A woman in a white jacket arrives at the Russian embassy in Sofia; she is seen in a lively conversation with someone unidentified. Inside a government office, a surveillance camera catches a man counting money at his office, apparently the reward for his espionage. And in an intercepted call, the alleged leader of the group is heard telling an accomplice how his father cried when Stalin died. Then I talk about money.
The recordings, made by Bulgarian investigators, were released on Friday, while prosecutors announced charges against six Bulgarians – several of them senior or former defense officials – on suspicion of spying for Russia.
Prosecutors said the group “posed a serious threat to national security by collecting and handing over to a foreign country the state secrets of Bulgaria, NATO and the European Union.”
They also released a written note from the group’s leader, in a mix of Bulgarians and Russians, setting out the priorities of the spy ring, which included gathering information about NATO meetings, EU policy towards Russia and information about Ukraine. and Belarus.
Prosecutors said the arrested woman, who was not named, has dual Bulgarian-Russian nationality and served as an intermediary at the embassy. Instead, she allegedly received money for the group’s operations. Prosecutors also said she was the wife of the spy ring leader. They called him “the Resident” and said that he was a former high-ranking member of the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense.
Some of those arrested held senior positions in the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense and the Military Intelligence Service, suggesting that the alleged conspiracy could have had access to highly classified information.
The country’s chief prosecutor, Ivan Geshev, described espionage as “unparalleled since 1944.”
On Monday, the Bulgarian government sought to announce the expulsion of two Russian diplomats, bringing to eight the total number of Russian officials expelled from Bulgaria at the end of 2019. In December last year, the Russian military attaché in Sofia was expelled on charges. he gathered. information about US service members staying on Bulgarian territory during military exercises.
Over the weekend, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov called on Moscow to cease espionage in Bulgaria. But given Bulgaria’s common Slavic heritage with Russia – and its dependence on Russian energy – Borissov added: “Friendship is friendship, we have always proved it.”
In turn, the Russian embassy in Sofia responded that “the tireless attempts to lead a breakdown in the Russian-Bulgarian dialogue and to demonize our country once again are obvious.”
Until 1989, Bulgaria was one of the most loyal members of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. Now, as a member of NATO and the European Union, Western analysts say he is a favorite target of Russian espionage. If Vienna were the epicenter of espionage after World War II in Europe, Sofia could claim this dubious title today.
The Russians close to the Kremlin supported pro-Russian groups in Bulgaria. One of these groups – the Russophiles National Movement – is led by Nikolai Malinov, who was accused by Bulgarian prosecutors in 2019 of espionage and money laundering for Russian organizations. His case will not be tried yet, and Malinov has maintained his innocence.
Bulgarian prosecutors say he wrote a document outlining “steps that need to be taken to completely reform Bulgaria’s geopolitical orientation, moving it away from the West and closer to Russia.”
Pending the trial, Malinov was allowed to leave Bulgaria for a trip to Moscow, where President Vladimir Putin presented him with the Russian Friendship Order.
Bulgaria’s attorney general claimed that Malinov provided information to a Russian group called the Eagle Double Headed Society, which is led by oligarch Konstantin Malofeev. Malofeev is a champion of the Russian Orthodox Church and runs a TV network in Russia. He previously suggested that Vladimir Putin be made Tsar of Russia.
In 2019, Malofeev was banned from entering Bulgaria for ten years because of his association with Malinov, which he acknowledged as close. They tried, but failed to buy a Bulgarian television network.
Russia routinely denies allegations of espionage in Bulgaria. Last year, Sergei Ivanov – a spokesman for Russia’s foreign intelligence service – accused US intelligence of launching a campaign against people in Eastern Europe who wanted good relations with Russia. Bulgaria, he told Russian media, has become the epicenter of the campaign.
The latest arrests have triggered another crisis in relations between Moscow and Sofia, which have traditionally been strained due to the common Slavic and Orthodox culture.
But if Bulgarian prosecutors are right, the Kremlin sees Bulgaria as a welcome target – a back door to NATO and European Union intelligence services and weapons reaching Ukraine.