Romanians know how to look at their reality with curiosity

The Bulgarian covers of the three Romanian novels launched in Rousse (source: Regional Library Rousse, Facebook)

The literary couple Hristo and Diana Boeva presented in Ruse three new Romanian novels, which are a chance to expand the borders of our known world 

Vladimir Mitev

On October 7, 2021, Romanian literature translator Hristo Boev and his wife and literary scholar Diyana Boeva presented in Ruse the three latest Romanian novels translated into Bulgarian: Embers by Liviu Rebreanu, The Elevator by C.G. Balan and Mortua est by Teodor Hossu-Longin. 

Boevi are known for their impromptu talks on Romanian literature and society. This was their third visit to Ruse in this format in a year and a half. On all their visits, the Bridge of Friendship blog has covered the event with video and a report from the scene. The streaming of the current event sparked interest on Facebook – shares, likes, comments – a sign that there is a need for more events like this.

Hristo Boev was true to his style of giving lots of information about Romanian literature. At the same time, Diana Boeva noticed characteristic tendencies in the authors – for example, that Bucharest is the setting of the action in their books, that Rebreanu is characterised by his status as a classic, that Balan is marked by his expatriate life in Canada, and that Hossu-Longjin recreates a post-socialist urban reality of the Romanian lost in the transition, who can also be a lost Bulgarian.

The event was interesting not only for people with a curiosity about Romanian culture. The Bulgarian public space needs a return to natural, human, intellectual and as much as possible sophisticated communication. The format that the Boevs are implementing, and their unceasing work in the territory of literature, brings something modern that could inspire more people to openness and break the boundaries of existing intellectual tribes. In order to present the three books, they travelled from Dobrich with their daughter, and immediately after the end of it they went back, realizing a specific form of literary or event tourism.

The Bridge of Friendship blog has posted below a transcript of the event – a 40-minute presentation of the three novels and a 10-minute discussion segment on issues raised by the presentation.

Where’s the hope in Bulgaria?

“Let’s break up the mafia state!” – a slogan from the 2020 protests in Sofia (source: Nikolai Draganov)

Bulgarians are caught in a game of mutual domination between the interests of oligarchs and the agendas of Biden-ists and Trump-ists

This is the transcript of the first segment of the fourth episode of the Cross-border Talks podcast. The Cross-border Talks is a podcast on international relations, hosted by the Polish journalist Małgorzata Kulbaczewska-Figat and her Bulgarian colleague Vladimir Mitev in cooperation with Strajk, The Barricade and Foundation Naprzod.

In this segment Małgorzata and Vladimir speak about current affairs in Bulgarian politics in the context of the forthcoming 14 November 2021 presidential and parliamentary elections. They discuss the protests of 2020, the issue of social change, the influence of internal and international lobbies in Bulgarian politics and what could be territory of hope in it. 

Radu Jude: Maybe racism will never be stopped, but at least we can reduce it

Screenshot from the movie

Interview with the famous Romanian director on historical and contemporary attitudes towards Roma people in Romania and Bulgaria

Stanislav Petrov

In October 2021, the Goethe Institute in Sofia organized a Media Incubator, called “Antigypsyism in audiovisual media”. The week-long event will include film screenings of “Gypsy Queen” (2019, Romania, director: Hussein Tabac), the short “Letter of Forgiveness” (2020, Romania, director: Alina Sherban, and “Aferim!” (2013, Romania, director: Radu Jude). The films explore the social and historical problems of the Gypsy community in Romania.

The Bridge of Friendship blog republishes an article on the Bulgarian human rights website Marginalia, which is a transcription of the “Reaction Studio” program on Sofia’s student radio Reaction. The article is a conversation of the student Stanislav Petrov from the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communications of Sofia University with the famous Romanian director Radu Jude, winner of the Silver Bear Award for “Aferim” at the Berlinale. 

The Friendship Bridge blog recalls that in 2016 it interviewed the Bulgarian co-producer of “Aferim”, Rositsa Valkanova, in the context of her visit together with Radu Jude to Ruse for a screening of their film at the festival Sofia Film Fest on the Road.

How is Romanian literature received in Southern Dobruja?

Hristo Boev and Bogdan Boeru (source: Hristo Boev)

Bulgarian translator Hristo Boev’s presentation in Craiova discusses a variety of his translated titles and their promotional events

On 27-28 August 2021, a cross-border and trans-Danube literary festival was held at the Craiova County Library, bringing together intellectuals from Romania and Bulgaria. The Bridge of Friendship blog offers here the transcript of perhaps the only event within the festival that had a Romanian-Bulgarian character. It is the presentation of Hristo Boev – translator of Romanian literature, who offered pictures and stories about his work in recent years. The discourse takes place as photos from Boev’s presentation are changed on the screen in the American corner of the library.

The liberalisation of the electricity market in Romania is a blow to consumers

(source: Pixabay, CC0)

The position of the National Syndical Bloc

Vladimir Mitev

This article was published on 21 August 2021 at the Bulgarian section of the Barricade.

The heat waves in the past weeks have led to a sharp rise in the price of electricity on the free markets across the South East. While in Bulgaria this affected companies directly, in neighbouring Romania, where the consumer market has already been liberalised, the impact was felt by ordinary citizens. This led one of the country’s leading trade unions, the National Trade Union Bloc (BNS), to come out with a position criticising the state’s energy policy.

Tourists are welcome in the only campsite in Rusenski Lom Nature Park

The camping ”Koukeri” (source: Katerina Koleva)

We talk to its founder, Katerina Koleva, about tourism in Rusenski Lom Nature Park and the conditions the campsite offers

Vladimir Mitev

Mrs Koleva, in May 2021 you opened the only campsite in the Ruse region, located in the village of Koshov in the Rusenski Lom Nature Park. Why has this part of Bulgaria had no campsites until now and how will your project contribute to the development of tourism in this area?

In general, campsites in Bulgaria are not among the most numerous and popular places to stay, which is good in a way because it preserves and maintains the idea of staying and sleeping in the middle of nature itself. Of course, the Black Sea coast is known for its wonderful natural givens for campin, but recently the rest of the country has also started to offer quite good conditions for travellers with their own caravans or tents. As for our area and why it didn’t have camping before, I don’t think I could answer that question. I think this is partly because potential investors are not aware of the region and its possibilities. And it is known that camping is relatively easy to access, which probably implies a concern for the investor that their investment will have a very slow return. In our case, the issue was a bit different – I have been working in the tourism receiver business for several years and our experience has shown that there is a demand for this type of facility. So, about three years ago, we decided (as a family) to take the plunge and set up a campsite, thus trying to draw the attention of local and foreign tourists to the Rusenski Lom Nature Park area, where we are located and which, unfortunately, is still a too little known treasure.

Bulgarian foreign policy discussions after the Borissov era

Valentin Radomirski (source: Facebook)

Two veteran analysts commented on topics on which Bulgaria has been active in international relations – the Three Seas Initiative and Bulgarian-Macedonian relations

Vladimir Mitev

After long-serving Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov fell from power, a period of assessment of his legacy is underway. One of the fields in which it is being carried out is international relations.

Bulgarian foreign policy was non-existent for 12 years. It had dissolved into the European one. The Bulgarian Foreign Minister did not go to Brussels with a position to come back with a decision. He would get a decision there and come back to Bulgaria with a position.

This is how foreign policy analyst Lyubomir Kyuchukov described Bulgarian foreign policy under Boyko Borissov during the presentation of the book “Where is Europe Heading to?” at the Kanev Center in Ruse on July 1, 2021. Together with the former ambassador to the UK, the speakers were diplomat Biserka Benisheva and international relations lecturer Nina Dyulgerova.

European Union citizens in the UK are politically underrepresented

London (source: Pixabay, CC0)

An interview with the county councilor from England Alexandra Bulat, who is a researcher and activist on migration issues and from now on is also a local politician, who works in an area of ​​Great Britain that is pro-European and pro-migration

Vladimir Mitev

Alexandra Bulat is a county councilor for Cambridgeshire, England. She is also a research assistant at the University of Strathclyde. She also works for the3million NGO, which campaigns for the rights of EU citizens living in the UK. There she is co-manager of a network of young Europeans.

This article was published on 21 May 2021 on the Romanian section of the site “The Barricade”.

The American and the Russian-centered worlds rearrange balances so that Central and Eastern Europe enter in the era of Biden — The Persian Bridge of Friendship – Персийският мост на приятелството – Podul Persan al Prieteniei – پل دوستی فارسی

Bulgarian-Russian relations are really at a low point. However, this is not so much due to internal dynamics as to the international context in which the two countries find themselves

The American and the Russian-centered worlds rearrange balances so that Central Eastern Europe enter in the era of Biden — The Persian Bridge of Friendship – Персийският мост на приятелството – Podul Persan al Prieteniei – پل دوستی فارسی

A Romanian film strikes with a diagnosis for ourselves – the Bulgarians

A part of the poster of the film “Collective” (source: Wikipedia Commons, Colectiv)

“Collective” is a film in which the Bulgarian viewer will recognize his own reality at every minute

Anita Dimitrova

This article was published on 30 April 2021 on the website of the newspaper “Sega” and is republished with the consent of the media. The subtitle is changed by the blog.

“Collective” is not a new film – it premiered in September 2019 at the Venice Film Festival. But it continues to attract the attention of academies and travels to viewers around the world – most recently with its two Oscar nominations, the first such success for a Romanian film in history, although neighboring cinema has scored points at major European festivals. Palme d’Or, Golden Bear, etc.).

In Bulgaria, “Collective” was screened at the 24th “Sofia Film Fest”, which passed with a delay and in silence due to the pandemic, and HBO Go subscribers can watch it at any time at home. The European Parliament now allows those who do not have HBO to watch it for free on the Internet until May 9 – as one of the three nominees for the LUX Prize. For the first time, it will be awarded not only by the votes of MEPs, but also to the public throughout the EU. And I highly recommend that it be seen – because it answers not only the internal question for the cultural community “why don’t we have such films”, but also the bigger question “how do we live and why do we allow this to happen”.