Author: Ivaylo Noizi Tsvetkov
DV: Are you tired of protesting after all these years? What are you protesting against or would you protest against right now?
Vasil Varbanov: I think that the big and real protests are coming. I don't want to sound ominous, but it seems to me that our country is facing new big trials. And that's exactly why it wouldn't be bad for more people to vote in the upcoming elections. I would answer the second question this way - protest is an expression of disagreement. I refuse to agree with lies, hypocrisy, theft and betrayal.
Are we a Western country? Because, in my opinion, we are only formally, but mentally and cognitively not at all - hence the somewhat childish public discourse about whether we are or not.
We are a European country. In the Balkans! People are colorful, their morals too. Even if a person wants to, he cannot escape his essence.
Do you still believe that our decades-old "urban" and pro-Western ideal - with all its geopolitical flaws today - will ultimately prevail over Ganev's political humiliation and Russian hybrid calculations?
Let's not forget that we are at war. It may be hybrid, but it is a war. In the last four years, it has become fiercer. I cannot predict its final outcome. But it is obvious to the naked eye that the educational and cultural policy of the USSR, imposed and implemented in our country through its Bulgarian Communist Party lackeys after 1944, has long-lasting harmful effects. Separately, after November 10, we ran after freedom and bread, but we forgot the truth. And the criminals of the satanic regime remained unpunished. Their larvae have infected all the systems in our country.
"С чего начинается родина" ("Where does the homeland begin")? Isn't it about treating it as a beloved close relative, and with simple kind things, like keeping it clean and, if possible, not stealing it, for example?
To me, loving your homeland is, above all, holding on to its culture. Alas, our cultural and historical memory is very, very weak. I purposefully seek ways to get acquainted with the achievements of this culture, which for our generation were hidden by the aforementioned education. To read Yana Yazova and Stefan Filipov, to listen to the songs of Georgi Sharankov, Albert Pinkas, Nadezhda Sotirova and Ekaterina Vankova, to be inspired by the sporting achievements of Vera Petrunova. By the military skills of General Kolev. And so on. I really love our homeland. And a lot!
Is there still a revolutionary Varbanov in you - one who could erupt with the necessary thunderous civic roar in the style of Mikael Åkerfeld from "Again"?
Exactly "revolutionary spirit" I don't think I ever had. But in the last 35 years or so, I have found that peaceful revolutions clearly do not work.
The hope is that Gen Z will turn the "game" around. What do you think?
They and the so-called "locals" are also from this generation. And this game will apparently continue to be played after Gen Z. But the fact is that these are the first Bulgarians who truly belong to a global generation. You don't think that we, born in the 60s, 70s, 80s of the last century in Bulgaria, Poland or Romania, can be put in the same generation as the French, the Spanish, the British, the Dutch or the Swedes, do you? We lived in contrasting worlds. Now it is not so. And the members of this digital generation of Europeans are much closer to each other. But I remember well that at one of our meetings 5-6 years ago I told you that the best years of human civilization are already behind us. Today I am even more convinced of this.
Are you tired of the failures of the civil service? Do you see any way out at all, and if so, what should be the first steps?
The word is not "fatigue". Maybe it is "disgust". They, the bad guys, are clear. They can be seen from afar. I am much more worried about those who try to convince me that they are protecting my interests. “The devil's greatest trick is to convince us that he does not exist," said your beloved Baudelaire. I am also strongly impressed by the fact that for 35 years those I vote for have clearly not understood that politics is an art. How can one not invest in themselves and go to some great world university to master this art? Lawyer, accountant, economist, doctor are wonderful and infinitely worthy professions, but preparation for them is clearly not enough to be a good politician. At the same time, among their opponents in our political level there are those who are quite obviously trained and instructed in some political laboratories. And this makes the match even more unequal. I am not optimistic.