Volen Nikolov Siderov ( bg, Волен Николов Сидеров ; born 19 April 1956) is a Bulgarian
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
politician and chairman of the
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
party
Attack. He has been the editor of numerous newspapers and has authored five books.
In 2021, the
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...
ruled that Bulgarian courts had erred in not upholding civil discrimination claims against Siderov for his anti-Jewish and anti-Romani statements.
__TOC__
Early life
Siderov was born in 1956 in
Yambol
Yambol ( bg, Ямбол ) is a town in Southeastern Bulgaria and administrative centre of Yambol Province. It lies on both banks of the Tundzha river in the historical region of Thrace. It is occasionally spelled ''Jambol''.
Yambol is the ad ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
. He received an undergraduate degree in Applied Photography in
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
, and before the fall of
Communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
in 1989, worked at the National Literature Museum as a
photographer
A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs.
Duties and types of photographers
As in oth ...
.
His brother, Dr. Plamen Siderov, was a mathematician and lectured at
Sofia University
Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...
.
After the fall of Communism, Siderov became a member of the newly established Movement for Human Rights. During the fall of 1990, he became the editor-in-chief of ''Democracy'' ( bg, Демокрация), the official newspaper of the
Union of Democratic Forces (Siderov played a major role in establishing the paper as the official publication of the right-wing party).
At one point he was appointed deputy editor-in-chief of ''Monitor'', a newspaper of a political orientation that could be described as nationalist and
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
. In 2000, Siderov was presented with the award of the Union of the Bulgarian Journalists. Later, he came to be the host of ''Attack'', a talk show on the Bulgarian cable TV channel "SKAT".
In 2002 Siderov was invited to a controversial
anti-globalisation
The anti-globalization movement or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalist m ...
conference in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
where he associated with people like
Ahmed Rami and
David Duke
David Ernest Duke (born July 1, 1950) is an American white supremacist, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, far-right politician, convicted felon, and former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. From 1989 to 1992, he was a membe ...
.
Rise in politics
During the 2003 local elections Siderov ran for
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
on the ticket of the marginal National Association-BZNS Party. He received 1,728 votes, or 0.45%. That attempt passed largely unnoticed for the general public.
During the June 2005 parliamentary elections, already a popular TV host, Siderov organised and led the party
"Attack", named after his talk show. The party won 8.14% (296,848 votes) of the total vote, thus becoming the 4th largest party in parliament. In the 2009 elections Attack won 9.4% (395,000 votes) of the total vote.
International relations
Siderov reportedly espouses
anti-Masonic conspiracy theories
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
*
*
* The term has a nega ...
, claiming that Masons control the world through
puppet regime
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.Compare: Puppet states have nominal sover ...
s, international organizations, and the press. According to Siderov, these forces seek to commit
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the ...
against Bulgarian people. Attack opposes the membership of Bulgaria in
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
; Siderov has declared that the people were lied to, that Bulgaria would be the safest place by then Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs—
Solomon Pasi—but the result was reducing the Bulgarian army to 20,000 troops and in necessity Bulgaria would be defenseless as the Turkish government wants. He compared the accession of Bulgaria to NATO as a new signing of the
Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine
The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine (french: Traité de Neuilly-sur-Seine) required Bulgaria to cede various territories, after Bulgaria had been one of the Central Powers defeated in World War I. The treaty was signed on 27 November 1919 at Neuilly ...
, considered as humiliating treaty for Bulgaria, signed after
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. Although the party is ambivalent on Bulgaria's European Union membership, it has demanded a revision of some of the previous agreements (e.g. the resolution on shutting down the
Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant
The Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant in Bulgaria situated north of Sofia and east of Kozloduy, a town on the Danube river, near the border with Romania. It is the country's only nuclear power plant and the largest in the ...
near the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
), it claims that those who signed the EU membership, referring to
Meglena Kuneva
Meglena Shtilianova Kuneva ( bg, Меглена Щилиянова Кунева; born 22 June 1957) is a Bulgarian and EU politician.
Biography
Born in Sofia, Kuneva is descended from a Catholic family from the town of Rakovski. She graduat ...
and others, are national traitors, not because of the EU membership itself, but because of the "anti-Bulgarian" agreements, on which it is signed. Siderov expressed respect to the
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
n president
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
, by visiting him on foot for his 60th birthday on 7 October 2012. On 8 March 2013 Siderov paid tribute to the deceased president of
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
at the Bolivarian republic's embassy in Sofia, where he called the revolutionary an 'example for the Bulgarian patriots as a statesman'.
Attack insists on the cancellation of
Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine
The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine (french: Traité de Neuilly-sur-Seine) required Bulgaria to cede various territories, after Bulgaria had been one of the Central Powers defeated in World War I. The treaty was signed on 27 November 1919 at Neuilly ...
and the returning of the
Western Outlands to Bulgaria, annexed by
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
after the First World War, which consists of the regions of
Dimitrovgrad and
Bosilegrad
Bosilegrad ( sr-cyr, Босилеград; bg, Босилеград) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. The municipality comprises an area of . According to 2011 census, town has a population of 2,624 i ...
in
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
, whose population according to the Serbian national census is predominantly ethnic Bulgarian, and of the region of
Strumica
Strumica ( mk, Струмица, ) is the largest city[2002 census results](_blank)
in English and Macedon ...
in
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
. Siderov said that the treaty is invalid, because it was signed with Yugoslavia in 1919, a vanished state, and does not refer to the present-day Serbia or to North Macedonia and should be cancelled.
The first statement ever of Volen Siderov from the parliamentary tribune, for a plan for a giant genocide of the Bulgarian nation, coming from abroad:
In September 2018, Siderov met with Israeli MK
Oren Hazan
Oren Asaf Hazan ( he, אורן אסף חזן, born 28 October 1981) is an Israeli politician. He served as a member of the Knesset for Likud between 2015 and 2019.
Early life
The son of former Likud Knesset member Yehiel Hazan, Oren served in th ...
, a member of the
Likud
Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel S ...
party, during the latter's visit to Bulgaria. Hazan defended the meeting by noting that Siderov "said he apologized for what he had said" about the Holocaust in the past, and Hazan then "told him he needed to do it publicly".
Controversy
Siderov has generated increasing controversy as Attack has improved at the polls. He has been labeled
xenophobic
Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
, and his
persona
A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatr ...
has been called "a studied imitation of
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
". He has criticised the "symbiotic relationship" between established political parties and organised criminal groups. He has also spoken against the widespread discrimination against majority ethnic Bulgarians by their own state, particularly in relation to the alleged non-prosecution by the state of crimes committed by ethnic minorities and the free provision to certain ethnic groups of social services that have been denied to ordinary Bulgarians.
Siderov and his party "Attack" were among the few Bulgarian political forces that opposed the closing of the four units of the
Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant
The Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant in Bulgaria situated north of Sofia and east of Kozloduy, a town on the Danube river, near the border with Romania. It is the country's only nuclear power plant and the largest in the ...
. Units 1 and 2 were taken shut down in the end of 2003 and units 3 and 4 were taken out of operation in the final hours of 2006, immediately prior to the country's
accession to the European Union.
From time to time Siderov is involved in scandals that include hooliganism.
During a televised debate in the show ''Referendum'' on
Bulgarian National Television
The Bulgarian National Television ( Bulgarian: Българска национална телевизия, ''Balgarska natsionalna televizia'') or BNT (БНТ), stylized as ·Б·Н·Т· since 2018, is a public television broadcaster of Bulgari ...
(BNT), after arriving late, Siderov questioned the sexual orientation of
IMRO
The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр� ...
leader
Angel Dzhambazki
Angel Chavdarov Dzhambazki (family name sometimes also transliterated as Djambazki) ( Bulgarian: Ангел Чавдаров Джамбазки) (born 21 March 1979, in Sofia) is a Bulgarian nationalist politician and currently a member of the Eu ...
, as well as
Krasimir Karakachanov
Krasimir Donchev Karakachanov ( bg, Красимир Дончев Каракачанов ; born 29 March 1965) is a Bulgarian politician. He has been the leader of the IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement since 1991.
Biography
Karakachanov say ...
's property deals and alluded to what he alleged was underhanded support by the
Movement for Rights and Freedoms for the nationalist IMRO party. He continued to speak even after being told to stop by moderators and even after his microphone was turned off.
Gendarmerie
Wrong info! -->
A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...
officers arrived on scene to escort Siderov out of the studio and he was subsequently banned from appearing on the BNT by the channel's management. Bulgaria's council for electronic media referred the case to the country's Central Electoral Commission in an attempt to revoke Siderov's right to access free media packages, which are given to parties in the run-up to elections. Siderov reacted to these actions by accusing the network of censorship.
Siderov has questioned the lethality of
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
. He has also been under legal investigation for encouraging citizens to violate the pandemic control measures.
Presidential election 2006
Siderov ran for
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
in the
2006 presidential election. In the first round on 22 October he received 21% of the vote and qualified for the runoff on 29 October against
incumbent
The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...
Georgi Parvanov
Georgi Sedefchov Parvanov ( bg, Георги Седефчов Първанов, ) (born 28 June 1957) is a Bulgarian historian and politician who was President of Bulgaria from 2002 to 2012. He was elected after defeating incumbent Petar Sto ...
, who had 65%. Parvanov was not declared the winner after the first round because, in accordance with Bulgarian electoral law, at least 50% of all registered voters had to take part in the first round for that. Mainstream right-wing parties in Bulgaria (the
UDF and the
DSB) refused to back any of the candidates, despite appeals by many observers, notably by fellow conservative and
European People's Party
The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily ...
chairman
Hans-Gert Pöttering, to support Parvanov (the situation was commonly compared with the way French left voters supported mainstream right-wing candidate
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a Politics of France, French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to ...
against far-right
Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (, born 20 June 1928) is a French far-right politician who served as President of the National Front from 1972 to 2011. He also served as Honorary President of the National Front from 2011 to 2015.
Le Pen graduated fro ...
in 2002). The
centrist
Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the ...
National Movement for Simeon II ultimately decided to back Parvanov. Meanwhile, some far-left formations called their sympathizers to support Siderov. In the second round, he lost, receiving about 24% of the vote.
2019 Sofia mayoral run
In September 2019, Siderov announced his resignation from Bulgaria's
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
, in order to run for the post of mayor of
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
, Bulgaria's capital and largest city, in the
2019 Bulgarian local elections
The first round of the local elections for mayors and municipal councilors on both the local and provincial level in Bulgaria were held on 27 October 2019. The second round of the election took place on 3 November, as per the decree signed by the ...
.
During his election campaign he promised that, if elected, he would stop the use of municipal
tow truck
A tow truck (also called a wrecker, a breakdown truck, recovery vehicle or a breakdown lorry) is a truck used to move disabled, improperly parked, impounded, or otherwise indisposed motor vehicles. This may involve recovering a vehicle damaged ...
s for forcefully moving incorrectly parked cars, as well as ban any gay parades, such as
Sofia Pride
Sofia Pride Parade is a peaceful march of LGBT people and their relatives and friends, which combines social and political protest with entertainment such as live concerts. It takes place every year in the month of June in Bulgaria's capital Sofi ...
, from being held in the city. Siderov claimed that homosexuality itself "did not interest" him and that homosexuals could have a private party instead, as he deemed the gay parade was only costing the Sofia Municipality excess money, as the local police is charged with guarding the event. He also stated that he would attempt to save money by creating a local, municipal-run construction company, which would handle public works, instead of auctioning them off to private companies. Siderov believes that with these measures, he could fund free bus passes for all retirees and schoolkids in Sofia. He further pledged to "crush" street gangs and organized crime in Sofia in only 3 months, stating that voters were free to "have his head" if he did not fulfill this promise in time. Adding that he thought Sofia needed its own
Viktor Orbán
Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian politician who has served as prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has presided over Fidesz since 1993, with a brief break between ...
, he further stated that he believed candidates for mayor should resign their previous posts before standing for election, as he had done with his position in the national assembly. For this reason, he praised
Maya Manolova, who resigned from her position as National
Ombudsman
An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
to run for Mayor of Sofia, but criticised
Angel Dzhambazki
Angel Chavdarov Dzhambazki (family name sometimes also transliterated as Djambazki) ( Bulgarian: Ангел Чавдаров Джамбазки) (born 21 March 1979, in Sofia) is a Bulgarian nationalist politician and currently a member of the Eu ...
, another candidate for the position, who refused to give up his seat in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...
.
During the vote counting process, he arrived at
Arena Armeec
Arena Sofia ( bg, Арена София, ) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Sofia, Bulgaria. Opened in July 2011, it has a seating capacity of 12,373. It was formerly called Arena Armeets after the Bulgarian insurance company Armeets pur ...
, where the votes were being tallied, and insisted he be allowed in to monitor the process. He was denied entry by the policemen guarding the arena and left after a long argument with the authorities, which told him that Bulgarian electoral law makes no provision for political candidates to monitor the counting process. He finished seventh with 1.44% of the vote.
Personal life
Siderov's hobby is collecting books and various maps related to Bulgaria.
Selected works
*Siderov, Volen (2002) Бумерангът на злото (The Boomerang of evil). Sofia: Жарава.
*Siderov, Volen (2004) Властта на Мамона. Кой и как ни ограбва (The power of the Mammon. Who and how is robbing us.). Sofia: Бумеранг, .
*Siderov, Volen (2007) Моята битка за България (My struggle for Bulgaria). Sofia: Бумеранг, .
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Attack Party official websiteThe newspaper of the Attack party
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siderov, Volen
Bulgarian nationalists
Bulgarian eurosceptics
Attack (political party) politicians
Bulgarian photographers
1956 births
Living people
People from Yambol
Anti-Masonry
20th-century Bulgarian artists
20th-century photographers
21st-century Bulgarian artists
21st-century photographers
20th-century Bulgarian politicians
21st-century Bulgarian politicians
Holocaust deniers