Emil Kyulev

The boss of banking group DZI was being driven to work one October morning in his luxury vehicle when he was cut down by a gunman. The murder of Emil Kyulev happened just as recently-appointed Interior Minister Roumen Petkov was briefing journalists on steps to be taken against Bulgaria’s plague of organised crime, and the long series of high-profile, unsolved, assassinations associated with it. Kyulev was one of the wealthiest people in Bulgaria and in Central and Eastern Europe, and his death was widely reported in foreign media. Government and other commentators described his murder as unique because, they said, he was not an organised crime figure. His funeral drew many mourners from the country’s business and political elite, and in its wake, the massive anti-crime Operation Respect was launched. By the end of the year, the Kyulev killing, like so many other assassinations, remained unsolved, and was cited in some foreign media reports as likely to reinforce the school of thought that Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union should be delayed until significant progress against organised crime was evident.

Boiko Borissov

The former firefighter and bodyguard, and the most popular person in Bulgaria - going by opinion polls - began the year as the most powerful figure in the Interior Ministry, interrupted his duties at the ministry to be elected an MP - declining to take up his seat - and ended 2005 as mayor of the capital city, Sofia. A skilled manipulator of the media, Borissov had long been the subject of speculation that he had political ambitions. He had consistently denied such ambitions, a message he repeated as often as he underlined that while his police arrested criminals, it was the courts that let the criminals go. While he stood as an MP candidate for the then-ruling National Movement Simeon II, and always claimed close personal loyalty to NMSII leader Simeon Saxe-Coburg, Borissov fell out with the party and ran in Sofia as an independent, beating all comers. On being elected first citizen, he grabbed further media attention by ordering potholes fixed, illegal billboards taken down, and, among many other steps, ostentatiously lobbying for more money from central government for the city. He denied harbouring the ambition to stand for President in 2006, when incumbent Georgi Purvanov’s term of office expires. By New Year’s Eve 2006, the truth of this denial will be known.

Sergei Stanishev

The leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the BSP-dominated Coalition for Bulgaria took his party into the June parliamentary elections on a platform heavily laden with promises of increased social spending, an immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq, and an overall theme of “continuity and change”. Although he said in January that his party would win 121 seats in Parliament, it managed only 82, and Stanishev found himself at the head of a tripartite coalition Cabinet forged for the sake of national political stability and the country’s progress to EU membership. Stanishev presided over a rapid series of approvals of EU-related measures, but also faced ongoing problematic issues, including organised crime and corruption, a teachers’ strike, difficult negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, and he had to issue an apologia for many of his party’s election promises not being kept.
Michael Shields

A large number of eyewitnesses and other evidence satisfied a court in Varna that the Liverpool football fan had, amid a late-night brawl, attempted to murder barman Martin Georgiev. Shields was jailed for 15 years, and while an appeal court confirmed his sentence, a campaign run by fellow Liverpool fans, his family, and some British tabloids insisted that the wrong man had been convicted. While he awaited the outcome of a final round of an appeal to Bulgaria’s highest court, his initial television and mobile phone privileges were taken away, causing further cries of injustice from his media supporters. His case was raised by a local MP in the house of commons, and Liverpool media reported that “new evidence” could sway the outcome of his appeal, due in January 2006.

Roumen Petkov

After the formation of the post-June tripartite coalition Cabinet, the Bulgarian Socialist Party strongman was put in charge of action against organised crime. While he confirmed ministry chief secretary Boiko Borissov in office, Borissov quit to go into politics, saying in his official resignation letter that he had been sidelined. This was by no means the most serious controversy Petkov faced. These included the murder of Emil Kyulev, Petkov’s “public council” of former state security and Interior Ministry top officials that led to an outcry and forced the rapid disbandment of the council, and the death in police custody of alleged gangster Angel Dimitrov. Petkov rapidly increased the number of police in the streets, told journalists that co-ordination among his ministry and other law enforcement bodies had been stepped up, and claimed crime was down. At the end of the year, the jury was still out on the effectiveness of Petkov’s plans.

British American Tobacco

At the beginning of February, the multinational tobacco giant withdrew from the privatisation of Bulgartabac, sinking the latest attempt at selling off Bulgaria’s tobacco monopoly. BAT cited “political controversy” around the deal as the reason for its decision to quit the privatisation. In turn, its decision had political ramifications for Bulgaria, notably for Economy Minister Lydia Shouleva who, in a late February Cabinet reshuffle, left office to be redeployed as head of the NMSII June parliamentary election campaign headquarters.

Novoto Vreme

In days of drama in February, it appeared that the government headed by Simeon Saxe-Coburg was headed for being ousted by a working alliance of right- and left-wing parties. But Novoto Vreme, which ironically was a breakaway group from Saxe-Coburg’s party, switched sides and saved the day for the Saxe-Coburg government, being rewarded with a Cabinet post. In the June elections, the group, whose name means “the New Time”, reached their sell-by date when voters declined to give them sufficient support to remain in Parliament.

Vivatel

The mobile phone arm of the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company took the market by storm with its launch. Existing players MobilTel and Globul found themselves forced to respond to new competitiveness in the market, as Vivatel launched late in the year with a massive media campaign and cut-price pre-paid rates. A notable anti-Vivatel campaign in one Bulgarian-language newspaper seemed to have had no effect as the new player told the media that its launch had attracted thousands of subscribers.

Volen Siderov

Ataka’s campaign on the internet and a minor cable television station won it fourth place in the June parliamentary elections, with a message that critics described as racist, xenophobic, homophobic, anti-Semitic, anti-Roma and anti-Turk; in fact, the mildest description of the group and its leader, former publisher Volen Siderov, was that they were ultra-nationalists. It was the first time in its post-communist history that Bulgaria had sent an extremist right-wing group enter Parliament, a fact which meant Ataka stole a substantial amount of limelight. Siderov vigorously flung vitriol at the political establishment, but also was reported to be the subject of resentment by members of his coalition for his (surprise!) authoritarian approach.

The summer floods

The deluges that hit Bulgaria over the summer months led to some drownings, deaths of farm animals, devastation of areas of agricultural land, and left many families homeless and without livelihoods, as well as laying waste to road and rail infrastructure in some regions. Two Cabinets in succession had to come up with extra money to cope with the damage, many foreign countries gave financial and other assistance, and the military was deployed to assist in Operation Phoenix. The huge bill led to further difficulties in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, as Bulgaria asked to tap into its budget surplus and reallocate money to pay for the damage.

Simeon Saxe-Coburg

Commonly referred to in international news agency reports as “Bulgaria’s former boy king”, the formerly exiled former monarch ended 2005 as the country’s former prime minister. After battling Sergei Stanishev to stay on as the head of government, Saxe-Coburg left public office but stayed on as leader of the party named after him. While not an MP, Saxe-Coburg remained part of the national political process through his membership of a council of the three leaders of the parties represented in the Cabinet. Because of the efforts of his detractors, his name continued to be mentioned by those who questioned his acquisition of substantial properties through the post-communist restitution process. Some believe that he will stand as a presidential candidate in 2006, having been denied the opportunity in 2001 on the grounds that he was not eligible to be head of state because, at that stage, he had not lived in the country continuously for five years. Should he decide to stand in the presidential elections, win, and serve out at least one term, Saxe-Coburg would become the first person in Bulgarian history to be eligible to be described as former king, former prime minister, and former president.

President Georgi Purvanov

Generally popular, Purvanov - who took office as head of state in January 2002 - continued to avoid perceptions of partisanship, having left behind him his identity as the former leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party. Insiders credit him with having played a major role behind the scenes in bringing the post-parliamentary election coalition Cabinet to birth. Notably, he visited Libya as part of wider diplomatic efforts to secure the release of the group of Bulgarian medics facing the death sentence for allegedly deliberately infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV. Purvanov, in an apparent reaction to the rise of ultra-nationalist group Ataka, issued a stern warning against putting Bulgaria’s model of ethnic tolerance at risk.

The nurses in Libya

The Bulgarian medics approached the end of the year as they began it, in custody in Libya awaiting the outcome of an appeal to Libya’s supreme court against the death sentences pronounced against them in May 2004. In detention for several years, they have won the backing of many multi-national groups, individual countries, human rights, lawyers’ and medics’ associations, who agree that the medics are not guilty, because the HIV infection of children at a Libyan hospital predated the medics’ arrival in the country, and - another key platform of their defence - the confessions on which their convictions were based were extracted by using torture.

The IMF

Determined to keep Bulgaria on the course of macro-economic stability and fiscal conservatism, the IMF took a firm line against various spending plans floated by the successive Bulgarian governments of 2005, when they wanted to spend extra money to cope with flood damage, increase the minimum wage, and came under pressure to increase various public sector spending items, from pensions to teachers’ salaries. IMF mission head for Bulgaria Hans Flickenschild became a familiar figure as he jetted in for a series of formal and informal discussions, which towards the end of the year showed little sign of achieving agreement.

The property market

One of the leading subjects of stories about Bulgaria in the foreign media, especially in the United Kingdom and Ireland, was the country’s property market. The Government took steps to ease the purchase of property by foreigners, a move that required a constitutional amendment. Employment (and self-employment) in the real estate sector multiplied, and some villages and streets in Black Sea resorts were reported to have become almost entirely English-speaking enclaves.

Ivo Papasov

Local boy made good when, in March, listeners to BBC 3 Radio voted Ivo Papasov winner of the World Music Award. The burly clarinet player, born in Kurdjali in 1952 and better known as Ibriama, drew popularity for his unique fusion of Bulgarian ethno-music and jazz. When he received the award at a ceremony in Newcastle, he addressed himself to Bulgarians: “This award is yours. I am only here to collect it”.

The Council for Electronic Media

The regulator of the electronic media in Bulgaria drew a storm around its collective head in November when it proposed curbing television news broadcasts of violent crime, suicide, physical and psychological violence against people and animals, and any material that would encourage people to smoke, drink, or use illegal drugs. Critics of the proposal rapidly turned it into a media freedom issue, adding that it was unnecessary and impractical. The council had to back down, and all it gained was an attempt by satirical television show Gospodari na Efira (“Lords of the Airwaves”) to bestow on the CEM its Golden Skunk award.

US ambassadors James Pardew and John Beyrle

James Pardew came to the end of his term as US ambassador to Bulgaria in mid-2005, having made the news many times for his forthright criticism of the inadequacy of Bulgaria’s efforts against organised crime and corruption; his successor John Beyrle continued in the same vein, but not before - early in his term - making the news when officials at Varna Airport stole his mobile telephone.

Foreigner prices

Long the bane of foreigners who found themselves being charged substantially higher rates at resorts, hotels, ski facilities, museums and other places, than Bulgarians, “foreigner prices” were made illegal by Act of Parliament, in line with a Cabinet resolution and a European Commission directive. As some had predicted, the consequence was that, rather than tariffs being lowered to domestic levels, in many cases they went up to “foreigner” levels. Ironically, it meant an increase in costs for foreigners holding residence in Bulgaria, who under the law had been entitled to pay the same rates as Bulgarians.

A man from Pernik

Like any country, Bulgaria produced its fair share of offbeat stories in 2005. Early in the year, a man broke all previous records for his blood-alcohol level, astonishing doctors by not succumbing to alcohol poisoning. In another case that merited some lines from a few international news agencies, a prisoner was released from a men’s jail on the grounds of a sex change. A world first was averted when a Bulgarian Orthodox Church priest failed to get permission from the Holy Synod to take up his acceptance from the producers of reality television show Big Brother to appear on the show’s second season in Bulgaria. But a personal favourite has to be a man from Pernik who went into a pawnshop and tried to get 1000 leva in exchange for his wife. The pawnshop declined the transaction. No comment, in public at least, was ever forthcoming from the intended pledge.