No network of bilateral ties is built overnight. This is particularly true for countries, which - if only because of geographical proximity - have shared historical landmarks. Warm relations between Russia and Bulgaria have a long time-line but perhaps recent history can be traced back to the Russo-Turkish war in the 1870s, anticipating the Bulgarian liberation from Turkish rule in 1878. In the 20th century, of course, both countries experienced a similar form of totalitarianism, the enslavement to Communism and its subsequent downfall being a shared historical experience.
Common watersheds triggered a special intimacy. Recent attitudes, however, have tested Russo-Bulgarian comradeship to the core. People of Russian origin in Bulgaria as well as Bulgarians with Russian affiliations can attest to this change. All ties – political, economic, scientific and cultural – withered in the early 1990s to the point that there was a reluctance to indulge in mutual permeation unless it was absolutely vital. Against the background of pre-1990 highs, when penetration was so multi-layered that Bulgaria resembled a Soviet satellite, the reversal in relations has been particularly striking.
Associations
As if to rectify this sharp reversal – and at a time of Russian economic uncertainty when it had little time for its brethren abroad – Russians in Bulgaria started forming associations.
The Forum of Russian Compatriots (FRC) was among the first. It originally set out to create units in individual Bulgarian towns. These were supposed to coalesce into an association that could serve as the Russian community’s single voice when addressing institutions in Moscow as well as the contact point for Russian organisations in Bulgaria. Such a formation would then be eligible to apply for funds for individual projects from Moscow.
The associations also strove to cement Russian kinship and enhance a sense of Russian belonging through business involvement. This could only occur through the creation of “products”, products that would be created by the Russian diaspora for their own consumption, according to Alexandr Vahovskiy, a founding member of the FRC.
The original idea evolved. Alternative associations sprung up, creating dissension and rivalry. This rendered the third-largest minority in Bulgaria non-identifiable as such in electoral lists. Divisions also undermined their ability to achieve results.
Why the disunity?
Senior officials in Moscow have been dismayed by the disunity within Bulgaria’s Russian community. Georgiy Muradov, a Moscow government official chairing a commission on relations with Russian communities abroad, said in 2005, “We can and want to liaise with a co-ordinated body. But this cannot happen within an environment of animosity and mutual recriminations. Once a concrete move is announced, we receive letters from Bulgaria reading: ‘Don’t help them, they’re not a real Russian club. Help us instead!’ It’s very painful and difficult to address such a situation.” Muradov made these remarks in Bulgaria at the opening of the Moscow Home in Sofia (http://www.mkdc-dms.bg/) in 2005. The new body was supposed to introduce a spirit of mutual understanding and co-ordination among the dozens of Russian clubs, as seen in countries like Germany and Latvia.
Unfortunately, little has changed ever since, Vahovskiy says. He recalls the inaugural meeting of the Co-ordination Council of the Russian diaspora in 2007, another Russian government initiative designed to heal rifts. The meeting ended in failure when FRC members walked out because of the skewed representation of individual clubs. In a 17-person meeting, nine seats were allocated to one organisation. The others were split among rival organisations. Most attendees also rejected – completely groundlessly – the meeting’s agenda but proposed no new items instead. Further discussion was deemed impossible and, according to Vahovskiy, the Co-ordination Council has not been summoned since.
Another association member, who preferred to remain anonymous, attributed the dissension to the reversed hierarchy managing the collective effort. “The power vertical” was a term coined to see skilled professionals implementing ideas on top and people with regular skills aiding and enjoying the fruits of the process, the source said. Here the reverse applies: the majority rules but cannot exploit it because of a lack of ideas. The same person also explains discord by citing the lack of a unifying idea and the fact that Russians are unused to creating communities abroad. The last century saw two waves of Russian migration. The first was politically motivated, comprising White Guards, the tsarist military corps who fled Russia after the 1917 Russian Revolution. The second was the so-called “emigration of love”, when – at times of warm bilateral relations – Bulgarian students and workers journeyed to Russia to return with a Russian spouse. The second wave resulted in hundreds of thousands of emigres, many of them well educated. Few of them, however, were willing to develop as professionals to be able to produce substantive projects. This reduced many of the Russian clubs’ activities to social gatherings devoid of business thinking.
Russian projects
The picture is not as bleak as it appears. Individual associations with “professionals” on board have conceived and introduced various fruitful projects.
FRC seems to have nurtured a smooth symbiotic ambience within its association and its professionals have achieved results.
Vahovskiy, though a certified engineer, is wedded to the theatre. A close friend of Mark Zaharov, one of Russia’s most eminent theatre and film directors, he created a string of regional theatrical schools for children of Russian origin in Bulgaria. Children would prepare performances in Russian and convene annual contests with eminent Bulgarian and Russian actors, directors and culture officials on the jury.
There is also Business Contacts (Бизнес контакты), the tri-monthly Russian-language business magazine, which won the Golden Verb (Золотой глагол) accolade for last year’s best Russian-language publication abroad. The award was conferred by the Pan-Russian civic organisation of foreign journalists writing about Russian – the Media Union (Медия союз). On the market for 10 years, the publication is self-sustaining and has had Marina Petkova as its editor-in-chief from the outset.
One of the most successful projects is Joker Media, a music producer and concert organiser. Under the guidance of managing director Ovanes Melik-Pashaev, the company has been among the most renowned in the country. It has attracted both Russian and Western singers to the Bulgarian stage: Philip Kirkorov, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Zuccero and Uriah Heep to name a few. This year it will organise the first ever Lenny Kravitz concert in Bulgaria as well as the upcoming Chris Rea concert. It also acts as producer of local singer Grafa, the group Kaffe, Mastilo and Spens.
One of Joker Media’s goals is to be the conduit of Russian culture in Bulgaria. In this capacity, it is the partner of the Bulgarian and Russian cultural communities, the Russian Fund of Culture created by eminent Russian and Oscar-winning director Nikita Mihalkov. As such, it has co-organised Russia-related events such as the Russian Days of Culture in 2003 as well as eight performances of the Bolshoi Theatre ballet in Sofia. It is also the lead partner in cultural aspects of The Year of Russia in Bulgaria.
Several other projects achieved practical results. For example, people needing costly treatment – operations and non-invasive surgery currently unavailable in Bulgaria – have received financial help from the Russian authorities. Other sums went towards the overhaul of the Russian section of the Sofia graveyard.
Other successful Russian projects would have materialised without the divisions, Russians in Bulgaria concede. While few compatriots lose affection for their background, the willingness to translate this remembrance and affiliation into substantive ties is sometimes lacking. The Year of Russia in Bulgaria will hopefully achieve that spirit of unity and rekindle the ties of Russian emigres with their homeland.
