Възраждане (Vǎzraždane / Revival)
EU RANK: 196 (Tier 5: High Risk)
Възраждане is a radical nationalist, Eurosceptic and openly pro‑Kremlin party that has grown significantly since the late 2010s. It advocates Bulgaria’s exit from the Eurozone project (and sometimes the EU), rapprochement with Russia, rejection of sanctions and hardline stances on migration and cultural issues. Revival has become a central pole of the radical right and an important vector of anti‑system mobilisation.
Disinformation and alternative media
Revival is at the core of Bulgaria’s disinformation ecosystem, using social media, YouTube channels, friendly sites and partisan pages to spread conspiratorial narratives about vaccines, COVID‑19, Ukraine, the EU, NATO and “global elites”. EU DisinfoLab and national analyses consistently identify Revival and its networks as leading disseminators of pro‑Kremlin talking points and anti‑Western disinformation.
The party frames mainstream media as puppets of foreign and oligarchic interests and urges supporters to rely on its own channels and sympathetic “alternative” outlets, deepening echo chambers and mistrust of independent journalism. DMI disinformation/alternative‑media risk is high.
Foreign influence and external alignments
Revival’s positions align closely with Russian state narratives: opposition to sanctions, criticism of NATO and the EU, support for Moscow’s framing of the war in Ukraine and calls for neutrality that effectively favour Russian strategic interests. While conclusive public evidence of direct financial or operational links is limited, the ideological and messaging overlap is extensive and systematic.
This makes Revival one of the principal potential conduits for Russian influence in Bulgarian politics. Its DMI foreign‑influence risk is high.
Media capture, advertising and public service media
Revival does not control major media ownership structures or state advertising, but it aims to delegitimise and weaken public service media, calling for radical reforms that would remove what it sees as “foreign” and “globalist” influence. Its strategy is not traditional capture but substitution: building an alternative information ecosystem that supplants mainstream outlets among its supporters.
Given its limited institutional power so far, classic media‑capture capacity is medium: the party can seriously damage trust in existing institutions and, if it gains power, could convert its hostile rhetoric into direct control efforts.
Corruption, litigation and institutional integrity
Revival is not primarily associated with classic corruption or patronage scandals; its danger lies in its anti‑system programme and openness to authoritarian models rather than in graft. As it gains local positions and access to resources, risks of patronage will increase, but litigation records up to 2025 are dominated more by controversies over hate speech and misinformation than by financial crimes.
Its DMI corruption and institutional‑integrity risk is medium: relatively clean on traditional graft indicators but highly threatening to liberal‑democratic checks and balances.
Press freedom, harassment and treatment of media
Revival consistently attacks mainstream media and individual journalists as traitors, agents of foreign powers or corrupt elites. Its supporters frequently engage in online harassment and intimidation of reporters who scrutinise the party or debunk its narratives, contributing to a hostile environment for critical coverage.
The party’s programme and rhetoric suggest that if given greater institutional power it would seek to bring public broadcasting and regulatory bodies under tight ideological control and marginalise independent outlets. Its DMI press‑freedom and harassment risk is high.