Illegal Antiques' Channels and Lyudmila Zhivkova's Role, Part III

Novinite Insider » EDITORIAL | May 27, 2008, Tuesday // 00:00
Illegal Antiques??™ Channels and Lyudmila Zhivkova??™s Role, Part III: Illegal Antiques' Channels and Lyudmila Zhivkova's Role, Part III Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia Photo Agency)

"The Illegal Antiques Channels and Lyudmila Zhivkova's Role", is an investigative material by Darik radio crime reporter Bogdana Lazarova on the state-organized antiques' trafficking in Bulgaria. It was published in the book, called "Affair", written by Bogdana Lazarova and her colleague Nikolay Hristov. Novinite.com is publishing the whole material, dividing it into several installments.

Colonel Stephan Lilov, from the Second Central Secret Services bureau speaks about Zhivko Popov's parallel assignments as a Secret Services' officer and an employee of the Foreign Ministry:

Zhivko Popov has been, however, a career officer from First Central Secret Services Bureau. What assignments in addition to this contraband activity and the clearly cultural activities has he conducted? There are quite a few traces from the case with a Yugoslavian address, there is even the drastic example from an interrogation of Vulo Goranov where it was said that he had the task of eliminate the writers Georgi Markov and Vlado Kotov.

I believe that these are documents we call in our professional language self-imposed initiatives, fabricated with the goal to demonstrate, prove and advertise themselves as the people who have been assisting the work of the Secret Services. To me this is dangerous harm. Zhivko Popov had never done operational work, his real duty as an officer of the Foreign Ministry system has been to make sure that the undercover human resources are available at our embassies abroad through Georgi Vutev and, again, not without Zhivko Popov's participation - at our trade offices.

So, as far as the First Bureau is concerned you believe that he has not received other assignments related to "Cultural Heritage" and to his trips abroad?

He has received assignments related to cultural heritage for the so-called programs for activities with renowned Bulgarian scientists, artists, businessmen, but they have not been related to the Secret Services, just to the cultural heritage. There are such assignments where novels could be written with the successor of the Sultan, the last Sultan.

At the end didn't this prove to be a lie and a made-up story?

No, this person really existed, but he wasted lost of money before it was realized that he has always been a fantasist and a bohemian, but imagine - for people at such high levels and executing such important task in "Cultural Heritage" to get caught in his lies? As well as Maschenko's brother - Pecho the Countess - he also was in such program. We married him to one of the daughters from the Bourbon dynasty. He wasted plenty of money as well. At the end, it was realized that he was not worth a penny, but he worsened our relationships with France. To not even speak about Zaharinka Mashenko - she also was in this program and many others.

The spy Hristo Vulchev, officer from the Soviet Military Intelligence and best known by its writer's alias Petar Hristoskov, points out that Zhivko Popov worked at the 14th Division of the First Central Bureau - Cultural and Historical Intelligence, whose director was Emil Alexandrov, at the same time also a Depute Foreign Minister and one of the main personalities involved with "Cultural Heritage".

Zhivko Popov worked in the section where they had a famous writer to show off with, however he was not a writer but a spy - Petar Yapov. He was indeed assigned to search the so-called Bulgarian cultural wealth abroad.

So he was at the 14th Division of the First Central Bureau, is that true?
Absolutely. We were interested in this 14th Division. Zhivko Popov, I have my reservations, do not want to say that I don't, but after all, he was an active and ideal spy for this idea of Lyudmila Zhivkova to bring back to Bulgaria its historical wealth as far as it existed. They were like one family acting together in the Bulgarian Secret Services system.

The events and the failures of 1981 are actually preceded by another one, which happened in the spring of 1980, when Pope John Paul II visited his native Poland for the first time after his election. The event triggered unparalleled emotions surrounding his welcoming back home, people were shouting his name while the Pope himself declared that he was against communism and the then leader of the Polish United Workers Party Edward Gierek wrote several alarming letters t the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. When, in the aftermath of the Pope's speech the trade union "Solidarnost" was created, it was followed by two secret meetings in Moscow where actions against the Vatican have been planned. Right then, in 1980, in the Bulgarian Secret Services, an investigation of Zhivko Popov and his closest circle was ordered.

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