FT: Bulgarians see Russian hand in anti-shale protests
It took barely a week of street protests by environmentalists in January 2012 before Boyko Borisov, Bulgaria’s prime minister, relented and cancelled a licence for Chevron, the US energy company, to explore for shale gas in the Balkan country’s prime wheat-growing region.
When another wave of protests prompted by sharp rises in electricity and fuel prices toppled Mr Borisov’s centre-right government 13 months later, it seemed as if civil society had finally come of age in the EU’s poorest member state.
Yet some in Sofia believe a Russian hand helped foment the protests for its own ends. They point to Kremlin links to local groups that supplied demonstrators and funded an anti-shale media campaign. The goal, they believe, was to punish the pro-European Mr Borisov for pursuing policies that might reduce Bulgaria’s dependence on Russian energy.
“We must remember the anti-shale protests and the other organised actions against the government of Boyko Borisov. This was a well-planned scenario developed by local corporate, oligarch and economic interests connected with Russia,” said Tsvetan Tsvetanov, a former interior minister who is a close Borisov confidant.