How many Times were Diplomatic Relations between Russia and Bulgaria Severed
If we look at history, there are not many cases in which relations between Bulgaria and Russia at the state level were as bad as they are at the moment.
Illegal Antiques' Channels and Lyudmila Zhivkova's Role, Part IV
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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.
Stephan Lilov, officer from the Second Central Bureau tells the following:
When did the investigation at the Second begin and where did the insructions come from? How did it start?
In the middle of the 1980, May or June. We were summoned to the Interior Ministry in the office of the First Depute Minister then Grigor Shopov, we were the Depute Chief of the Second Central Bureau, General Velichkov, the "Foreign Trade" Department Head at the Second Bureau, then the 9th Section, and myself as an employee responsible about "Kintex" and the special property trade and the so-called "secret transit." Dimitar Stoyanov was also present but when we got there he was already in Shopov's office. Prior to this meeting Dimitar Stoyanov has been with Thodor Zhivkov, he presented periodically the work of the Ministry in front of Todor Zhivkov at meetings that changed weekly, and had received a written assignment, based on some document that I am unaware of to investigate the work at the "Cultural Heritage" and the activities related to the preparation of the official celebration of the 1300 anniversary of the Bulgarian State. With this, the meeting concluded and we received this same assignment. The assignment was to be conducted by the Chief of the Second Bureau General Anachkov, however, due to personal considerations since he knew some of the people to be investigated, he refused and after that the leadership of this newly created task group with the goal of conducting this assignment was given to Grigor Shopov, who had an office at the Second Central Bureau. The group was created based on particular criteria, from employees responsible for the facilities where the individuals connected to this activity worked (at the time we did not know that it was criminal activity), but we had to prove that such corruption practices existed and to present them to our bosses.
Yancho Takov presented the version that signals about the misuse came from Moscow and that the KGB had discovered misuse for about BGN 70 M from the "Cultural Heritage" circle?
This is absolutely not true. I should have heard something about it, at least as much as Yancho Takov, however there is no document, nor have we been assigned with the task of work in such direction and if we worked in this direction as we always worked in an entirely complex way, the connection with Russia should have come up.
Grigor Shopov's presence is a sure sign that the orders came from Todor Zhivkov. How do you explain the fact that he ordered such an investigation of the circle that has been the closest to his own daughter?
This would need a complete analysis of the events happening during this period and the corruption arising in the State apparatus. It is not just an accident that Zhivkov made some considerations regarding corruption at the State and Party apparatus. Right before this task was assigned to us, party meetings were held in all Party organizations, including those in the Interior Ministry's system and in our Bureau in particular. People were mislead, intelligence employees were mislead to speak openly at those secret meetings because we were all Communist Party members through the enforcement of directives regarding who could work in these services. And we believe that what the leadership did not hear, at such forum it could be heard and measures could be taken to stop the corruption practices in the Export trade system. I say system because our section covered all foreign enterprises, off shore companies, joint companies, foreign and Bulgarian, and this was one of our concrete tasks in addition to the spy work and at the second place the corruption in the foreign trade area. There were such signals, many of them, they have not been followed, but were shared among Party members at those Party meetings and regretfully, right after the meetings, the full information has been immediately presented to Georgi Vutev, who was then Depute Minister of Foreign Trade, ex-employee from the First Central Bureau. In such way, to some extend many of these who have committed the crimes received a warning. I exclude those that we had the task to investigate, not only our colleagues gave us explicit orders, but also our conscience did not allow us to cite their names.
This still does not explain why Todor Zhivkov would request an investigation of his daughter's circle?
If we take a more serious look, he was seeing the danger for his "single person" leadership, the danger of loosing control, of letting the power run away from him, since the people who conduct those practices begun to acquire lots of power in some sectors - economy, culture, public life i.e. they were imposing a style different from the widely accepted one, lead by Todor Zhivkov's style of work. He loved his daughter very much, but later in the process, it became evident that he was ready to sacrifice his dearest in order to preserve what he has been building for so many years.
And why was Zhivko Popov practically eliminated in such way from the public scene?
He was quite close to the Zhivkov family, mainly through Mircho Spasov and when Lyudmila Zhivkova was specializing in London, Zhivko Popov worked there. She entered her civil marriage there and he has been his best man. Entering this circle, and he was able to deal with the Phoenician signs very well, gradually, in several years, he managed by the strength of money to gain command of it and to use it for his own goals.
Translated by Maria Guineva
Stephan Lilov, officer from the Second Central Bureau tells the following:
When did the investigation at the Second begin and where did the insructions come from? How did it start?
In the middle of the 1980, May or June. We were summoned to the Interior Ministry in the office of the First Depute Minister then Grigor Shopov, we were the Depute Chief of the Second Central Bureau, General Velichkov, the "Foreign Trade" Department Head at the Second Bureau, then the 9th Section, and myself as an employee responsible about "Kintex" and the special property trade and the so-called "secret transit." Dimitar Stoyanov was also present but when we got there he was already in Shopov's office. Prior to this meeting Dimitar Stoyanov has been with Thodor Zhivkov, he presented periodically the work of the Ministry in front of Todor Zhivkov at meetings that changed weekly, and had received a written assignment, based on some document that I am unaware of to investigate the work at the "Cultural Heritage" and the activities related to the preparation of the official celebration of the 1300 anniversary of the Bulgarian State. With this, the meeting concluded and we received this same assignment. The assignment was to be conducted by the Chief of the Second Bureau General Anachkov, however, due to personal considerations since he knew some of the people to be investigated, he refused and after that the leadership of this newly created task group with the goal of conducting this assignment was given to Grigor Shopov, who had an office at the Second Central Bureau. The group was created based on particular criteria, from employees responsible for the facilities where the individuals connected to this activity worked (at the time we did not know that it was criminal activity), but we had to prove that such corruption practices existed and to present them to our bosses.
Yancho Takov presented the version that signals about the misuse came from Moscow and that the KGB had discovered misuse for about BGN 70 M from the "Cultural Heritage" circle?
This is absolutely not true. I should have heard something about it, at least as much as Yancho Takov, however there is no document, nor have we been assigned with the task of work in such direction and if we worked in this direction as we always worked in an entirely complex way, the connection with Russia should have come up.
Grigor Shopov's presence is a sure sign that the orders came from Todor Zhivkov. How do you explain the fact that he ordered such an investigation of the circle that has been the closest to his own daughter?
This would need a complete analysis of the events happening during this period and the corruption arising in the State apparatus. It is not just an accident that Zhivkov made some considerations regarding corruption at the State and Party apparatus. Right before this task was assigned to us, party meetings were held in all Party organizations, including those in the Interior Ministry's system and in our Bureau in particular. People were mislead, intelligence employees were mislead to speak openly at those secret meetings because we were all Communist Party members through the enforcement of directives regarding who could work in these services. And we believe that what the leadership did not hear, at such forum it could be heard and measures could be taken to stop the corruption practices in the Export trade system. I say system because our section covered all foreign enterprises, off shore companies, joint companies, foreign and Bulgarian, and this was one of our concrete tasks in addition to the spy work and at the second place the corruption in the foreign trade area. There were such signals, many of them, they have not been followed, but were shared among Party members at those Party meetings and regretfully, right after the meetings, the full information has been immediately presented to Georgi Vutev, who was then Depute Minister of Foreign Trade, ex-employee from the First Central Bureau. In such way, to some extend many of these who have committed the crimes received a warning. I exclude those that we had the task to investigate, not only our colleagues gave us explicit orders, but also our conscience did not allow us to cite their names.
This still does not explain why Todor Zhivkov would request an investigation of his daughter's circle?
If we take a more serious look, he was seeing the danger for his "single person" leadership, the danger of loosing control, of letting the power run away from him, since the people who conduct those practices begun to acquire lots of power in some sectors - economy, culture, public life i.e. they were imposing a style different from the widely accepted one, lead by Todor Zhivkov's style of work. He loved his daughter very much, but later in the process, it became evident that he was ready to sacrifice his dearest in order to preserve what he has been building for so many years.
And why was Zhivko Popov practically eliminated in such way from the public scene?
He was quite close to the Zhivkov family, mainly through Mircho Spasov and when Lyudmila Zhivkova was specializing in London, Zhivko Popov worked there. She entered her civil marriage there and he has been his best man. Entering this circle, and he was able to deal with the Phoenician signs very well, gradually, in several years, he managed by the strength of money to gain command of it and to use it for his own goals.
Translated by Maria Guineva
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