Friday night at the National Palace of Culture (NDK) in Sofia was unlike any other. Instead of a concert, Hall 1 hosted political speeches marked by calls for “uprising” and protests against Bulgaria‘s adoption of the euro. The gathering, organized by the pro-Russian “Revival” party and other euro opponents, was officially billed as a public discussion on “How to Save the Lev,” but it was dominated by anti-European rhetoric and demands for government resignation.
May Day holiday packages“Revival” leader Kostadin Kostadinov urged “100,000 people” to protest in Sofia on May 31. Every mention of the ruling coalition prompted the crowd of nearly 3,000 to chant “Resign!“. The event unfolded as the European Commission (EC) is preparing to release a convergence report in early June, a decisive step for Bulgaria‘s potential eurozone entry in January 2026.
Former BSP MP Strahil Angelov, “Revival” MEP Petar Volgin, former “PIK Media” owner Nedyalko Nedyalkov, and ex-Revival MP Viktor Papazov were the primary speakers. The event was moderated by economist Deyan Nikolov, a “Revival” candidate for Sofia mayor in recent elections. Signatures for the return of the Soviet Army monument to the Prince’s Garden were also collected in the NDK lobby.
Nedyalkov’s speech included a controversial statement that “the people have the right to revolt, including armed uprisings.” He labeled the eurozone “a moral and sexual perversion” and accused Parliament Speaker Natalia Kiselova of staging a “coup d’état.” The statement came after Kiselova blocked a referendum proposal on the euro entry date, prompting President Rumen Radev to announce his intention to appeal the decision to the Constitutional Court.
The Constitutional Court had previously declared a similar referendum illegal in 2024, after rejecting Revival’s request to hold one a year earlier. In response, Angelov called for weekly votes of no confidence against the government and announced plans to send a declaration to world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, and Slovak PM Robert Fico, seeking their support.
The event included a video message from Steve Hanke, an economist who helped implement Bulgaria’s currency board in the 1990s. Hanke argued against the euro adoption, asserting that the currency board was functioning well and did not need fixing. Meanwhile, false anti-European, anti-vaccine, and homophobic claims were woven into speeches, drawing a strong reaction from the mostly elderly audience, some holding banners reading “Referendum” and “No to the Euro.”
National Assembly as the “Real Parliament”
Inside NDK’s Hall 1, the event was presented as a “National Assembly,” with speakers declaring themselves the “true representatives of the people.” Former general Dimitar Shivikov, now a supporter of nationalist-Russophile parties, urged the crowd to resist the euro and join the planned May 31 protest. Russian flags waved alongside Bulgarian ones, and a version of the socialist anthem resonated through the hall.
May Day holiday packagesAstrologers also joined the anti-euro campaign. Two days before the event, Silvia Doncheva published a horoscope suggesting “national resistance to preserve the Bulgarian lev” was astrologically favored, citing the dominant influence of Mars.
Anti-euro protests
After the NDK event, smaller protests against the euro took place nationwide. In Sofia, demonstrators blocked “Orlov Most” for two hours, waving flags and chanting “Resign!“. In Burgas, the protest began near a gas station but expanded to a road blockade on “Stefan Stambolov” Blvd, disrupting traffic. Similar scenes played out in Plovdiv, where citizens marched through the city center, calling for a referendum to protect the lev.
Protesters emphasized that the lev was “the last thing left” for Bulgarian independence and warned that the euro would “erase history.” Maria Topalova, one of the demonstrators, said, “If we adopt the euro, we will dance to the tune of the EU, with no control over our finances.”
More protests are expected on May 31, the day before the EC and ECB release their convergence reports, which could greenlight Bulgaria’s eurozone entry in January 2026. “Revival” and its allies are framing the date as a “last battle” for the lev, calling for mass mobilization in Sofia and other cities.
The rhetoric against the euro is shifting from warnings about inflation to accusations that pro-euro politicians are staging a coup against democracy. The goal, speakers claim, is to “punish the elites” and restore “true democracy” through a referendum, a theme echoed by Steve Hanke in his video address, as well as by “Revival” leader Kostadin Kostadinov, who urged supporters to “show the enslavers the power of the people.”
Sources:
May Day holiday packages
- DW
- Radio Free Europe
- BNT
- BNR
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