Genka Shikerova has been an investigative correspondent in Sofia for RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service since 2020. She worked for many years at bTV and Nova TV.
A stretch of prime Black Sea beachfront in Bulgaria is effectively owned by the Moscow city government. Activists say the Russians acquired the land illegally and want Sofia to seize it, adding it is also a security risk given the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.
President Radev and government officials relied on clientelism, but a loophole suggesting the massive flagpole is "relocatable" and questions about a main sponsor have left it on shaky ground.
Two Bulgarian women and their mother faced momentous challenges in breaking out of unofficial segregation ingrained into the Romany ghetto where they lived. Anche's daughters Maria and Reneta faced bullying and wanted to quit school. But she believed education was the only way for them to succeed.
The office of Bulgaria's uber-powerful prosecutor-general quickly spread misleading information after a roadside blast near his motorcade, sparking confusion and politicking, and accusations that the attack was a false flag.
As the EU is stopping imports of Russian oil, Bulgaria continues to refine it. With growing pressure on the Russian oil giant LUKoil, that won't last forever.
Ahead of the EU's December 5 embargo on Russian oil, LUKoil and Sofia recently claimed a deal was afoot to exchange hundreds of millions in taxes for the right to export fuel to Europe. However, a deal is still very much on the table in what could be a tough test of European solidarity.
Far-right Bulgarian politician Kostadin Kostadinov has had enough of everybody using his nickname. Widely known as Kostya Kopeks because of his shady ties to Russia, Kostadinov is now trying to turn his reputation around.
Because of their friendly ties to the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin, the Russian bikers, the Night Wolves, face roadblocks across the EU. But in Bulgaria, a branch of the gang is cruising along, meeting and greeting Russian officials and blessed by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
Brussels' urgent advice on how Bulgaria should tackle corruption and reform its notoriously politicized justice system got muddied by the reemergence of an old photo scandal involving a former prime minister, a pistol, gold bars, and stacks of euros.
Russia's energy giant LUKoil appears to have a thriving business in Bulgaria, generating millions of dollars in refining revenue. But the company has paid little if any tax over the years using an accounting trick. Bulgarian politicians are largely looking the other way.
A semipro wrestler gains renown as Bulgaria's most prominent migrant hunter, patrolling on his quad bike and making citizen's arrests near the border with Turkey. A recent video of him apprehending a group of migrants has raised troubling questions about his relations with the authorities.
Millions of Bulgarians took state-subsidized holidays under communism. Now, only government employees can do it.
