While in the balkans most of you probably know who is prorussia(greece and serbia) who is anti(Shiptars and Romanians) bulgaria is rarely commented on and when it is most what is claimed is false. Here from my bulgarian perspective I will go deeper on how bulgarians view russia and what events molded that view. I will show my personal view,as a moderate nationalist and anticapitalist, and
whether these following facts should reflect our relations with Russia
First, since our country is currently best described as cleptocracy controlled by the oligarchs and mafia with no ideological identity other than to steal from the national budget when they get into power, relations with russia are rarely in the most important topic in political discussion between average bulgarians. Most of these discussions end with self loathing about how we're 100 years behind the rest of europe( most bulgarians believe EU and the US is heaven with no corruption, with infinite riches, with everybody there being exteremely responsible and cultured, kind of like how Galicians viewed the EU when they started maidan) if bulgarians will learn to act with respect and stop having a middle eastern mentality(through bulgarian eyes the middle east is a place of barbarism , this view being constructed by our enslavement by the theocratic feudalistic backward Ottoman empire while west eurpoe started adopting liberal ideas like inalienable human rights and religious tolerance), whether we will stop getting duped by politicians(this has become a swear word here by now),etc.
For our cleptocracy bulgarians blame universal corruption and all political parties, so this doesn't have much influence on our view towards Russia. Discussions about russia have only become more common recently with the south stream debacle and ukraine.
This picture expresses the prevailing opinion on one of the Bulgarians political problems
translationThe problem with bulgaria is the (political)division
Russophiles-Russophobes
Republicans-Monarchists
Socialists-Capitalists
Communists-Democrats(most people in bulgaria do that equation because they don't know true communist theory)
Reds-Blues
Leftists-Rightists
Prorussians-Proamericans
Rublers-Dollarites
Unfortunately for russia unlike serbia bulgaria is far less uniform in its positive view toward Russia, with Washington funded Neoliberal experts for hire and politicians acting as the savior intelligentsia infiltrating bulgarian politics since immediately after the bourgois counterrevolution in 1989. They have hijacked the bulgarian zeitgiest trying to sway public opinion with contsant propaganda articles with headlines such as: DISSIDENT SPEAKS OUT ABOUT EVIL RUSSIAN OCCUPATION, RUSSIAN LIES ABOUT BULGARIAN HISTORY, HOW *INSERT RUSSIAN OLIGARCH HERE* BOUGHT BULGARIA, etc.
Protests for hire are a favorite tactic for this NED and Amnesty International funded pseudointelligentsia such as during teh early 90s when "students" forced out the elected socialists from power.
Now about usual political stance of bulgarian russophiles and russophobes
The bulgarian russophile
Unlike most russophiles in the EU who tend to be libertarian bulgarian ones(including me) mostly have a very left wing anticapitalist(but socially conservative) stance. This is mostly because russia is equated with the USSR. Unlike in the rest of europe where the EU is viewed as a bringer of "evil socialist jew mooslim welfare progressiveness" we bulgarians view it as a bringer of neoliberalism and a rebirth of faschism. EU funding of banderites and the subtle antirussian racist rhetoric of bulgarian right wingers rienforces this view. Other than that the EU is not surpirisingly also viewed as bringing perversion and multiculturalism.
Most bulgarian russophiles are unfortunately either elderly or adolescent and although we are a major part of the population its not nearly as high as in serbia. The neoliberal logosphere isn't helping, as we're being alienated and portrayed as foreighn agents who care more about russia than bulgaria
Here are our major talking points:
Bulgaria and Russia are both culturally and religiously close unlike the US therefore we should become much closer with russia
We shouldn't bite hand that feeds us(we rely on russian gas and russian tourists are a major part our income)
The EU will always view us a troublemaker and never improve our standard of life
The EU cares more about Turks and Gypsies on bulgarian soil than Bulgarians
We're accomplices to crimes and imperialism and we're gving up our independence with american bases on our soil
NATO has prevented us from our army getting good affordable equipment because itn doesn't let us buy russian, and NATO weapons are too expensive
Neocon politician Richard Ran with his shock therapy plan Ran-Ut destroyed the bulgarian economy
This caricature is inspired by the recent event where german multiculti progressives protested that the bulgarian border should bge opened for everyone
translation
Bulgarians remove the gates!We from the eurogay union want to suck the dicks of the immigrants(referal to the syrians and gypsies who pass mostly through our borders)
The bulgarian russophobe
He/She is mostly a middle aged neoliberal western emigrant or former political dissident with dual citizenship on CIA payroll posing as a representative of the bulgarian intelligentsia, that has managed get a decent bourgois life in the west. In Bulgaria most of the time their professions are connected with IT, services and entertainment and don't contribute much to the bulgarian economy. Most of todays russophobe politicians in bulgaria are funded also by local oligarchs but are better at hiding it so its easier for them to blame leftist politicians for supposedly bieng funded by GAZPROM, Russian mafia(that's a favorite cliche for them, KGB or whatever scapegoat they cook up. Strangely they neither defend nor criticize about the multiculti progressiveness the EU propogates us with. In order to gather paid student protests they try to look hip, youthful and as the enlightened future among the useless old players.
Hence the nickname for them: "The smart, The young and The handsome"
Their major talking points:
*Insert bulgarian national hero here* hated Russia
Russia is giving us unfair gas prices
South stream is a criminal affair cooked up by evil comunist oligarchs against bulgarian economic interests
Russia is a backward oligarchic dictatorship with only its aging military to boast with
Russians were always too subservient to understand real democracy
More bulgarians are emigrating to the EU than russia, therefore we should be proEU
Defamation of russophiles by portraying them as paid village idiots or communist brainwashed grannies
Once you go russian you never go back(i.e. russia supposedly won't let us go our own political path if we ever ally with it)
That was part 1. Got dizzy by writing all that stuff In part 2 I will focus on historical bulgarian-russian relations and how this should influence our view towards russia