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Fri, Feb 10 2012
The murder bureau
The book, which contains authentic scanned documents from Bulgarian archives, has been selling well
Photo: Dessislava Tzoneva-Hershman
Veteran 24 Chassa investigative journalist hopes to find an English publisher for her latest book
Photo: Provided
A top-secret unit is formed to "punish" political dissidents abroad. Kidnapping, murder and (euphemistically phrased) "neutralisation" are just some of the operation's goals. Bizarrely, even a slice of poisoned salami is one method chosen to liquidate "treacherous emigres".
It may sound like a plot reminiscent of the movie The Boys from Brazil. Instant associations with Nazism, however, are perhaps part of the problem. The crimes of the Nazis are well known, depicted in numerous Hollywood movies, revealing how a twisted and hateful ideology led to war and genocide. Many crimes perpetrated in the name of communism, on the other hand, remain largely unexplored. And movies about mass killings perpetrated in the name of communism – the deaths of 150 million people worldwide – are thin on the ground. Neither has anyone expressed any interest in publishing or translating a vast accumulation of Soviet-era documents currently available.
Alexenia Dimitrova's new book The Murder Bureau, published by 24 Chassa, unveils a chapter of Bulgarian history that some would prefer not to acknowledge. It relates a series of plots by Bulgarian communist authorities against dissidents in nine foreign countries. Dimitrova (47), an experienced investigative journalist, uncovered the existence of a secret department called Service 7 while investigating archives of the First Main Directorate of the State Security.
Poisoned umbrella
Perhaps the most infamous crime perpetrated by orders of Service 7 was the poisoned umbrella assassination of Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov on London's Waterloo Bridge in 1978. Markov's murder is now in the public domain. The surprise for Dimitrova, however, was that Service 7 had existed since 1963. By 1978 the wheels of assassination had been well primed and the operation was at its zenith. If any naive soul out there believes otherwise, it would be utterly inconceivable that Bulgarian communist leader Todor Zhivkov was ignorant about such plans.
In 1973 a secret decision had been reached by the Bulgarian politburo advocating so-called ostri meropriyatiya (sharp measures) against "enemies of the state", targetted at 10 Bulgarian emigres. The dissidents in question were based in Italy, France, the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Turkey and – somewhat bizarrely – Ethiopia.
Methods involved attempted poisoning, kidnapping, murder, liquidation and so-called discreditation. When Dimitrova found these documents, she decided to investigate the fate of these people, a task made more difficult by the fact that many documents were destroyed following the fall of communism in 1989.
It was in 2006 that a special law was approved allowing communist-era intelligence documents to be accessed.
"I requested these documents under this rule," says Dimitrova. "I found about 5000 pages, obviously not all about the workings of this department."
Dimitrova explained to me how the process worked. "I requested the inventories of the archives. They are listed with hundreds titles of documents on computer. I scanned the titles of certain documents. When I was reading the titles I noticed some interesting abbreviations. I ordered these files and read them. I was told that some of the documents relating to the final stages of these planned operations were destroyed, so in practice I was unable to see how they culminated. In the reports for the missing documents I read that the former chief of Bulgarian intelligence, General Vlado Todorov, was in a commission that destroyed sensitive documents 20 days after the fall of communism in 1989, including some of the most sensitive documents about this service.
"Clearly, some important individuals wanted to erase their tracks lest they be held accountable," Dimitrova says.
On the trail
Dimitrova decided to try to find witnesses who were still alive. She tracked one intended target, Alexander Iliev, down to Denmark. After months of research in Copenhagen she managed to find his address.
"His brother contacted me and told me his brother was alive but in poor health after a stroke," Dimitrova told me. Iliev's brother explained that that they had been aware of a possible threat and so had severed ties with Bulgarians and sought the protection of Danish police.
Dimitrova also found the daughter of another intended victim, Blago Slavenov, in Italy.
"His story is interesting because his was the first operation of this secret service. There was an unsuccessful attempt to kidnap him and force him onto a Bulgarian ship in Trieste, Italy," Dimitrova told me.
Dimitrova found Slavenov's daughter living in Rome. "When I contacted her, she was very careful, very cautious. I explained that I was writing this book. I sent her documents about her father. She told me that he died in 1996. Apparently he was very sick, he wanted to die in Bulgaria, in his birthplace near Plovdiv. This man very much loved Bulgaria and yet these stupid people wanted to kill him."
Dimitrova says she could not see what danger these emigres posed.
"The state looked on them as enemies. I discovered that some of these people had originally worked for Bulgarian intelligence themselves. So when they fled Sofia, the Bulgarian intelligence services were frightened that they would betray state secrets."
How many people did they succeed in killing?
Dimitrova was unable to determine the fate of four people on the hit list. One case, however, proved particularly interesting. The files described someone heading Bulgarian counter-intelligence, pre-1944, under King Boris. Dimitrova deduced that his name was Nicola Kostov. In his file it was clearly stated that he must be "liquidated". Dimitrova found a document from 1973, stating that everything was prepared and action was ready to be undertaken. Two secret agents in France were receiving money. Payments, however, suddenly ceased the following year.
"I found a person who told me that Kostov died in 1974 in Italy in the villa of a famous Bulgarian emigre. I called the person who subsequently bought the villa and he confirmed his death. I saw a document from the commission protocol saying that all 3000 pages about this person had been destroyed. So obviously these people – just like with Markov – wanted to erase tracks."
Dimitrova believes that the Bulgarian operation was modelled on the Soviet counter-intelligence organisation SMERSH – an abbreviation which means Smert Shpionom in Russian (death of spies) responsible for the assassination of many dissidents abroad. She found letters exchanged between Bulgarian and Czech, German and Soviet intelligence services (KGB) asking for help in activities of the bureau, so she concludes that these other countries must have had similar services.
Murderers still out there?
Dimitrova's book names certain individuals as being involved in the "assassination bureau". She says that, under normal circumstances, having heard from the victims, she would have approached these individuals to hear their version of the truth. But she says she was afraid that if they learned she was writing this book and had access to these documents, they would find a way to prevent publication.
"My investigations are still ongoing. After publication, many people called me, some to congratulate me. Three people called me personally to tell me they were targets of similar operations. Some of them, of course, could be crazy or paranoid but one of them sent me some documents in which it was written that he must be 'neutralised'. He told me that he even ended up meeting the person sent to 'neutralise' him because this person also escaped from Bulgarian intelligence."
Dimitrova has had the odd warning herself.
"On the day of publication of The Murder Bureau I had an anonymous threat. Someone phoned me at the office and called me terrible names. He said I was a traitor to Bulgaria and that the contents were untrue. I said to him – 'let's go to my editorial office and see the documents'. But he swore at me and slammed down the phone."
General Todorov, head of Bulgarian intelligence until 1989, is still alive. Under questioning from other journalists years ago he denied all knowledge of such a service, calling them "baseless rumours". The documents, however, many of which have been scanned and appear in Dimitrova's book, tell a different story.
Poisoned lukanka
Many years ago General Todorov (who was jailed for 10 months for destroying documents pertaining to Georgi Markov) mentioned in a newspaper interview three traitors in Bulgarian intelligence. One was named as Traycho Belopopski, born in 1935. Belopopski, who used to work for Bulgarian intelligence, was sent to study at Oxford. When he decided to stay in the UK, the authorities sentenced him to death in absentia. That was in 1964. Dimitrova eventually tracked him down to New York and contacted him in 2006.
"He didn't want to talk to me. He said he was still afraid, that his family lived all over the world and that these assassins were still dangerous. In our private correspondence he told me that in 1964 his father came to the UK and brought him some lukanka from Bulgaria. Belopopski was suspicious and threw it to a street dog that suddenly died a quick and agonising death."
Sadly, Belopopski died in 2008, two years before Dimitrova found conclusive proof that his name was among the targets of Service 7. He was a broken figure who didn't even want to contact his granddaughter who was also living in New York during the same period. It was as if he was still frightened of opening up any connections to the past, even if that meant rebuffing his own family.
Other high ranking Bulgarian ex-intelligence officers have always denied the existence of Service 7 and the assassination plots. One was mentioned in the book. Another was approached by the journalist Georgi Koritarov who invited Dimitrova to appear on his talk show on the occasion of the launch of her new book. Hearing Dimitrova's account, Koritarov asked the ex-intelligence officer in question to come to the studio and discuss the allegations. The ex-intelligence officer replied that he would not even broach the subject because it was the stuff of "fantasy".
Dimitrova's book seems to provide conclusive proof that although the workings of Service 7 could make for the most captivating Hollywood spy thriller, they are most definitely NOT the work of a fevered imagination.
The Murder Bureau is Dimitrova’s fourth book.* She is now hoping to interest an English publisher.
Does she still hope to bring prosecutions against of those involved in ordering the "punishment" of dissidents?
"The ultimate judge is the moral court," she says. "The important thing is that the truth must come out."
Doubtless, the victims and their families deserve to know the truth as well.
*The Iron Fist, detailing secrets of Bulgaria's communist-era secret services, is available in English.
It may sound like a plot reminiscent of the movie The Boys from Brazil. Instant associations with Nazism, however, are perhaps part of the problem. The crimes of the Nazis are well known, depicted in numerous Hollywood movies, revealing how a twisted and hateful ideology led to war and genocide. Many crimes perpetrated in the name of communism, on the other hand, remain largely unexplored. And movies about mass killings perpetrated in the name of communism – the deaths of 150 million people worldwide – are thin on the ground. Neither has anyone expressed any interest in publishing or translating a vast accumulation of Soviet-era documents currently available.
Alexenia Dimitrova's new book The Murder Bureau, published by 24 Chassa, unveils a chapter of Bulgarian history that some would prefer not to acknowledge. It relates a series of plots by Bulgarian communist authorities against dissidents in nine foreign countries. Dimitrova (47), an experienced investigative journalist, uncovered the existence of a secret department called Service 7 while investigating archives of the First Main Directorate of the State Security.
Poisoned umbrella
Perhaps the most infamous crime perpetrated by orders of Service 7 was the poisoned umbrella assassination of Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov on London's Waterloo Bridge in 1978. Markov's murder is now in the public domain. The surprise for Dimitrova, however, was that Service 7 had existed since 1963. By 1978 the wheels of assassination had been well primed and the operation was at its zenith. If any naive soul out there believes otherwise, it would be utterly inconceivable that Bulgarian communist leader Todor Zhivkov was ignorant about such plans.
In 1973 a secret decision had been reached by the Bulgarian politburo advocating so-called ostri meropriyatiya (sharp measures) against "enemies of the state", targetted at 10 Bulgarian emigres. The dissidents in question were based in Italy, France, the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Turkey and – somewhat bizarrely – Ethiopia.
Methods involved attempted poisoning, kidnapping, murder, liquidation and so-called discreditation. When Dimitrova found these documents, she decided to investigate the fate of these people, a task made more difficult by the fact that many documents were destroyed following the fall of communism in 1989.
It was in 2006 that a special law was approved allowing communist-era intelligence documents to be accessed.
"I requested these documents under this rule," says Dimitrova. "I found about 5000 pages, obviously not all about the workings of this department."
Dimitrova explained to me how the process worked. "I requested the inventories of the archives. They are listed with hundreds titles of documents on computer. I scanned the titles of certain documents. When I was reading the titles I noticed some interesting abbreviations. I ordered these files and read them. I was told that some of the documents relating to the final stages of these planned operations were destroyed, so in practice I was unable to see how they culminated. In the reports for the missing documents I read that the former chief of Bulgarian intelligence, General Vlado Todorov, was in a commission that destroyed sensitive documents 20 days after the fall of communism in 1989, including some of the most sensitive documents about this service.
"Clearly, some important individuals wanted to erase their tracks lest they be held accountable," Dimitrova says.
On the trail
Dimitrova decided to try to find witnesses who were still alive. She tracked one intended target, Alexander Iliev, down to Denmark. After months of research in Copenhagen she managed to find his address.
"His brother contacted me and told me his brother was alive but in poor health after a stroke," Dimitrova told me. Iliev's brother explained that that they had been aware of a possible threat and so had severed ties with Bulgarians and sought the protection of Danish police.
Dimitrova also found the daughter of another intended victim, Blago Slavenov, in Italy.
"His story is interesting because his was the first operation of this secret service. There was an unsuccessful attempt to kidnap him and force him onto a Bulgarian ship in Trieste, Italy," Dimitrova told me.
Dimitrova found Slavenov's daughter living in Rome. "When I contacted her, she was very careful, very cautious. I explained that I was writing this book. I sent her documents about her father. She told me that he died in 1996. Apparently he was very sick, he wanted to die in Bulgaria, in his birthplace near Plovdiv. This man very much loved Bulgaria and yet these stupid people wanted to kill him."
Dimitrova says she could not see what danger these emigres posed.
"The state looked on them as enemies. I discovered that some of these people had originally worked for Bulgarian intelligence themselves. So when they fled Sofia, the Bulgarian intelligence services were frightened that they would betray state secrets."
How many people did they succeed in killing?
Dimitrova was unable to determine the fate of four people on the hit list. One case, however, proved particularly interesting. The files described someone heading Bulgarian counter-intelligence, pre-1944, under King Boris. Dimitrova deduced that his name was Nicola Kostov. In his file it was clearly stated that he must be "liquidated". Dimitrova found a document from 1973, stating that everything was prepared and action was ready to be undertaken. Two secret agents in France were receiving money. Payments, however, suddenly ceased the following year.
"I found a person who told me that Kostov died in 1974 in Italy in the villa of a famous Bulgarian emigre. I called the person who subsequently bought the villa and he confirmed his death. I saw a document from the commission protocol saying that all 3000 pages about this person had been destroyed. So obviously these people – just like with Markov – wanted to erase tracks."
Dimitrova believes that the Bulgarian operation was modelled on the Soviet counter-intelligence organisation SMERSH – an abbreviation which means Smert Shpionom in Russian (death of spies) responsible for the assassination of many dissidents abroad. She found letters exchanged between Bulgarian and Czech, German and Soviet intelligence services (KGB) asking for help in activities of the bureau, so she concludes that these other countries must have had similar services.
Murderers still out there?
Dimitrova's book names certain individuals as being involved in the "assassination bureau". She says that, under normal circumstances, having heard from the victims, she would have approached these individuals to hear their version of the truth. But she says she was afraid that if they learned she was writing this book and had access to these documents, they would find a way to prevent publication.
"My investigations are still ongoing. After publication, many people called me, some to congratulate me. Three people called me personally to tell me they were targets of similar operations. Some of them, of course, could be crazy or paranoid but one of them sent me some documents in which it was written that he must be 'neutralised'. He told me that he even ended up meeting the person sent to 'neutralise' him because this person also escaped from Bulgarian intelligence."
Dimitrova has had the odd warning herself.
"On the day of publication of The Murder Bureau I had an anonymous threat. Someone phoned me at the office and called me terrible names. He said I was a traitor to Bulgaria and that the contents were untrue. I said to him – 'let's go to my editorial office and see the documents'. But he swore at me and slammed down the phone."
General Todorov, head of Bulgarian intelligence until 1989, is still alive. Under questioning from other journalists years ago he denied all knowledge of such a service, calling them "baseless rumours". The documents, however, many of which have been scanned and appear in Dimitrova's book, tell a different story.
Poisoned lukanka
Many years ago General Todorov (who was jailed for 10 months for destroying documents pertaining to Georgi Markov) mentioned in a newspaper interview three traitors in Bulgarian intelligence. One was named as Traycho Belopopski, born in 1935. Belopopski, who used to work for Bulgarian intelligence, was sent to study at Oxford. When he decided to stay in the UK, the authorities sentenced him to death in absentia. That was in 1964. Dimitrova eventually tracked him down to New York and contacted him in 2006.
"He didn't want to talk to me. He said he was still afraid, that his family lived all over the world and that these assassins were still dangerous. In our private correspondence he told me that in 1964 his father came to the UK and brought him some lukanka from Bulgaria. Belopopski was suspicious and threw it to a street dog that suddenly died a quick and agonising death."
Sadly, Belopopski died in 2008, two years before Dimitrova found conclusive proof that his name was among the targets of Service 7. He was a broken figure who didn't even want to contact his granddaughter who was also living in New York during the same period. It was as if he was still frightened of opening up any connections to the past, even if that meant rebuffing his own family.
Other high ranking Bulgarian ex-intelligence officers have always denied the existence of Service 7 and the assassination plots. One was mentioned in the book. Another was approached by the journalist Georgi Koritarov who invited Dimitrova to appear on his talk show on the occasion of the launch of her new book. Hearing Dimitrova's account, Koritarov asked the ex-intelligence officer in question to come to the studio and discuss the allegations. The ex-intelligence officer replied that he would not even broach the subject because it was the stuff of "fantasy".
Dimitrova's book seems to provide conclusive proof that although the workings of Service 7 could make for the most captivating Hollywood spy thriller, they are most definitely NOT the work of a fevered imagination.
The Murder Bureau is Dimitrova’s fourth book.* She is now hoping to interest an English publisher.
Does she still hope to bring prosecutions against of those involved in ordering the "punishment" of dissidents?
"The ultimate judge is the moral court," she says. "The important thing is that the truth must come out."
Doubtless, the victims and their families deserve to know the truth as well.
*The Iron Fist, detailing secrets of Bulgaria's communist-era secret services, is available in English.
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‘Between faith and compromise’ book launch
Historian Momchil Metodiev launched his book Between The Faith and Compromise, an account of relations between the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the communist state from 1944 to 1989, at a March 9 event at Sofia’s Red House Centre for Culture and Debate.
Bulgarian Olympic champion had a secret career as communist intelligence officer
Two-time Olympic champion wrestler Boyan Radev rose to deputy head of department in Bulgaria's communist-era State Security
My Bulgaria: Dossier again
Much has been said about missed opportunities in Bulgaria regarding opening the dossiers of the former communist-era secret police State Security.
66 secret service personnel in Bulgarian National Radio unveiled
In total, 66 ex-servicemen of the Bulgarian secret services have been employed in various important position in Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), as revealed on December 18 2008 by the Dossier Commission, as reported by Dnevnik daily. In total, 718 individuals have been investigated and one of them, Vecheslav Tunev, has been listed as being employed twice by the government by two different secret service branches.
Medals for Markov murder
New documents have confirmed that the operation that led to the 1978 murder of Bulgarian dissident and playwright Georgi Markov, code name "Wanderer", in London was a topic of discussion between the KGB and the Bulgarian intelligence services that Bulgaria's communist ruler Todor Zhivkov controlled. The subject of these discussions was the planning of how to disarm the playwright.
A cool look at communism
The ghost of communist-era secret services has haunted Bulgarians for the past 20 years, similar to any other nation shaking off totalitarianism and embracing democracy. The debate in Bulgarian society, just like that of other countries, has been dominated by emotions surrounding 45 years of communism. The desire to find culprits has left little room for an objective
Only one prime minister an agent
Zhan Videnov was the only prime minister who collaborated with the former communist secret services before the fall of the regime in 1990. Videnov's alias was Dunav (Danube). He held a secret meeting room in Plovdiv between the years 1988 and 1990. Videnov served as a prime minister in 1996-1997 as leader of Bulgarian Socialist Party.
Dossiers in Bulgaria opened
When, two weeks ago, Interior Minister Roumen Petkov said that the files of his ministry would be opened for the public, the revelation was on the front page of all major Bulgarian-language newspapers. The news was significant because Petkov said that the files contained information on the ministry's work from 1944 to 1990, the years of communist rule in Bulgaria. If there is something sure to stir spirits in
Opening dossiers and doors
POPULAR films and books have created the image of investigative journalists as mostly male, pushy, nosy, sometimes aggressive and often annoying people who have furtive looks and a taste for conspiracy theories. Alexenia Dimitrova, one of the leading investigative journalists in Bulgaria, is none of these things. On the contrary - she is softly spoken and somehow frail-looking, with a pleasant air around her.
More in this category
In the land of blood, honey – and controversy
Mixed reception in the Balkans and abroad for Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut.
Behind the criminal curtain
Bulgaria, like the rest of eastern Europe, still has a poor image in the UK press.
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church: Angels and demons?
The State Security scandal is likely to prove damaging but not, ultimately, destructive.
The smell of ice
A cutting-edge guide to ice skating in Sofia and other cities.
Digital age spawns big brother bosses
Employers across Europe have read workers’ private emails and chat conversations by illegally using secret computer surveillance software.
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The Sofia Echo
RE: Valeri
Ah, come on, Valeri, please don't stop your U.S. Conspiracy Newsletter.
Oh wait: 'Bulgaria’s long weekend weather'
The U.S. government is even trying to control the weather?
RE: Valeria
'Valeri's U.S. Conspiracy Newsletter'(the U.S., through its unethical, moral and democratic rule, is now controlling every facet of every country):
Headlines:
* Bulgaria's Formula 1 "fake sheikh" sting
* Compromised Bulgarian Dreams
"...bitter experience of many buyers who became easy prey for fraudulent or bankrupt Bulgarian developers, which has helped the negative image that Bulgaria has in British media."
Remember folks, the U.S. is behind it all, taking our freedoms.
(Sign up for 'Valeri's U.S. Conspiracy [...]
Read the full comment Newsletter' -- stay informed!)
"We" should attempt to make basic sense first me thinks;)
RE: Valeri
Uh oh, two more links from 'Valeri U.S. Conspiracy News':
'German band Scooter to play Sofia on October 5'
'New unit to speed absorption of EU funds in Bulgaria'
Thank you, so much, especially your insight into the link of the band Scooter and the U.S. Now we see, thanks to you -- this band exact U.S. morals on our society. Oh no, wait...perhaps Scooter will actually be forbidden to come to Sofia by the U.S. Please, Valeri, tell us what we [...]
Read the full comment should do!
Lol yes, in the debate context, you've reached the equivalent point where you feel compeled to take your pants down and shake you hind left-right;)
Obviously you have strong arguments against the US being a Police State.
Breasts, idiots, conspiracy, sounds like US educational background to me, but alas thank you for the ample opportunity to stress how the danger for individual freedom and world peace comes from the US and books like the one in question are very pointless...
RE: Valeri
Bulgarian Valeri's latest U.S. conspiracy news:
* 'Bulgaria's Pironkova stumbles in US Open second round';
*'Bulgaria presses ahead with plan to put ceilings on taxi fares';
*Bulgaria pushes new multi-million leva programme for first-grade education'.
Stay tuned for more U.S.-linked conspiracy.
Btw,
If we had the Russians hold the government's hand, advise, instruct, put missiles in BG and request soldiers for their never ending war adventures, I would very much care about their form of government or capitalism.
As it is, the USSR is replaced by the US and Russia is just another country which minds its own interests without trying to remake the world in their image, any more.
That role has been assume by the US so we should all care about what's going on there....
You are not becoming unhinged here are you?
Collecting fines for violations is far from questioning foreigners. When I cross US and Canadian borders I make no violation and pay no fine - just interrogation about every detail of my visit.
That's what the USSR used to be like.
My point is that communism is over and so is the Cold War.
I don't know much about conspiracy theories but I do know about Warlick making public statements that Boyko shouldn't talk to the Russians about energy delivery, [...]
Read the full comment and make no deals with them, and even Boykos one time telling him to shut up and know his place - publicly - no
mistery.
Didn't Warlick even drag in some Shevron executives to advise Boyko about "diversifying"?
All on the Echo actually;)
Keep your cool man;)
RE: Valeri
Here's another one:
'The United Nations launched on August 31 2010 a global action plan to combat human trafficking...'
Oh, I forgot you feel the human trafficking (especially from BG) should be legal. And that this also a U.S. conspiracy.
Do all of us a favor: live in Russia.
RE: Valeri
Got it? Or are you still too brain-dead, claiming BG does not question foreigners. (Why do you think foreigners have blue license plates, too?) Oh, I forgot, this also is a plot of the U.S.
RE: Valeri
Oh, here is some more U.S.-linked conspiracy fodder to feed your disillusioned and sick mind:
'Authorities step up checks on Bulgarian roads, collecting 275 000 leva in fines from vehicles with foreign registration in August alone, the Transport Ministry says.'
RE: Valeri
Wrong again, on ALL your so-called points. You are a true idiot if you think that Russia gave you Bulgaria.
In fact, Russia even adopted the Cyrillic alphabet.
You also make idiotic statements regarding BG at war. And the fact is, Russia's oppression in ever aspect of society is EVERYONE'S business. What's more, if it's not your business, than the U.S. and what they do is no business of yours, either.
It is obvious that you have not the brain power to understand the U.S.'s role in the [...]
Read the full comment fall of communism. Again, go to Russia and live. (But they again, you'll just learn the same falsities concerning the world.)
"The U.S. is the one country keeping peace."
No they are the only country perpetually at war - where have you been? Not only that. but they involve all of their "friends" like us, for example, we've had Bulgarians fight in their last couple of wars in countries with which we have absolutely no interest or enemies.
"And your proud that communist 'Russia gave [you] your country'? Are you simply brain-dead?"
No I am simply better informed about Bulgarian history. Not Communist Russia but Russia gave us our [...]
Read the full comment country as they kicked the Muslim Turks out in 1877-8. Then the Brits placed half of it back under Turkish control at the Berlin Congress, but that's another topic. Hang around, you may learn something.
Russia's State Capitalism is no business of mine. China has the same and is among the US's biggest trading partners. The difference is that China consumes energy and Russia produces it, so the US is bent on getting their hands on the Russian energy. This is why they put those missiles aimed at them - as means of pressuring them.
We are complicit in this - how did you say it "shameful" role - I will be the first to admit it.
Regardless, let us not forget the topic - today's danger to personal choice and world peace is the US with their puddle the UK, so these books about the past are nice, but miss the issue by a mile....
Re: Valeri
Ask yourself--you are doing it. And, again, you are truly ignorant of foreign affairs. The U.S. is the one country keeping peace. And your proud that communist 'Russia gave [you] your country'? Are you simply brain-dead? Russia took your country away from you. [please study history--don't you remember BG before Mother Russia? And you're Bulgarian? You should be ashamed of yourself. [It's clear your from this communist Russia era of propaganda. Next absurdity you'll blab is that the (Turkish) Ottoman Empire gave you your country.]
America [read again] is the one country, [...]
Read the full comment because of democracy and freedom, that aided BG in regaining their independence, after years of Russian oppression. Are you an idiot?
And your ignorance of Russia is not surprising. After Russia's command economics, Putin's authoritarian government has forced state capitalism (a concentrated form of resource nationalism or mercantilism), which is more concerned with political power and social stability than helping others in a free-market system. Russia STILL oppresses its own country, and neighbors. Go live in Russia, and learn.
How can you personalize about a country?
Yes I see the US as a danger, not only for individual freedoms but also to peace.
Those missiles pointed at Russia - a country with which BG has no outstanding issues, (not to mention one that gave us our country, if you should bring up history)
that Warlick's boy Boyko agreed to place in BG, are very real and very dangerous.
The US can't go broke soon enough, as far as I care - we'll all be better off...
[...]
Read the full comment />
RE: Valeri
Wrong again. Why can't you see the difference between countries? Hmm...let me see, BG and America. So AMERICA should adopt the practices, laws, morals of BG? As I said, you are totally ignorant of foreign affairs.
And remember, it is BECAUSE of the U.S. that the states of Mother Russia, i.e. Bulgaria, have democracy. Or are you completely ignorant of history, too?
If it weren't for other countries helping BG out (and still doing so) YOUR country would be lost, forever.
Oh, and yes, I HAVE been questioned [...]
Read the full comment while arriving in BG.
What's more -- please don't pretend you know ANYTHING about Americans. It's obvious you don't. What a hypocrite you are by saying, '...American - not material at all to me.' Everything you comment on, not matter the subject, is personally directed against Americans and America. (Read my past comments about why you do this.)
PS
Didn't mean to offend you by suggesting that you are American - not material at all to me. It's your rush to personalize conversations that made my suppose your nationality.
All that Soap Opera culture..
Not all Americans are like that, I have to say...
Sadly I do use American passport when the silly interrogations take place when I cross US, UK, and Canadian borders.
Such is the state of affairs in that prt of the world, and the questioning certainly isn't limiters to foreigners.
Be that as it may, I am glad that we in BG don't do that - if your passport (or visa if you need it) is in order all you get is a stamp - that's how free countries are like.
However, I see BGs too close cooperation with the [...]
Read the full comment US as serious danger for our future freedoms - that's the 21st century danger...
RE: Valeri
You don't know what I am, where I'm from. You, however, are clearly from communist BG and have no scruples, clear reasoning, nor logic.
And the fact remains, I don't have to be an American to realize that the U.S. is STILL the greatest country (in all aspects) on the planet, specifically because of the freedoms (that law does provide) it gives its citizens. YOU, on the other hand, are NOT a citizen of the U.S., and evidently cannot become such, because of U.S. laws.
Get your head out of [...]
Read the full comment your butt, and realize that the world has changed, because of many reasons: it is right for you, as a foreigner into another country, to be asked questions. But then, again, you are your own law, right?
Yes it is interesting!
You know I think you are missing completely how a Bulgarian POV can benefit you with your predicament in the US (I presume you are American):
Yes we went through the works - dictatorship, police state, all that jazz!
There are serious lessons for you in our unfortunate experience, and if all you take away from it is "aren't we in the US great!" then you would've wasted the exposure.
The lessons are that it CAN happen everywhere and personal freedom of everyday choices [...]
Read the full comment shouldn't be taken for granted. No, it's not OK to be "questioned" about your business at random, unless you've done something wrong! Not in a free country!
While your pips get all giddy with pride around 4th of July, your country is looking more and more like my country used to look like - that's the truth...
Onethorn,
Look around and tell me I am wrong to feel important - how many posts did you dedicate to me my friend?
Interrogated, questioned - semantics and no, it's not "normal" to be asked about the names of the people one intends to associate in a country as you enter at the borders - not even in China did they ask me such personal questions.
It is normal in the UK and in North America, I'll give you that - perhaps that's all you know, so then I can [...]
Read the full comment see why you'd call it "normal"...
RE: Valeri
It's interesting -- many of you Bulgarians did not have other ethical and moral roles to follow after communism. And when this system failed, you felt (and YOU still do) that you are now a law unto yourself and wish not to follow ANY laws, especially those that are good for society, or as you say a 'civilized' country. This is why you like it here in BG. And this is why BG is in the state it is in.
RE: Valeri
Why don't you quite flattering yourself. I, and others, truly see you as just another conspiracy NUT. I don't have to be angry to express that. And no doubt you'd like to seem important, as seen in your ridiculous comments of the past regarding the linking of everything and anything to the U.S..
Among many other gross misrepresentations, your (English?) language is full of hyperbole, exaggeration, and complete misuse of metaphors and illustrations; such as the word 'interrogated', for example.
You obviously do not know the meaning of this word, [...]
Read the full comment especially if you use it when being QUESTIONED at an airport. What's more, your comment, 'Asked about names of people you intend on seeing?' is a common question to foreigners from any airport regarding their stay in the country.
I am not the one who is angry. It is you: the one who wants to abide by his own rules and laws. YOU are so extremely selfish and thinks the U.S. owes you something. This is root of your problem.
Excuse me "Free World" not Dree..
Of course you are angry - I can tell by all the name calling.
I really didn't intend to get you worked up, but beyond me, do you seriously don't see the tendency in the Anglo world towards the classic Police State?
Can you imagine ever being interrogated as you enter the EU say in Germany or Bulgaria?
Asked about names of people you intend on seeing?
Never!
It's just the the Dree World has shifted, while we were all busy reading silly spy books from [...]
Read the full comment beyond the Iron Curtain...
That's the real issue here, not me, as much, although I do have to agree that I am pretty important;)
RE: Valeri
[lol] Oh, don't flatter yourself (as you have been doing). I'm not angry, at all; I only have pity for you -- living in your dream world.
Again, we all know that the U.S. government does not want you in the country, and they've tread on your 'personal freedom' (we also know what that means, from your previous rants). We also know that you don't want any laws to abide by. We also know that YOU are the one not civilized.
So, turn the page, to your next chapter, 'Crazy [...]
Read the full comment II'. Oh, my mistake...'Sicko II'.
Lol, getting angry with me?
Yet another post with zero opinion on anything besides yours truly.
Counter me that the degree of personal freedom in the English speaking world isn't much below the rest of the civilized one - give me examples!
You can't. All you can do is focus on me, and call me names.
That more than anything else proves my point. Calling me sicko 1000 times, isn't going to change the fact that the danger for personal freedoms comes from the US.
[...]
Read the full comment />
Such is the world today, and all those sexy (don't get excited) murders from 40-50 years a go, done by the KGB and other Commie outfits, that may make great reading on a rainy night, aren't going to change that fact that the US is the new USSR...
RE: Valeri
'Do you have anything to say, or do you prefer to stay with breasts and me?'
Dear ignorant sicko, you are the one who brought up, and keeps bringing up nudity -- and everything else -- in connection with the CIA, etc.. And, you continue to do so.
And please, you know absolutely NOTHING regarding the U.S. governmental workings and/or structure. So come out of your sick 'Beautiful Mind': get help.
All of us already know that YOU have these angry conspiracy theories toward the U.S., simply because [...]
Read the full comment they don't put up with your crazy bulls**t and have not allowed you in the country.
Well since you have nothing to say that doesn't include me, I would perhaps consider that you may be projecting obsession on me as some psychological defense mechanism - a common reaction.
If you read down, it's you that keeps bringing up breasts so it's like the fat girl commenting on other's eating habits as means of deflecting her self induced torment..
Look as I said before - government making personal choices for people - like can my child sit on the bar and show me a drawing at a restaurant family [...]
Read the full comment get-together, or ID-ing middle-aged folks for alcohol, and yes- blurring art included, as the government decides what you are capable of seeing, being forced to answer personal questions to random people in uniform without having done anything illegal, and then of course militarizing, you society - the US has one of the largest public sectors in the West - all those are trade marks of a Police State.
My fear as a Bulgarian is that we have this Warlick guy acting like a governor of BG to the point where he had to be told by his protege Boyko to shut up and be mindful of his position of a Ambassador, and he is pushing to remake BG in the image of the only thing he knows - the US.
That is the real danger to freedom, not some silly umbrella killing that happened 40 years a go, but still holds its sex-appeal to the Anglo mind, as it illustrates their imagined righteousness....
Do you have anything to say, or do you prefer to stay with breasts and me?
RE: Valeri
Your comedy series makes you even more laughable. You've been ranting and raving about your obsessive breasts ever since (and before) your idiotic conspiracies over the protest of chalga singers in front of the Nevski (even then you make CIA connections).
Wake up. Be sensible. See a doctor. And please, please keep out of the U.S., as they've already told you.
"Umm...it was YOUR quote:
'I realized that the TV was covering the breasts...' "
And that spells as "Bulgarian breasts" to you?
A police State is a Police State. Everything is connected if it relates to Governmental power to make choices for the individual. In this regard the biggest danger for all of us, smaller nations, is the Anglo world, represented by the UK, US and obviously Canada.
This book that the article is about is fine and well, but today's danger to freedom doesn't come [...]
Read the full comment from the Balkans or Moscow - it comes from the likes of the "advisors" of our government - CIA &Co
Still confused about the connection?
RE: Valeri
'Bulgarian breasts'
'Where did you read that?'
Umm...it was YOUR quote:
'I realized that the TV was covering the breasts...'
You are too busy 'ranting' (five nonsensical paragraphs this time) and trying to connect everything with everything else to realize what you even say or write.
You continue to awe us with your vast knowledge of...craziness
Please, try to keep up with your own web of crazy; you're at least doing a good job of driving that home, in your [...]
Read the full comment head.
You didn't disappoint us -- we stayed tune. I know the next episode will be even better.
"Bulgarian breasts"
Where did you read that?
Look, you can twist and mock and insult all you want but the fact that the Anglo world has become much more like the USSR than they suspect, stays a fact.
Writing and selling books about other's less than perfect history to make themselves feel better or "lucky" as the Americans like to say, isn't changing anything.
The Police State manifests itself in various ways - banning artistic expression for fear of nudity, turning bartenders into cops, by making [...]
Read the full comment them require documents from middle aged folks for a simple beer, interrogations at the borders, starting wars and supporting various nationalists around the world in order to isolate uncooperative countries, all that is part of the wrong path and is very much connected.
I will keep stressing that, and every gratuitous personalized rant as the ones you are obviously limited to, is just an excuse for me to drive home that point, so thanks;)
RE: Valeri
Oh the plot thickens -- what will be the next U.S. conspiracy theory (linking Bulgarian breasts and the CIA, of course)? We wait with bated breath for his fact-finding, mind-boggling conclusions. Stay tuned.
Have a good day genius!
Don't forget to write;)
RE: Valeri
Uhh...yes, I am talking about YOU, and YOUR lack of continuity and understanding. Even here, YOU do not understand the nature of YOUR own babblings.
YOUR 'Beautiful Mind' mentality warps reality. Go back to the U.S. and learn something. Oh wait, I forgot, the government doesn't want nutjobs there.
I am still musing over the usage of "you and your" no less than 7 times in a onethorn's short post;)
do I detect the real obsession here?...
It's too bad you can't recognize blurring art as the sexual obsession, the Anglo world is famous for...
Canada is no different. Just like the UK is the only EU country with interrogation policies for visitors, at their borders.
The Anglo world has gone off the deep end, and taken more or less the path that we in BG hope to never go back to - one of government domination, militarizing and cultural oppression, where the few have asserted the right to make moral choices for the rest, and as in this case project [...]
Read the full comment their fear of nudity and generally sexuality.
That is the real danger of the 21 st century, for all, not just for the unfortunate North Americans and Brits.
Our government is tightly controlled by the CIA and Warlick types, and that is a terrible sign for the future of freedoms in BG...
RE: Valeri
What your evil-nation (U.S.) should subject you to is a cat scan.
Your obsession, once again, with breasts -- among other off-beat fascinations -- keeps pace with your lack of continuity.
BTW -- you were in Canada, not the U.S.. Then again, you DO associate and attribute your mental health issues with the U.S..
Also, last night at the hotel I surfed though a fashion show and as the models walked I noticed a small blur on the chest are of one of them... no sooner than I realized that the TV was covering the breasts seen through the transparent dress, than the presumably more reveling models on the background showed up all blurred.
As it happened they were farther away and the station blur capabilities obviously couldn't be that surgical so you basically ended up with walking blurs, with skinny legs under them...
Very pathetic. It reminded [...]
Read the full comment me of the time back in the US where they blurred a Rembrandt painting on TV to cover the breasts.
This my friends makes USSR and our BG commies look enlighten by comparison. That's the major problem for the future.
BTW I am in Canada on business right now, and at the airport border I was interrogated as I haven't been since the days of Zhivkov.
Where have I traveled, who am I visiting, what are the names of my associates, where do they live, the exact nature of my business in Canada - all that with US passport too - I guess the problem was that I haven't been back to the States in a while...
Can you imagine that happening in the EU? Never. Just the other day I drove [...]
Read the full comment into Liechtenstein and didn't realize because I missed the sign. Only the non EU black license plates tipped me off...
So yeah, old commie stuff is great, bu what is happening right now and who is the real danger to freedom of movement and associations?
That is the current issue..
My comment has everything to do with the article.
Ever since the BG commies used umbrella on Markov, the American and British military and secret service the likes of CIA have done to death thousands, so I about have had enough with this Anglo fascination with Eastern Europe spay 007 type crap...
Bulgaria actually has much much cleaner record on killing than most European countries, commies or not.
But do focus on me, by all means... I like it.
Re: Panita
I am surpised how you can refer to the data and the evidence in the book as flimsy and only oral history. Have you opened it? It is full with facsimiles of documents prooving the existence of this sercet structure. But I am not surprised that many people in Bulgaria try to deny the obvious - infortunatelly the communism and the communists are still alive in this country...
This comment has been removed by the moderator because it contained foul, abusive or discriminating language
RE: Valeri
This is exactly my point -- you have NO opinions about the content of the article. This piece is about Bulgaria, not YOUR U.S. conspiracy-hate-America tirades.
And, yes, your ignorance can be overbearing.
George Orwell published Animal Farm in 1945. In his allegory the perpretators of injustice were the pigs. The''pigs' are and always will be around us. Alexenia wants to proactively do what she can to curtail their insidious activity. Even if at most she elicits empathy over apathy, she has been victorious in her cause. I appreciate the reporting of an article such as this.
Many historians will agree that Alexenia's data and evidence are flimsy. Researching what state intelligence services really do anywhere is among the most difficult kind of historiographic inquiry. An investigative reporter may not know how to sift through the mass of misinformation, stories with no corroboration, often total lack of documentation.
We can agree this is an important sub-chapter in the history of the Bolshevik regime in Bulgaria. But its oral history, let alone documentation-based traces, are virtually non-existent, as Alexenia admits at key points. Gabriel and his wife Dessislava are well aware of this.
[...]
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Meanwhile, we live in a world where the crimes of the Israeli Mossad and internal security Shin Beit go unreported in countless instances. Israel remains a close ally of the present Bulgarian government. The likely murder by the Mossad of Israeli peace activist Yeshaayahu Toma Ŝik in Hungary in 2004 has gone uninvestigated, a prime Israeli dissident living abroad.
The US government is murdering innocents in its 'war on terror' on a daily basis, from Kabul and Pakistan to Yemen. The CIA has been a Murder Bureau for decades. The actions of the Zhivkov regime should be seen in the context of what is brutal state murder -- execution without trial by secret fiat -- as a routine clandestine practice, whatever the government.
"Why don't you TRY making one intelligent remark."
and you think this is a brilliant post?
Do you have any opinions on the article or am I of such overwhelming importance?
RE: Valeri
Why don't you TRY making one intelligent remark.
I agree that everything needs to be aired, but the real danger in the 21st century, to freedom and right of association comes from North America and Commie crimes can serve as diversion of attention to what's really happening.
Interrogation upon crossing borders is a thing from our commie past, yet it's becoming the rule in the US and Canada, as are countless other personal limitations, as well as militarization of societies and its subjugation to the proverbial uniform..
Lets not let our commie misfortune fool us into not recognizing a commie [...]
Read the full comment in the west - Obama being #1 such...
we need more of this: bulgaria can only shake off the legacy of her past once she knows the facts. only truth can set her free.
congratulations to the author for her courage and dedication to uncover the dirty essence of communists.