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Bulgaria–Russia relations

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Bulgaria–Russia relations
Отношения между България и Русия
Отношения между Болгарией и Россией
Map indicating locations of Bulgaria and Russia

Bulgaria
Russia
Diplomatic mission
Embassy of Bulgaria in Russia, MoscowEmbassy of Russia in Sofia, Bulgaria
Envoy
Ambassador Atanas KrystinAmbassadorEleonora Mitrofanova
Embassy of Bulgaria in Moscow
Embassy of Russia in Sofia

Bulgaria–Russia relations(Bulgarian:Отношения между България и Русия,romanized:Otnosheniya mezhdu Bulgariya i Rusiya,Russian:Отношения между Болгарией и Россией,romanized:Otnosheniya mezhdu Bolgariey i Rossiey) are thediplomatic relationsbetween the countries ofBulgariaandRussia.

Bulgaria has anembassy in Moscowand three consulates general (inSaint Petersburg,NovosibirskandYekaterinburg). Russia has an embassy inSofiaand two consulates general (inRuseandVarna).

Both countries are Slavic nations, and are bound together by a commonOrthodox Christianculture. However, this has not translated into warm relations for the most part. After Bulgarian independence in the 19th century, relations turned tense when Russia consistently favoured Bulgaria's neighbourSerbiaover Bulgaria in various Balkan disputes and wars beforeWorld War I,followed by Bulgaria siding with Germany in both two World Wars against Russia.

After a Communist takeover in 1945, Bulgaria was aSovietally during theCold War,and maintained good relationships with Razia until theRevolutions of 1989,the only major period since independence where Russia had better relations with Bulgaria than with Serbia; or rather in this caseTito's Yugoslavia.However, following woes over energy projects included the cancelledSouth Streampipeline and frozenBelene Nuclear Power Plantproject, as well as the2014 annexation of Crimeaby Russia, the relationship has again deteriorated.

History[edit]

Official relations began on July 7, 1879.

Early relations[edit]

The citizens of modern-day Russia and Bulgaria have been in contact for centuries.[1]TheCyrillic alphabetoriginated in the 9th centuryFirst Bulgarian Empireand was later accepted by the Orthodox Slavic countries as their standard alphabet. Both nations had the tradition of calling monarchsTsars,aSlavicword forEmperorthat also originated in Bulgaria.Russia helped Bulgaria gain sovereignty from theOttoman Empire.The Bulgarians then builtan Orthodox church in Sofianamed after theRussian OrthodoxsaintAlexander Nevskyin honor of the Russian soldiers who helped Bulgaria during that war.

Relations between two started to worsen when Russia refused to diplomatically supportBulgariain theBulgarian unificationand the followingSerbo-Bulgarian War.[2]This had a serious impact on Bulgarian–Russian relations, which continues to even modern day.

20th century[edit]

Bulgaria and Russia's relations continued to fall as Bulgaria accused Russia of meddling into its internal affairs, a fact that contributed to growing alliance between theRussian Empireand theKingdom of Serbia.This led to antagonism between Bulgaria and Russia even when Russia motivated Bulgaria to form an alliance withMontenegro,SerbiaandGreeceto drive the Austrians away. When Bulgaria got a chance to occupyConstantinopleduring theFirst Balkan Waragainst theOttoman Empire,Russia opposed Bulgarian military actions.[3][4]Russia also refused to condemn Serbia and Greece for attacking Bulgaria in theconsequent war.But tensions between Bulgaria and Russia eventually erupted in theWorld War Iwhen Bulgaria sided withGerman Empireover the promise to regain its lost soil. Eventually, Bulgaria and Russia suffered heavy military losses for their wars, and Bulgarian–Russian relations severed. It was not until 1930s that saw Russia, as theSoviet Union,established relations with Bulgaria.[5]

InWorld War II,Bulgaria started as a member of theAxis powers,[6]but when the Soviets invaded the Balkans, Bulgaria joined theAllied powerson the Soviet side.[7]The SovietRed Armybacked theBulgarian coup d'état of 1944which brought theBulgarian Communist Partyto power. British Prime MinisterWinston Churchilland Soviet First SecretaryJoseph Stalinsigned the secretpercentages agreementat theFourth Moscow Conferenceallowing the Soviet Union 80 percent of influence in Bulgaria after the war.[8]

Bulgaria–Soviet Union relations

Bulgaria
Soviet Union

From 1945 to 1948, the country became entrenched within theSoviet sphere of influenceunder the control of theBulgarian Communist Party(BCP) which oversaw a program ofStalinizationin the late 1940s and 1950s,[9]and joined theWarsaw Pactin 1955.[9]Political repression was widespread.[9]Bulgaria became highly dependent on Soviet patronage. Soviet technical and financial aid enabled it to rapidly industrialize. The USSR provided Bulgaria with energy and a market for its goods.[10]Bulgaria also received large-scale military aid from the Soviet Union, worthUSD$16.7 billion between 1946 and 1990.[11]Bulgaria remained part of theEastern Blocuntil 1989, when the BCP began to drift away from the USSR. The firstmulti-party electionswere held in 1990 and the BCP lost power in electionsthe following year.[9]

Georgi Ivanov,a military officer fromBulgariabecame the firstBulgarianto reach outer space when he boardedSoyuz 33along with Soviet cosmonautNikolai Rukavishnikov.Bulgarian scientists were involved in preparations for the flight. During this era, Bulgaria was governed byTodor Zhivkov,a close friend ofNikita Khrushchev.

1989 - 2021[edit]

Russian President Vladimir Putin in Bulgaria, January 2008.

After thefall of communism in 1989,Bulgaria–Russia relations entered a new stage. Relations were affected by the political orientation of the party in power. The left was more supportive of close relations than the right. Russian attempts to interfere continued after thePeople's Republic of Bulgariaand Soviet Union collapsed. That led to the expulsion of two Russian diplomats during theUnion of Democratic Forces(СДС) government in March 2001 asIvan Kostov,thenPrime Minister of Bulgaria,was made aware of attempts to remove the Bulgarian government by Russian agents in the Bulgarian government, only five months before the legitimate end of the government term.[12]Relations between the two remained moderate despite Bulgaria's integration with Western Europe and theUnited States.Bulgaria joinedNATOin 2004 and theEuropean Unionin 2007.

A later President,Georgi Parvanovof theBulgarian Socialist Party,sought energy cooperation in a programme that he termed a 'Grand Slam'.[13][14]Although he managed to obtain two terms in office, for the most part he lacked public support.[citation needed]Most agreements were later revised, with successful projects given a chance, while unsuccessful efforts were stopped, such as NPP Belene, which was halted due to the unprofitable nature of the project for the Bulgarian side. This was opposed by former Prime Minister and currentParty of European SocialistsleaderSergei Stanishev,who had promised to replace the right wing government ofBoyko Borisov.[citation needed]

Bulgaria was deemed "unfriendly to Russia" on 30 of April 2021, because of the expulsion of several diplomats.[15]This was, however, later confirmed to not be true, as on the 14 of May 2021, the Russian government's officially released list ofunfriendly countriescontained only two other countries - theCzech Republicand theUnited States.[16]

After 2022[edit]

After the2022 Russian invasion of Ukrainestarted, Bulgaria, as one of the EU countries, imposed sanctions on Russia, and Russia added all EU countries to the list of "unfriendly nations".[17]

On 24 March 2022, the Bulgarian prime minister announced the recalling of the Bulgarian ambassador in Moscow for consultations, in the wake of "undiplomatic, sharp and rude" comments reportedly spouted by the Russian ambassador to Bulgaria,Eleonora Mitrofanova.[18]

In the evening of 27 June the Russian embassy in Sofia launched a charity appeal for Bulgarians to support the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[19]One day later, Petkov announced the expulsion of 70 Russian diplomats over concerns of espionage.[20]TheMinistry of Foreign Affairsannounced that Bulgaria would be temporarily closing down its diplomatic mission inYekaterinburgand expected Russia to temporarily halt the activities of its own mission inRuse, Bulgaria.[21]All services of the Russian embassy were halted, and Bulgaria stipulated that Russia must follow from thenceforth the official standard of limiting their numbers to 23 diplomatic staff and 25 administrative staff.[22]Misinformation promulgated by Russia in Bulgaria is being countered by the government of Bulgaria.[23]

Russia is suspected of being behind an explosion at an arms factory in Bulgaria in June 2023, it follows a series of similar incidents at arms depots housing ammunition meant to be exported to Ukraine.[24]In June 2023 Bulgaria decided to supply weapons directly to Ukraine and in July 2023 endorsed a decision to join theEuropean Defence Agency’s Collaborative Procurement of Ammunition project in support of Ukraine.[25]

The Prime Minister of Bulgaria,Nikolai Denkovstated "Russia must definitely withdraw from the territory of Ukraine, recognize its borders, and be held accountable for the crimes it has committed," when meeting the President of Ukraine,Volodymyr Zelenskyyin July 2023.[26]

Bulgaria is close to selling two unused Russian-made nuclear reactors and other critical equipment to Ukraine's state-owned atomic energy company.[27]

In July Bulgaria took over the Rosenets oil terminal at the port of Burgas, run byLukoil,with the Russian company losing its long term concession.[28]In October Bulgaria passed a law taxing Lukoil refinery at 60% of revenue, resulting in Lukoil trying to find a buyer for the refinery. A new owner would pay a lower rate of 15% of revenue. Bulgaria also passed a law taxing gas in transit from Russia to Hungary, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina at 20 levs, around 20% of the current natural gas price, with Gazprom likely to be suffering the financial loss.[29]The gas transit tax was suspended shortly afterwards.

Trade[edit]

In 2021 Bulgarian exports to Russia were $592 million with medication being the top product. Russian exports were $2.78 billion with natural gas being the main product. Between 1996 and 2021 Bulgarian exports have risen by an average of 0.71% p.a. whereas Russian exports rose by 1.39% p.a. on average.[30]

In April 2022 Russia ceased supplying gas to Bulgaria.[31]Bulgaria will cease buying Russian crude oil on 1 March 2024.[32]

Resident diplomatic missions[edit]

  • Embassy of Bulgaria in Moscow
    Embassy of Bulgaria in Moscow
  • Consulate-General of Bulgaria in Saint Petersburg
    Consulate-General of Bulgaria in Saint Petersburg
  • Embassy of Russia in Sofia
    Embassy of Russia in Sofia

Sources[edit]

  • Arthur Ernst von Huhn:The Struggle of the Bulgarians for National Independence Under Prince Alexander: A Military and Political History of the War Between Bulgaria and Servia in 1885(John Murray, 1886).Online.

References[edit]

  1. ^"Bulgaria - Language, Culture and Etiquette".www.commisceo-global.com.Retrieved2019-04-11.
  2. ^von Huhn, (1885)
  3. ^Stowell, Ellery Cory(2009).The Diplomacy Of The War Of 1914: The Beginnings Of The War (1915).Kessinger Publishing, LLC. p. 94.ISBN978-1-104-48758-4.
  4. ^"Russian Policy in the Orthodox East: The Patriarchate of Constantinople (1878-1914)".Russian Policy in the Orthodox East(PDF).De Gruyter Open Poland. 24 April 2015.ISBN978-83-7656-032-8.
  5. ^"Slavica Publishers | Indiana University".
  6. ^"Bulgaria joins the Axis".HISTORY.Retrieved2019-04-11.
  7. ^"The Balkans in WWII".dmorgan.web.wesleyan.edu.Retrieved2019-04-11.
  8. ^Reynolds, David (2009).Summits: Six Meetings That Shaped the Twentieth Century.New York: Basic Books. pp. 107–108.ISBN0-7867-4458-8.OCLC646810103.
  9. ^abcdDavid Walker & Daniel Gray, "Bulgaria, People's Republic of" inThe A to Z of Marxism(Scarecrow Press, 2009), pp. 36-39.
  10. ^Bulent Gokay,Eastern Europe Since 1970: Decline of Socialism to Post-Communist Transition(Routledge, 2001), p. 19.
  11. ^Deborah Sanders,Maritime Power in the Black Sea(Routledge, 2014), p. 176.
  12. ^Nikolai Slatinski,National security: aspects, analyses, alternatives,Sofia. 2004 //(in Bulgarian)Николай Слатински, “Националната сигурност – аспекти, анализи, алтернативи (doc)”,София, Издателство “Българска книжница”, 2004, p.119
  13. ^We succeed in making the Grand Slam said Parvanov //(in Bulgarian)Постигнахме Голям шлем, обяви Първанов,news.bg, 18.01.2008
  14. ^"the so-called" Grand Slam "(three major Bulgarian-Russian energy projects agreed in January 2008 between him and then Russian President Vladimir Putin) has failed to materialize",Bulgaria's Outgoing President Pledges to Help Parties Unite,novinite.com, 17 January 2012
  15. ^Bulgaria Added to Russia's List of Unfriendly States,novinte.com, 1 May 2021
  16. ^Russian government approves list of unfriendly countries,tass.com, 14 May 2021
  17. ^Lee, Michael (8 March 2020)."Here are the nations on Russia's 'unfriendly countries' list".CTV News.
  18. ^"Bulgaria to recall its ambassador to Russia for consultations".Swissinfo.24 March 2022.
  19. ^"Moscow's Embassy in Bulgaria Launches Fundraiser for Russian Troops".Balkan Insight. 28 June 2022.
  20. ^Oliver, Christian (28 June 2022)."Bulgaria expels 70 Russian diplomats and spies".Politico.Retrieved30 June2022.
  21. ^Tsolova, Tsvetelia (28 June 2022)."Bulgaria expels 70 Russian diplomatic staff over espionage concerns".Reuters.Retrieved30 June2022.
  22. ^Todorov, Svetoslav (29 June 2022)."Russian Embassy's Work Frozen After Bulgaria Expels 70 Diplomats".Balkan Insight.
  23. ^"Let's Tune In To The EU's Periphery: Bulgaria Political Infighting Over Choosing Russia Or The West".8 July 2023.
  24. ^"Bulgaria's economy minister hints Russians attacked ammo factory".26 June 2023.
  25. ^"Bulgaria joins EDA's collaborative procurement of ammunition for Ukraine".14 July 2023.
  26. ^"President of Ukraine following the meeting with Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov: Bulgaria is a defender of freedom and opponent of Russia's genocidal policy".6 July 2023.
  27. ^"Ukraine Nears Nuclear Deal With Bulgaria in Fresh Blow for Russian Influence Bulgaria turns against Moscow in negotiating sale of two Russian-designed reactors to Kyiv".6 July 2023.
  28. ^"Bulgarian parliament votes to end Lukoil's concession to operate Rosenets oil terminal".24 July 2023.
  29. ^"Lukoil Bulgaria refinery attracts buyer interest - report".18 October 2023.
  30. ^"Bulgaria/russia".January 2022.
  31. ^"Ukraine war: Russia halts gas exports to Poland and Bulgaria".27 April 2022.
  32. ^"Bulgaria Bans Russian Oil".28 September 2023.

External links[edit]

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