The Pro-Russian Propaganda Machine in Bulgaria, and the Russian Style Representations of North Macedonia

Authors

  • Dimitar Vatsov New Bulgarian University Department of Philosophy and Sociology
  • Veronika Dimitrova Department of Sociology Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
  • Ljubomir Donchev New Bulgarian University Department of Philosophy and Sociology
  • Valentin Valkanov New Bulgarian University Department of Philosophy and Sociology
  • Milena Iakimova St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia Department of Sociology

Keywords:

Russian propaganda dissemination, the war against Ukraine, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, news websites, blogs and Facebook in Bulgarian

Abstract

The article is based on the large-scale collective research on the topic "Anti-democratic propaganda in Bulgaria", within which an analysis of the national populist and (pro) Russian propaganda in the Bulgarian online media for 2013-2022 was made.
This article sets out two main tasks:
1) To outline the global Russian narratives that circulated in the Bulgarian media space online from 2013 to 2022, as well as to outline the means and ways of their dissemination in 2022 - the year of the full-scale war against Ukraine. Part 1 is dedicated to answering these questions.
2) To show how the Russian propaganda package presents the fate of small countries in the global world: how it tries to tempt them to be "sovereign," while, at the same time, not recognizing their capacity to achieve sovereignty. It also shows how Bulgarian speakers denigrate North Macedonia in the same way that Russian propaganda denigrates Ukraine. This is explored in Part 2.

Author(s): Dimitar Vatsov, Veronika Dimitrova, Ljubomir Donchev, Valentin Valkanov, Milena Iakimova

Title (English): The Pro-Russian Propaganda Machine in Bulgaria, and the Russian Style Representations of North Macedonia

Journal Reference: Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, Vol. 20, No. 1-2 (2023).

Publisher: Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities - Skopje

Page Range: 68-91

Page Count: 24

Citation (English): Dimitar Vatsov, Veronika Dimitrova, Ljubomir Donchev, Valentin Valkanov, Milena Iakimova, "The Pro-Russian Propaganda Machine in Bulgaria, and the Russian Style Representations of North Macedonia,” Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, Vol. 20, No. 1-2 (2023): 68-91.

Author Biographies

Dimitar Vatsov, New Bulgarian University Department of Philosophy and Sociology

Dimitar Vatsov, PhD, is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Doctoral School of New Bulgarian University, Sofia.
He is also Chair of the Board of Human and Social Studies Foundation – Sofia (HSSF).
Dimitar Vatsov is the author of the following books (in Bulgarian): What is Ontology? Intersecting Definitions (co-authored with Boyan Manchev; Sofia: Metheor, 2023); The Forces of Speech. A Radical Pragmatics (Sofia: East-West Publishers, 2021); This is True! (Sofia: NBU, 2016); Essays on Power and Truth (Sofia: NBU, 2009); Freedom and Recognition: The Interactive Sources of Identity (Sofia: NBU, 2006); Ontology of Affirmation: Nietzsche as a Task (Sofia: East-West Publishers, 2003).
He has also published numerous papers in English, Italian, Russian, French, Polish and Spanish.
His research interests are in the fields of ontology, political philosophy, especially critical theory, and post-analytic philosophy of language.

Veronika Dimitrova, Department of Sociology Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”

Veronika Dimitrova is Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. She is co-autor of the book Portraits of disappearing Sofia (2012), autor of Governmentality of poverty. Hygiene and medicine in interwar years(2018) and coordinator of the research team of the project Mental health and social inequalities. Fields of interest: sociology of medicine, history of medicine and urban studies.

Ljubomir Donchev, New Bulgarian University Department of Philosophy and Sociology

Lubomir Donchev has a master degree in “Language and public sphere. Philosophical and sociological approaches” program in the “Philosophy and Sociology” department at New Bulgarian University. Hi is in the beginning of his PhD studies again at New Bulgarian University, in the Department of Fine Arts, working on the links between the philosophy of F. Nietzsche and the contemporary art studies. In addition, another interest of his is the analysis of mass media and studies over the influence of propaganda narratives in Bulgaria.

Valentin Valkanov, New Bulgarian University Department of Philosophy and Sociology

Valentin Valkanov (born 1989) – holds a bachelor degree in Sociology, a master’s degree in Social Entrepreneurship and is currently working on a PhD in New Bulgarian University. With research experience in the practice of sociology in the fields of public attitudes and market research, and also as a member of various academia research teams. Fields of interest: public attitudes, propaganda, conspiracy narratives, media, sociology of medicine, deviant behavior.

Milena Iakimova, St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia Department of Sociology

Milena Iakimova is Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski, and a member of Human and Social Studies Foundation – Sofia. She is the author of the monographs Sofia of the Common People (With a Tarikat Slang-Bulgarian Dictionary) (2010), How a Social Problem Arises (2016) and Fear and Propaganda (2022). Fields of interest: critical social theory, collective identities and collective mobilisations, propaganda studies.

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Published

2023-12-11

How to Cite

Vatsov, D. ., Dimitrova, V. ., Donchev, L. ., Valkanov, V. ., & Iakimova, M. . (2023). The Pro-Russian Propaganda Machine in Bulgaria, and the Russian Style Representations of North Macedonia. Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, 20(1-2), 68-91. Retrieved from https://www.identitiesjournal.edu.mk/index.php/IJPGC/article/view/530

Issue

Vol. 20 No. 1-2 (2023): Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture

Section

Articles

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