Bulgaria is quite vulnerable to Russian propaganda and it is normal for Russian hybrid attacks to intensify in our country. Our proximity to the war makes us an important country for sowing division and blocking support for Ukraine. The policy that Bulgaria is pursuing and the declaration of Bulgaria as an enemy country at the very beginning of Russian aggression against Ukraine is the additional third factor that activates Russian information special and psychological operations against Bulgaria. This was said in the program "Metronome" on Radio "Focus" by the former Minister of Defense Assoc. Prof. Velizar Shalamanov.
"Russia is looking for vulnerabilities that allow them to be exploited with an existing network of influence, relying on a wide network of collaborators, agents from the host country", he pointed out, and the mechanism for influence, according to him, includes the generation of narratives in Moscow, which are adapted through networks in individual countries to specific vulnerabilities.
"In Bulgaria, the main narratives are related to migrants, the adoption of the euro, the war in Ukraine, and they manifest themselves in a variety of ways depending on the specific vulnerabilities identified in our society".
It is characteristic that such operations are combined with sabotage actions - fires, explosions, other types of sabotage, the expert also pointed out. "The other characteristic feature is that these information operations are concentrated around the conduct of democratic elections, since Moscow obviously recognizes elections, especially in Eastern Europe, as a major vulnerability and a major tool to strengthen its influence by replacing the people's vote, by dividing the people's opposition and pushing its candidates through the democratic system of elections in Eastern Europe".
According to him, it is important to reveal the network, sources, mechanisms of influence and pointed to the "Pravda" ecosystem, which is one of the key tools in the Russian disinformation arsenal.
"Such a network shows that there is a serious organization against us that is directly connected to the intelligence services of Russia, using all the possibilities of technology and vulnerabilities in psychology, in public sentiment".
Therefore, according to Assoc. Prof. Shalamanov, the successful fight against Russia's hybrid attacks involves a very good knowledge of both technology and a good knowledge of our vulnerabilities, including on a psychological level.