Kostadin Kostadinov
Костадин Костадинов
Official portrait, 2021
Member of the National Assembly
Assumed office
3 December 2021
Constituency3rd MMC - Varna
Leader of Revival
Assumed office
2 August 2014
Preceded byPosition established
Member of the Varna City Council
In office
4 November 2011 – 25 November 2021
Personal details
Born (1979-04-01) 1 April 1979
Asparuhovo, PR Bulgaria
Political partyRevival
Other political
affiliations		VMRO (2002-2012)
NFSB (2012-2013)
Attack (2013-2014)
Spouse
Velina
​
​
(m. 2003; div. 2018)​
Children2
ProfessionPolitician, author, historian

Kostadin Todorov Kostadinov (Bulgarian: Костадин Тодоров Костадинов; born 1 April 1979) is a far-right and ultranationalist Bulgarian politician. He is the chairman of the ultranationalist Revival party (Bulgarian: Възраждане, Vazrazhdane).

Kostadinov is known for his populism, anti-EU and anti-NATO stances, Anti-Americanism and Anti-Western sentiment, spreading of conspiracy theories regarding COVID-19 and climate change, frequent misogynistic, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, racist and xenophobic statements, as well as for his anti-migrant and аnti-Macedonian views.

His pro-Russian stance and activities had gained him the nickname 'Kopeikin', referring to his alleged ties with (and alleged financial support from) the Russian government.

Kostadinov has also espoused strong anti-Roma views, describing Roma people as "parasites" and "non-human vermin that has no place in Bulgaria".

On June 15, 2023 a group of "Vazrazhdane" (Revival) supporters, led by the party's deputy Emil Yankov, attacked acCinema that screened an LGBTQ+ Movie.[1][2]

Biography

Throughout the years Kostadinov has been engaged with the historical Bulgarian communities in Moldova, Ukraine, Greece, Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, and others, and is the author of several books and documentaries about them.

He completed his master's degree in Balkan studies in 2002 and his master's in Law in 2011 at Veliko Tarnovo University. In 2017 Kostadinov completed his Ph.D. in Ethnography and Folklore in the Ethnographic Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. In 2004 he filmed a documentary on Bulgarians in Albania, and in 2005 published the film 'We are One Nation' – directed to the Bulgarians in Aegean Macedonia. He is also the author of the film 'Forgotten Land', devoted to the Bulgarians in North Dobrudja, filmed in 2009.

In 2016, disappointed by what he perceived as falsifications and forgeries of Bulgarian history in contemporary Bulgarian textbooks – he wrote a history textbook (Bulgarian: Учебник по Родинознание) aimed at children from grades 1st through 4th.

In 2017, he released his next book, 'Guide to the Ancient Bulgarian Lands' in which over 100 revered places of Bulgarian history are named and detailed.[3]

In 2018 Kostadinov divorced his wife Velina, with whom he has fathered two children, Todor and Denitsa. They had been married since 2003.[4]

Political career

In 2014, Kostadinov founded the Revival party.

VMRO

In 1997, Kostadinov became a member of VMRO (Bulgarian: ВМРО) and its coordinator for Northeast Bulgaria (2002–2009).[5] He was regional coordinator for the provinces of Varna, Shumen, and Dobrich from 2002 to 2009, and from 2007 through 2012 he was a member of the National Executive Committee of the party. In 2013, he left VMRO because of the re-election of its leader, Krasimir Karakachanov, and in the same year ran as a member of the also nationalistic NFSB party.[6]

Revival party

He participated in the founding of the far-right Revival in Bulgaria in June 2014. The constituent assembly took place in Pliska.[7][8]

On 3 November 2019, Kostadinov and Revival went on a run-off vote for the mayor position in Varna (the 3rd largest city in Bulgaria) and accumulated 14.3% in the first round of voting and 35.99% in the runoffs.[9]

Revival gathered 2.45% support at the April 2021 parliamentary election, remaining below the 4.0% needed for entry into the parliament.[10] In the July 2021 parliamentary election it gathered 2.97%. In the November 2021 general election Revival gathered 4.86% and entered the parliament gaining 13 seats. In the October 2022 parliamentary election – 4th place, 9.83% and 27 seats. In the April 2023 parliamentary election – 3rd place, 13.58% and 37 seats.

Controversy

Kostadinov has also exposed strong anti-Roma views, describing Roma people as "parasites" and "non-human vermin that has no place in Bulgaria".[1][11][12]

In the summer of 2020, the Court in Sofia launched a procedure for the removal of "Revival" as a political party, on the grounds that it had been fraudulently established through gathering falsified signatures.[13] However, in May 2021, the Supreme Court of Cassation ruled in favor of Kostadinov's party, establishing that there had been no irregularities.[14] In September 2020, Kostadinov was detained by the police during the protests opposing chief prosecutor Ivan Geshev and Borisov's administration.[15] His party has also been noted for its opposition to many of the pandemic control measures, the promotion of conspiracy theories and its strong reservations regarding the COVID-19 vaccines.[16] In March 2022, it was revealed that Kostadinov had received a 10-year ban from entering Ukraine, which has been attributed to the staunchly pro-Russian orientation of his party in the context of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. His pro-Russian stance and activities had gained him the nickname 'Kopeikin', referring to his alleged ties with (and alleged financial support from) the Russian government.[17]

15 June attacks

On 15 June 2023 a group of "Vazrazhdane" (Revival) supporters, led by the party's deputy Emil Yankov, Attacked a Cinema that Screened LGBTQ+ movie, namely the 2022 movie Close, who won the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival. It also won the André Cavens Award for Best Film by the Belgian Film Critics Association and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.[18][19][20]

The attackers insulted those present at the screening in Plovdiv among whom was a pregnant woman. They even jumped on random passers-by to the bar next to the cinema, attacked a bar employee who just wanted to pass - claimed she was a "gender" and gave her advice on how to "heal from it". Then, led by the deputy Emil Yankov, they tried to storm the lobby of the cultural institution. They admitted that none of them had seen the film and had created impressions from retellings on social networks. And some of Kostadinov's sympathizers were also with St. George ribbons, traditionally worn by supporters of the USSR and Russophiles.

References

  1. 1 2 Kostadinova, Simona (5 February 2020). "Kostadin 'Kopeykin' Kostadinov - the new Siderov". mediapool.bg. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  2. ↑ Spasov, Spas (19 November 2021). ""In the name of the people, you are sentenced to death" - where did Kostadin Kostadinov come from". dnevnik.bg. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  3. ↑ ""Личности"" (in Bulgarian). vazrazhdane.bg. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  4. ↑ "СИГНАЛ ДО ПИК: Костя Копейкин със спешен развод - спасява имотите, купени с милионите от субсидията (ДОКУМЕНТ) - Информационна агенция ПИК".
  5. ↑ ""Костадин Костадинов пред Сега: Българите ще сме малцинство в собствената си държава"" (in Bulgarian). vmro.bg. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  6. ↑ ""Кои са кандидат-депутатите във Варна"" (in Bulgarian). moreto.net. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  7. ↑ ""Нова националистическа партия учредяват в Плиска"" (in Bulgarian). cross.bg. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  8. ↑ ""Костадин Костадинов слага началото на нова партия"" (in Bulgarian). utre.bg. Archived from the original on 16 March 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  9. ↑ ""Местни Избори – Резултати"" (in Bulgarian). cik.bg. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  10. ↑ "Обобщени данни от избор на народни представители" (in Bulgarian). cik.bg. 4 April 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  11. ↑ Няма страшно. Това е просто предизборна кампания] Енчева, Светла, toest.bg 12.01.2019 г.]"Костадинов: Русофобската паплач ще отговаря пред съда за престъпленията си срещу България". offnews.bg. 28 December 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  12. ↑ Spasov, Spas (8 February 2020). "Лидерът на "Възраждане" - новият Волен". Dnevnik. dnevnik.bg. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  13. ↑ Nikodimov, Ivo (20 July 2020). "Прокуратурата поиска заличаване на партия "Възраждане"" (in Bulgarian). bnt.bg. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  14. ↑ Ficheva, Ralitsa (31 May 2021). "Съдът реши: няма нарушения при учредяването на партия "Възраждане"" (in Bulgarian). dnevnik.bg. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  15. ↑ Yordanova, Veselina (2 September 2020). "Лидерът на "Възраждане" е задържан" (in Bulgarian). dnes.bg. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  16. ↑ "Арести на протест на проруската партия "Възраждане" срещу кабинета, ваксините и Бил Гейтс" (in Bulgarian). svobodnaevropa.bg. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  17. ↑ Nikolova, Ivelina (7 March 2022). "Лидерът на "Възраждане" със забрана да влиза в Украйна" (in Bulgarian). nova.bg. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  18. ↑ "Има от какво да пазим децата. И това не е ЛГБТИ. – DW – 13.06.2023". Deutsche Welle.
  19. ↑ https://www.novinite.com/articles/220525/Bulgaria%3A+An+MP+and+Supporters+of+%22Vazrazhdane%22+again+Attacked+a+Cinema+that+Screened+LGBTQ%2B+Movie
  20. ↑ "Да си гей не е ОК, Костадин Костадинов, Възраждане". YouTube.
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