Kosta Stoyanov is Bulgarian Politician. He belongs to the Revival Party (Vazrazhdane) and is chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Children, Youth, and Sports. The Revvial party seems to be a Far-right pro-Russian party. It has joined the far-right Identity and Democracy group in the EU Parliament, deputies from the Eurosceptic Bulgarian party after visiting Moscow at the invitation of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party.
Remarking on Vazrazhdane’s trip to Russia, MP Kosta Stoyanov said that his party had received invitations to partake in many events and had attended events in 12 countries over the past six months. Regarding the trip to Moscow, the party stated it received an invitation from Putin’s party to participate in the forum “For the Freedom of Nations” in Moscow last month.
“From the European Union, only we from Bulgaria participated; only we were the representatives from Vazrazhdane,”
stated Stoyanov, adding that the forum was held in Moscow and was hosted by Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The forum “For the Freedom of Nations” examined the struggle against modern forms of neo-colonialism, Stoyanov stated, as quoted by state news agency BTA. The far-right Revival party is pushing for Bulgaria to pass legislation to penalise anyone who has received any foreign funding, equivalent to “foreign agent” legislation in Russia that’s been replicated elsewhere amid outcries from analysts who warn such laws are aimed at silencing critics.
Russia’s restrictive “foreign agent” law, presented in 2012 but tightened since then, has served as a template for other governments aiming to silence critics, observers state. Earlier this year, Georgia’s government made its version of the “foreign agent” law through parliament, despite weeks of street protests. Revival’s targeting of NGOs and individuals who accept any funding comes after a recent legislative victory that shocked much of the country’s civil society. The far-right party, which often intensifies pro-Kremlin narratives and has demanded that Bulgaria exit NATO, spearheaded measures in Bulgaria’s National Assembly, the country’s unicameral parliament, to pass controversial legislation to outlaw “gay propaganda” in schools, despite street demonstrations at home and criticism abroad.
One of the most vocal supporters of the proposed bill is Kosta Stoyanov. However, Stoyanov himself has profited from the largesse of foreign donors.
