Bulgaria's Amnesia

October 26, 1989. As a revolutionary change sweeps across central and Eastern Europe, the first protest against communist leader Todor Zhivkov is brewing in Bulgaria. What is meant as a peaceful rally organized by activists from Ecoglasnost movement in front of the Kristal cafe in Sofia will soon turn into the first episode in Bulgaria's revolution. What is meant as a simple sign-up against construction works in the Rila mountain will later turn into a memorable event of snowballing importance.

Not for the people, who were born that year, however, as latest surveys show. A generation, which can easily be described as Bulgaria's lost generation, whose angry voices echo in the online forums, who were brought up in the murky waters of the transition, who wallow in cheap hedonism, who never knew the people from the revolution and have no interest to learn about them.

Neither for the people, who are more than happy for forget the past. Products of the State Security and the Bulgarian Communist Party themselves, now, as we look back twenty years to the upheaval that brought down regimes, they are throwing around their weight and claim the blue-wing party behind the revolution in Bulgaria and the most prominent dissidents such as Petar Dertliev, Stefan Savov and Zhelyu Zhelev were products of the State Security.

Small wonder all those born in 1989 know about political life in Bulgaria is that “their democracy did not come out right”. And right it really did not come, not because of some logical growth errors, but because of mentality that can't be uprooted overnight.

This is the mentality that made Bulgaria over the last few years the most corrupt EU nation, allowed the previous Socialist-led government to not convict a single senior official of graft, made out of the ethnic Turkish leader a kingmaker and gave the green light to corruption schemes and links between virtually all political parties and "rings of companies".

The new center-right government of Bulgaria was elected on an anti-corruption mandate in July and on the promise to bring to justice such big fish as Ahmed Dogan. Nothing of the sort is happening. The middle and low-scale corruption schemes that are bieng busted make for the perfect information noise to cover up those shady deals, whose unraveling would really make a difference. There is a threshold, which is never passed.

Bulgarians have an inclination for forget the past. Will they forget Borisov's promises as well?

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