On 12th August 2026, in typical Kremlin fashion, the Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev linked the opposition and everyone in the country who doesn’t agree with him to “fascism”. He stated:
“This week, Bulgaria was shaken by the sadistic murder of Georgi Kuzev by an organised group of young people in Plovdiv. The Ministry of Interior detained the perpetrators, and the court remanded them in custody. Our government has taken the first steps to address the problem of youth crime – we are also considering more radical measures.”
According to a statement by the Council of Ministers from 11 August 2026: “Strengthening the Ministry of Interior’s monitoring of illegal content online that contains or incites violence, as well as efforts to stop its dissemination, is among the measures that should be implemented immediately […]”
It is not made clear, however, exactly who will monitor users’ behaviour online or how this monitoring will be carried out. This is important because measures of this kind create the possibility of being used as mechanisms of repression. On the other hand, it will be interesting to observe whether these strict measures will also be applied to influencers and troll accounts that support Radev’s government.
“But it must be clear that Bulgaria’s children should be brought up within the family and at school. We cannot leave them in the toxic environment of social media.
In tragedies like this, our entire society should stand united behind the victim and their loved ones. Behind the law and morality! That is why it is shocking that there are politicians and influencers who are trying to gain political dividends from the murder. These are the same people who oppose the introduction of the subject ‘Virtues and Religion’ in schools.”
We are witnessing Radev doing exactly what he accuses these “politicians and influencers” of doing – he is using the murder to push his idea of introducing a subject called “Virtues and Religion” in schools. A subject of this kind follows precisely the Kremlin model and could easily be used to promote an ideology convenient both for those governing Bulgaria and for the regime in Moscow.
“The same people who methodically destroy monuments and erase the memory of anti-fascism are today shocked by the fascist symbols of the attackers from Plovdiv.”
What Radev is referring to is the removal of the Monument to the Soviet Army from Knyazheska (Prince’s) Garden in central Sofia. The monument was erected by the communist regime for propaganda purposes. It should be noted here that Bulgaria is full of such communist monuments, which still remain standing in many Bulgarian towns and villages.
What Radev omits is the fact that those accused of the murder of Georgi Kuzev were followers of Russian neo-Nazi Maxim Martsinkevich – the founder of Occupy Pedophilia (Оккупай-педофиляй).
“Dear gentlemen of the opposition…”
There is something interesting worth noting here: apparently, as far as Radev is concerned, women do not work in parliament and members of parliament can only be “gentlemen”.
“…these unenlightened thugs are also your creations, but there is no place for fascist outrages in Bulgaria, and we will do what is necessary.”
In this way, Radev not only shifts responsibility for what happened onto the parliamentary opposition, but also implicitly brands anyone who stands against him as a “fascist”.
The Kremlin model operates in much the same way – accusing people and organisations inconvenient to those in power of being fascists, nazis, extremists and terrorists, thereby providing itself with legal mechanisms to persecute them and impose repression.
Putin himself justifies his war against Ukraine to the Russian public by claiming that the invaded country needs to be “denazified”.
Why is this dangerous?
Such veiled accusations of fascism against the opposition and everyone who disagrees with Radev and his government are extremely dangerous. They do not simply lead to extreme divisions within society – something that is a goal of the Kremlin across all Western countries – but also attach the label “fascist” to anyone who dares to speak out against Radev and his government.
This is a warning sign of an emerging dictatorship – not a Bulgarian one, but a Kremlin-style dictatorship on Bulgarian soil. Since Progressive Bulgaria took power in the country, Bulgarian citizens have been continuously bombarded with Kremlin propaganda. The language used by Radev, his ministers, advisers and members of parliament often repeats, word for word, statements made by Putin, Peskov, Zakharova and other officials in Moscow.
In foreign policy, Radev and his ministers create confusion, but their actions show a withdrawal from support for Ukraine and an active defence of Kremlin business interests.
The division of society into “our people” and “fascists” may appear to be an opportunistic exploitation of a brutal murder, but in reality it is part of a broader campaign aimed at entrenching the Kremlin model in the governance of Bulgaria.
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