Tag: Bulgaria

Bulgaria’s vigilante migrant ‘hunter’

A Bulgarian trader in spare parts for buses has become a national celebrity after starting to patrol the Turkish border “hunting” for migrants. Many Bulgarians applaud his vigilante initiative, though others are deeply troubled.

“Bulgaria needs people like me, dignified Bulgarians, willing to defend their homeland,” says Dinko Valev, sipping a fresh-squeezed orange juice in a flashy cafe in his hometown, Yambol, 50km (30 miles) from Bulgaria’s border with Turkey. Continue reading “Bulgaria’s vigilante migrant ‘hunter’” →

After Political Appointment in Bulgaria, Rage Boils Over

By MATTHEW BRUNWASSERThe New York Times

SOFIA, Bulgaria — Delyan Peevski’s mother used to head the national lottery and leads a growing media empire with strong political and economic connections in this small, impoverished and notoriously corrupt Balkan nation. So perhaps it was not surprising that the appointment of Mr. Peevski, 32, to head the powerful State Agency for National Security sparked protests that have been attended by thousands every day over the past two weeks and show no sign of losing steam. Continue reading “After Political Appointment in Bulgaria, Rage Boils Over” →

New Bridge Over Danube Helps Dissolve Old Enmities

The New York Times
By MATTHEW BRUNWASSER

VIDIN, Bulgaria — The European Union hardly basks in popular favor these days. But in this isolated corner of the bloc’s poorest periphery, leaders and locals on Friday celebrated a tangible benefit of membership — a $340 million bridge spanning the Danube that should help strengthen trade and ties between two impoverished members, Romania and Bulgaria. Continue reading “New Bridge Over Danube Helps Dissolve Old Enmities” →

With Many Despairing, Bulgaria Heads to Polls

By MATTHEW BRUNWASSERThe New York Times

VARNA, Bulgaria — Early one morning this past winter, Plamen Goranov, a 36-year-old photographer, stood on the steps of City Hall in this once grand and now crumbling port city on the Black Sea and held up a sign demanding that the mayor and City Council resign. He then took a bottle of gasoline from his backpack, poured it over himself and set himself on fire. He died 11 days later in a hospital. Continue reading “With Many Despairing, Bulgaria Heads to Polls” →

Bulgaria’s Unholy Alliances

By MATTHEW BRUNWASSERThe New York Times

SOFIA — His enthronement as patriarch of Bulgaria, spiritual leader of millions of Orthodox believers here, was supposed to stir pride and moral togetherness in an impoverished country confronting a vacuum in political leadership and widespread economic pain.

Instead, the installation of His Holiness Neofit last month, in a ceremony replete with byzantine splendor, served as one more reminder that Bulgaria had never really thrown off the inheritance of 40 years of rigid Communist rule and all the duplicitous dealings that went with it. Continue reading “Bulgaria’s Unholy Alliances” →

Chinese cars for Europe

Last year China overtook the United States as the world’s biggest car market, buying 13.6 million vehicles in 2009. Chinese car producers are also exporting cars to developing countries and now they are starting to make inroads into the lucrative European market. A joint venture in Bulgaria will produce the first Chinese brand cars in the European Union. From Bahovitsa, Bulgaria, Matthew Brunwasser reports.

Continue reading “Chinese cars for Europe” →

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