Elitsa Simeonova is a correspondent in RFE/RL's Central Newsroom in Prague. She previously was a correspondent in Sofia for RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service.
Ahead of local elections last weekend, Bulgarian officials cancelled machine voting 36 hours before polls opened. The move sparked protests and -- ahead of a November 5 runoff -- has thrown the election administration into chaos and strained the ties of the country's ruling coalition.
The U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has said it is “too early” to rule out the possibility that Kyiv's counteroffensive against Russian forces will achieve "significant gains."
Attacks using cluster munitions by both Russia and Ukraine since the start of the Kremlin's full-scale invasion last year have helped lead to a "dramatic" increase in the use of such weapons, highlighting the need for more countries to join a global ban.
Thousands of people staged protest rallies in the capital, Sofia, and other Bulgarian cities on July 31 following a case of shocking violence against an 18-year-old woman.
The Bulgarian capital has spent millions on installing Hikvision surveillance cameras in its public transit network, just as other EU countries are shying away from the technology.
Dutch resistance is widely blamed for keeping Bulgaria and Romania out of Europe's border-free zone despite EU institutional acknowledgment that they're "more than ready to join."
Since boarding a one-way flight from Moscow to Bulgaria on the second day of the war, 26-year-old Russian Aleksandr Stotsky has spent nearly eight months condemning Putin and his policies. Is that enough for asylum?
As Bulgaria finds itself mired in political instability and with the fourth parliamentary elections in two years, Bulgaria's far-right Revival party is making gains.
A Russian fugitive's case shot to the top of Moscow's list of priorities after he burned his Russian passport to protest the invasion of Ukraine. Now, a Bulgarian court says it can't trust Russian assurances that he'd get a fair trial and he shouldn't be sent home.
The Brikel coal-fired power plant has been polluting the air in Galabovo, Bulgaria, with impunity for years. Residents, authorities, and environmental activists have tried repeatedly to shut it down. But a court has ruled it can continue.
Officials including Prime Minister Kiril Petkov channel local resentment to relocate Ukrainian families away from the Bulgarian Riviera, baffling displaced victims of Russia's invasion and prompting some to return home despite the risks.
The Bulgarian Judo Federation (BFD) has defended its hiring of a French judo coach involved in a violent domestic incident with a former European champion judoka, saying Alain Schmitt is "a specialist to lead us to the Olympics in Paris" in 2024.
Many students in Bulgaria are back online for a third straight school year as COVID-19 rates spike in the EU's least vaccinated country. Parents are furious, saying being away from classmates is taking a heavy mental toll.
Petya suffered years of abuse at the hands of her husband before divorcing him. She is one of many victims of domestic abuse in Bulgaria, but the number is unclear. The government does not tabulate such statistics, underscoring what some say is a failure to take the issue seriously.
Gloriya Filipova not only witnessed the attack on an LGBT center in Sofia on October 30, she says she was punched in the face by the alleged leader of the mob, Boyan Rasate, an ultraright candidate in Bulgaria's upcoming presidential election. Filipova recounts the mayhem to RFE/RL.
The nighttime theft of archaeological treasures near the famous Thracian chariot of Karanovo highlights the threats to Bulgaria’s ancient heritage.
Thirty years after the collapse of communism, Bulgarian high-school students are finally getting history textbooks that cover the totalitarian era in their country. But critics say the proposed textbooks contain "candid propaganda cliches" and ignore the fear and oppression of daily life.
!["[Rasate] stopped in front of me, and that scared me because he had already hit me once...," recalled Gloriya Filipova. "I told him they had done their job and could leave. He said, 'No, I still have one more job,' and pulled out a knife."](https://gdb.rferl.org/00ab0000-0a00-0242-fa0b-08d99d4a4f0d_w100_r1.jpg)
!["[Rasate] stopped in front of me, and that scared me because he had already hit me once...," recalled Gloriya Filipova. "I told him they had done their job and could leave. He said, 'No, I still have one more job,' and pulled out a knife."](https://gdb.rferl.org/00ab0000-0a00-0242-fa0b-08d99d4a4f0d_w66_r1.jpg)
