedom of expression and freedom of the press, according to Reporters Without Borders, Bulgaria continues to fall in the World Press Freedom Index. For several years now Bulgaria has rated lower than any other member of the European Union. In 2018 it received a rating of 111 out of 180 countries for its media freedoms, dropping two places from last year and eleven places since 2014. This low rating is a result of the widespread corruption between politicians, media, and powerful business elites. As an example, a former head of Bulgaria’s intelligence agency, Delyan Peevski, now owns the New Bulgarian Media Group which controls 80% of print media distribution. Furthermore, EU funding is being used to nourish corruption by distributing funds only to media which positively portray the government. There have even been a number of instances in which journalists have been harassed for revealing any sort of irregularities, or instances of corruption, within Bulgaria’s government. Similarly, while NGO’s operate freely, they face hostility from politicians, funding shortages, and nontransparent procedures.

In his book, Bleich discusses the “slippery slope” involved in the balance between guaranteeing democracy through preserving freedoms while also limiting discrimination. Unlike countries Bleich examines such as France and Germany, Bulgaria protects Holocaust denial as freedom of expression. While the Bulgarian government officially acknowledged its role in the Holocaust over seventy years after the end of the war and is now a member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, certain groups within the country have taken a revisionist outlook on history. In 2017 the Club of Bulgarian and Jewish Friends protested a monument commemorating Bulgaria’s role in saving 48,000 Jews from deportation to Nazi extermination camps during the war. What they found objectionable was an inscription on the monument which acknowledges Bulgaria’s role in deporting 11,343 Jews residing in its territories of Greece and Macedonia. The Club felt that such statements defamed Bulgaria’s memory and its people and thus it freely utilized its freedoms of expression and assembly.

 

Part B

Bleich discusses the soft power Russia has been utilizing through media distributed throughout Europe. While we primarily discussed in class Russia’s connection to far-right groups in countries such as France, this soft power has perhaps had an even more significant impact on countries like Bulgaria which already have strong diplomatic relations. Bulgaria and Romania have maintained a strong relationship for decades. During World War II, when Bulgaria joined the Axis alliance in 1941, it opted out of the war against the Soviet Union and maintained diplomatic relations with Moscow until 1944. During the Cold War, Bulgaria was part of the Soviet bloc and, as such, was a major trading partner with Russia. Bulgaria was even considered Russia’s most loyal ally. In recent years, Bulgaria has been torn between its alliance with the West as a member of NATO and the European Union and with its alliance with Russia. Putin has pushed to strengthen alliances with Sofia as Bulgaria is seen as a means to keep the Black Sea under Russian dominance and as an energy linkage from Russia to the west. As an example, an investment agreement was signed between Russia and Bulgaria in 2011 for the construction of the South Stream Pipeline, which put Bulgaria at odds with the European Union. While this project was ultimately not carried out, Russian influences continue to grow within Bulgaria.

According to a study conducted by the HSS Foundation on anti-democratic propaganda in Bulgaria, Eurosceptic, anti-US, and anti-NATO publications increased drastically between the years 2013 and 2017 while pro-Russia publications increased between 42 and 144 times. Further studies show that the number of publications supporting Russia’s actions in Crimea rose from 56 in 2013 to 6,109 in 2016. A common theme of these pro-Russian publications is projecting Russia as a victim of Western aggression.

While in power, the Bulgarian Socialist Party has maintained friendly relations with Russia while also maintaining a pro-EU stance. However, in the 2017 elections, the BSP called for an end of EU sanctions against Russia and took a more Eurosceptic stance. Populist parties, such as Volya, have also emerged in recent years and have taken a strong pro-Moscow stance.

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/bulgaria

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/controversy-sparks-over-bulgaria-holocaust-commemoration-03-09-2017

https://www.euractiv.com/section/future-eu/news/bulgaria-is-last-on-media-freedom-in-eu-and-in-the-balkans/

https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/sep/23/press-freedom-bulgaria

http://hssfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/REPORT_PART1_EN.pdf

Co-opting discontent: Russian propaganda in the Bulgarian media