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Monday, March 24, 2014

The Bulgaria Front

As we work to make sure that Ukraine's decision to move West works out well, let's not forget to keep those already in the West solid.

Bulgaria is shaky and Bulgarians have reason to be unhappy:

In Bulgaria, protests against corrupt government institutions have become something of an institution themselves. Every night, a motley crew of Bulgarians trudges purposefully down one of the main streets of the capital, Sofia, banging drums, blowing whistles, and shaking hands with the police officers, who are pretty nice to them. They’re just a day’s drive from Kyiv in Ukraine, where barricades still carve up Maidan.

While Ukrainians have protested for four months, however, Bulgarians have been doing it for nine — 10, if you count the February 2013 demonstrations that brought down their former government. ...

Their concerns run deeper than their present coalition government though, just as they ran deeper than their previous right-wing one. Bulgaria is not only one of the most corrupt countries in the EU; it’s also the poorest.

Bulgaria would be a logical place for Russia to seek revenge by stoking unrest and preventing economic and government progress. So let's defend the West's gains, eh?