Bulgaria Marks 36 Years Since the Start of Its Democratic Transition
It has been 36 years since Bulgaria began its transition from a one-party communist system to a democratic state with a market economy
Evtim Kostadinov, Chair of the so-called Files Commission. Photo by Monitor daily
Eleven out of a total of fifteen Bulgarian Metropolitan bishops have been exposed as former agents of the country's former Communist State Security.
All eleven exposed Metropolitan bishops have collaborated with State Security's notorious 6th directorate, the one engaged in "fighting political diversion" during the Communist dictatorship in the Balkan country that ended in 1989.
The list includes Varna's Metropolitan bishop Kiril who stirred controversy early in December 2011 when he turned up for service in a luxury Lincoln MKZ Hybrid.
Stara Zagora's Metropolitan bishop Galaktion, who recently turned out to have been a a member of the Board of Directors of a tissue bank, has also been exposed as a former secret agent.
Contrary to media rumors, Bulgaria's 97-year-old Patriarch Maxim is not among the former State Security agents in the high clergy, according to the list submitted on Tuesday by the so-called Files Commission, a special panel investigating the Communist regime secret files.
However, Bulgaria's current Chief Mufti Mustafa Hadzhi, his predecessor Nedim Gendzhev and the head of the Bulgarian Catholic Church Georgi Yovchev have all collaborated with the Communist-era State Security, it has been revealed.
The blacklist of former state security agents and collaborators already features outgoing President and former Socialist leader, Georgi Parvanov, former constitutional judges, supreme magistrates, investigators, members of parliament, prominent and well-known former and current Bulgarian journalists, as well as ambassadors and diplomats abroad.
The Files Commission has pointed out that their investigation in Bulgaria's Orthodox Church is not over yet.
During the night, cloud cover will shift toward western regions but will gradually clear, leaving most of the country with mostly clear skies by morning.
A total of 326 Bulgarian citizens are returning from Dubai today on a special flight organized by the state. Gulliver Airlines is operating the Airbus A330-203, departing from Sofia in the early afternoon and arriving at Al Maktoum International Airport i
The process of bringing Bulgarian citizens home from the Middle East is ongoing, as authorities continue to coordinate evacuations from several countries in the region
The Sofia Municipality has completed contractor selection procedures for two waste management zones in the capital: Zone 2, covering Vazrazhdane, Oborishte and the central part of Triaditsa, and Zone 5, which includes Iskar, Kremikovtsi and Pancharevo
On Friday, March 6, Bulgaria will experience varying weather across its regions. In the eastern part of the country, skies will remain mostly cloudy, with light rain possible in some areas during the afternoon
In Razlog, medical staff faced two unusual cases within a single week, where broken limbs of young children were immobilized using cardboard instead of proper splints.
Novinite 2025 in Review: A Year That Tested Bulgaria and the World
A Disgraceful Betrayal: Bulgaria's Shameful Entry into Trump's Board of Peace