“Rumen Radev: Who is Bulgaria’s new Prime Minister – Pro-Russian, retired officer and former president”
Corruption is not the destiny of nations. It is a product of power structures—and it can only be overcome when institutions become stronger than those who seek to undermine them.
With the slogan of cracking down on corruption and defeating the mafia that collaborates with politicians, the pro-Russian retired officer Rumen Radev won yesterday’s elections. He is now setting course to replace Orbán, the ally that Russia’s dictator lost in Hungary. In short, the EU is once again moving “from thank God to God help us.”
Of course, it is still early to judge the course of the new Bulgarian prime minister, but on the occasion of yesterday’s victory, we want once again to point out the truly frightening corruption prevailing in our neighboring country. It is like a virus, an epidemic! It infects every level, “to the marrow of the bones,” and it is not easy to eradicate.
The severe poverty that has plagued this Balkan country for years—with its 6.5 million inhabitants, half of whom are migrants and many of whom work seasonally in Greece during the tourist period—is certainly a primary cause of this widely acknowledged corruption. But this explanation alone is not sufficient.
Romania also suffered, in the early years after the fall of Ceaușescu’s regime, from the cancer of corruption. With its accession to the European Union, it almost magically changed its mentality—both among citizens and state officials. Today, in Romania, another Balkan country, it is unthinkable to encounter scenes like those we describe below for Bulgaria in an earlier text of ours. Yet the same situation still prevails today in Greece’s and Romania’s neighbor. It is as if nothing has changed since 2011 (4/10), when we published the following text:
“BULGARIA: Residents of major cities protested against crime, which they claim is caused by groups of Roma, while clashes and arrests were reported.” (Press)
“Mary has everything—only the veil is missing.”
Bulgaria, after Albania, is the worst Balkan country in terms of crime. Its economic situation is also almost dramatic. Not to mention corruption and collusion at every level of interaction with the state. I will offer a personal experience to illustrate the extent of the erosion of the state and the corruption of its officials.
I have traveled more than a hundred times on the Sofia–Ruse highway. The route is a nightmare. A narrow road (except for 80 kilometers leaving Sofia), worn-out pavement, “ancient” tunnels, and dangerous overtaking. But these are the… best parts. From Pleven to Ruse, the real hell begins. Every 500 meters lurk living Procrustes, Sinis, and Periphetes, ready to rob unfortunate travelers. And these robbers are actual… police officers.
Hidden behind bends, as soon as they spot a car with foreign plates, they rush out, stop it, and angrily shout in Bulgarian that you were driving at…140! You are stunned, trying to explain in English that on such a road you cannot even drive at 60 (which was your speed), but it is useless. They “understand nothing.” They seize your documents, keep your driver’s license, and tell you to leave. You protest, shout, ask why this is happening since you committed no violation, even threaten to report them—but if you persist, you risk handcuffs or a baton on your back and imprisonment for “resisting authority.”
The only SOLUTION is to take out a €10 note, hand it over politely and with a bow. Then they return your license, pat you on the back, thank you—in surprisingly good Greek—and you continue your journey relieved, having avoided prison for just ten euros.
However, if (like the writer) for reasons of dignity and principles—“a philosophy of life”—you refuse to pay these “ransom fees” to pass through Bulgaria’s “Bad Pass,” you will spend the night at the Pleven–Ruse police station, until they grow tired of holding you and realize they will get nothing from you. Then they release you.
P.S. If anything like the above happens to you, do not waste your time sending complaints to the Bulgarian embassy in Athens, a prosecutor, or a competent Bulgarian minister—you will never receive a response.
And yet, the Roma are blamed for the country’s condition. They are the ones who supposedly become prosecutors, police officers, traffic wardens, public servants.
What can one say! When you carry fascism within you, you will express—whenever possible—the little Hitler you hide inside. It cannot be concealed.
Diotima, with her insight, is called upon to explain why such a massive problem of corruption exists in an EU member state like Bulgaria. Is its economic condition a sufficient explanation? Is poverty an explanation for all forms of corruption, not only in Bulgaria?
Diotima:
Corruption in the Balkans: Institutions, Poverty, and Power Without Accountability
The case of Βουλγαρία continues to surface in public discourse as a striking example of deep-rooted corruption within the Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση. Recent political developments surrounding Ρούμεν Ράντεφ, regardless of his formal institutional role, bring back a fundamental question:
How is it possible for a country embedded in the European institutional framework to display such a depth of corruption?
1. The illusion of poverty as explanation
Poverty is the easy answer—but also the most misleading when used as the sole explanation.
If poverty automatically produced corruption:
all poor societies would be equally corrupt
all wealthy ones would function flawlessly
Reality proves otherwise.
👉 Poverty creates favorable conditions
👉 but does not by itself produce corrupt systems
2. Historical roots: transition without institutions
After 1989, countries like Bulgaria moved from state socialism to a form of uncontrolled capitalism:
opaque privatizations
institutional discontinuity
old power networks adapting rather than disappearing
Corruption did not emerge as a deviation.
It became the mechanism of transition.
3. Rule of law as the decisive factor
The comparison with Ρουμανία is revealing.
Despite similar starting points:
Romania invested in judicial independence
prosecuted high-level corruption
created deterrence
In contrast, in Bulgaria:
oversight mechanisms remained weak
political and economic power intertwined
impunity prevailed
👉 Where corruption is punished, it recedes
👉 Where it is protected, it becomes entrenched
4. Normalization of corruption
When everyday life includes:
bribery for basic services
arbitrary authority
absence of justice
corruption transforms:
from deviation → into norm
This is the most dangerous stage.
Society no longer resists—it adapts.
5. Networks of power and systemic corruption
Corruption here is not incidental. It is:
structured
hierarchical
protected
Political, economic, and administrative actors form a closed circuit of power, where:
👉 accountability is undermined
👉 responsibility is diffused
👉 punishment is neutralized
6. The myth of the “internal enemy”
In times of crisis, societies seek culprits. Minorities often become convenient targets.
But the reality is clear:
they do not legislate
they do not govern
they do not control institutions
👉 Corruption is not a marginal phenomenon
👉 It is a phenomenon of power
Blaming the weak ultimately shields the powerful.
7. The European paradox
The Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση provides a framework of rules—but cannot impose political will.
This creates a contradiction:
institutional integration
but internal resistance to reform
Membership does not transform a society automatically.
It merely creates the opportunity for transformation.
Conclusion
Corruption in the Balkans—and particularly in Bulgaria—is neither accidental nor cultural destiny.
It is the result of:
historical discontinuity
weak institutions
impunity
and concentrated power without accountability
Poverty explains its persistence.
But power without oversight creates and sustains it.