Investigation of "Free Europe": "Turn to Marina". How Russia opened a "consulate" at the BSP headquarters in Varna
How are consular services offered without a consulate? Russia has found a way to take care of its diaspora in Varna. However, this seems to be happening in the office of a Bulgarian political party. The Bulgarian state says it does not know. We went to check on the spot.
The address is st. "Macedonia" 33. The city is Varna. I knock, but the door is open. "Go up to the second floor", I hear after a while.
In the beautiful house with beige walls is the BSP party headquarters in the city. I am kindly greeted by a woman who works there. When asked who I can talk to about consular receptions at the Russian Embassy there, the answer is unwavering:
"No consular services are offered here".
Public information in social media groups, however, claims otherwise. That's why we check on the spot.
There is no longer a Russian consulate in Varna. It was closed in October 2023. This happened after the Bulgarian government expelled 70 diplomats and employees in the diplomatic missions of Russia. Thus, the consulates in Varna and Ruse were left without staff.
Moscow previously launched an unprovoked war against Ukraine in February 2022. Russia declared Bulgaria "hostile" country. Despite this, the BSP considers Moscow its "friend". In the last election campaign, the party even displayed this on billboards with the words "Russia is our friend". in Plovdiv. The BSP has 20 deputies in the 240-seat parliament.
In Facebook groups for Russian speakers it says that consular services are still available in the city on certain days and times, and the next meeting will be on November 26.
The indicated address is precisely the house at ul. "Macedonia" 33. Or the BSP headquarters. The interior I see in it resembles that of published photos from previous meetings and other events.
Where is the problem? According to Bulgarian law, the diplomatic service is built, among other things, on the principle of non-partisanship.
We sent questions to the Embassy of Russia in Bulgaria, as well as to the BSP. We asked since when these consular meetings have been held, who gave permission for them, what makes it necessary for them to be at party headquarters. However, no responses were received until the editorial completion of the text.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that there is no information about such activity.
In front of Free Europe, however, the woman named as the contact person for consular receptions - Marina Nacheva, confirmed the meetings.
This is what we discovered about the consular meetings at the party office in Varna.
"This is the headquarters of the BSP"
The building that housed the Russian consulate in Varna before it was closed was given to Russia free of charge by the Foreign Ministry. It is located on st. "Macedonia" 53 - on the same street as the party headquarters, which now houses consular meetings. The distance between the two addresses is about 400 meters.
"No consular services are offered here. This is the headquarters of the BSP", with these words I was greeted in the building on ul. "Macedonia" 33. However, the only employee there promised that she would pass my phone to Pavel Ralichkov or Dimitar Chuturkov, municipal councilors from the BSP, to contact me.
That never happened. I looked for the chairman of the party in Varna, Borislav Gutsanov. After I introduced myself, he said the timing was not right. Then he stopped picking up the phone.
The party headquarters of the BSP does not reveal in any way that representatives of the Russian embassy in Bulgaria or the Russian consulate in Constanta, Romania arrive there once a month.
However, information about this is being spread in the groups for Russian speakers in Varna. Before the closure of the consulate, documents for Russian visas, for obtaining and relinquishing citizenship, documents for inheritance, as well as those for receiving pensions were accepted there.
It is not clear whether all these services are currently provided in Varna. It is also not clear since when the headquarters of the BSP has been used for Russian reception days. Information on social networks indicates that there has already been at least one such reception, with another expected on November 26.
Contact Marina
Who organized this? In the groups for Russian-speaking citizens in Bulgaria on social networks, one name appears frequently.
"Contact Marina Nacheva", writes in a post on the Facebook group "Russian speakers in Varna". There, a woman asks for information about the "field sessions in Varna of the Russian Consulate in Sofia".
In the comments to the publication there is also a link to a WhatsApp group entitled "Consul of the Russian Federation in Varna". - Consul of the Russian Federation in Varna. She is followed by 60 people, whose names and phone numbers remain hidden for the privacy of the channel.
In the description of the channel it is said that it provides "information for the residents of Varna and its surroundings, who for various reasons cannot contact the Russian Embassy in Sofia or the Consulate in Constanta. Above all, for families with small children, the disabled and the elderly".
An address is also indicated - "Macedonia" St. 33 in Varna.
The only other message on the channel indicates that the next reception will take place on November 26, with two phone numbers listed for booking. The name Marina is found there again.
I called the number left. He turned out to be the same Marina Nacheva, whose name is found in groups for Russian speakers. I introduced myself with my name and profession and asked for confirmation of the consular services offered at the BSP headquarters address.
Followed by a laconic "yes". She did not answer the question why consular services were outsourced to the BSP headquarters, and the moment I repeated that I was a journalist, she hung up.
At the same time, from her personal Facebook profile, Nacheva posted a photo in another group with Russian speakers - "Association "Rossiane-21 vek" Varna" with the inscription "consular reception in Varna". The publication says that documents for a new passport are accepted, as well as for applying for a pension.
In the background of the footage, there is a window with white window frames and blinds, and in the right corner, a device resembling a security system sensor can be seen.
Another photo from the BSP headquarters, in which Borislav Gutsanov was also present, shows a similar situation. The publication was also redistributed by the BSP-Varna, writing that it is about a "reporting and election meeting of socialist women from Varna region".
A search on the Internet shows that Marina Nacheva attended various events at the Russian Consulate before it was closed. In several places she is named as the chairwoman of the "Rossiane-21 vek" Association. However, it is not registered as such in the Commercial Register. According to him, in 2021, she tried to convene a general meeting of the association, but was refused precisely for this reason.
Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Republished by permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.