Revival (Bulgarian Political Party)

Revival () is a far-right and ultranationalist political party in Bulgaria, founded in August 2014. Its chairman is Kostadin Kostadinov. The party is characterised by various analysts and media as pro-Russian, anti-EU, anti-NATO, being opposed to COVID-19 vaccinations and spreading anti-vaccine and anti-LGBT rhetoric.

History

In June 2014, Kostadin Kostadinov told media that there would be a Constituent Assembly on 2 August of the same year in the city of Pliska to create the party "Revival". The founders choose the day that is the celebrated anniversary of the Ilinden Uprising. Kostadinov founded the party after he became unhappy following Krasimir Karakachanov's reelection as leader of IMRO-BNM in 2012.

Entrance into parliament

The party has grown rapidly due to the 2021–2025 Bulgarian political crisis. They first entered the Bulgarian National Assembly after the 2021 general election, gaining 13 seats. A member of Revival's parliamentary group left them in June 2022. The party would more than double its presence in the assembly, gaining 14 more seats in the 2022 general election and gained another 10 seats in the 2023 general election bringing their total seats to 37. This comes as the country draws closer to its adoption of the Euro while the government is financially backing Ukraine in their defense against Russia. Only 30% of Bulgarians view Russia as a threat, and far more are worried about rising inflation and possible economic concerns with the adoption of the Euro. Despite the party's pro-Russian rhetoric, observer Vesela Tcherneva, from the European Council on Foreign Relations, says that "Putin has lost some popularity so the campaign is not pro-Russia but anti-West, but it's the other side of the same coin". Additionally, the party has called for a public referendum on withdrawal from NATO and normalization of relations with Russia. The party has also supported the expansion of the Russia gas company Lukoil's presence in the country and to "renegotiate the conditions with the EU" either for a special status, or possible withdrawal.

Additionally, the party launched a petition that proposes postponing the adoption of the Euro until further notice. The petition collected over 604,000 signatures, significantly more than the 200,000 necessary to suggest a future referendum on the matter.

On 22 May 2023, ''Revival'' protesters stormed the EU offices in Sofia, dousing the interior with red paint while waving the Russian flag. President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola called the protestors "vandals unhappy with our stance in support of Ukraine." while the Bulgarian government announced the attacks only strengthen their resolve to support Ukraine. On 16 June 2023, a microbrewery in Sofia was vandalized after standoffs with ''Revival'' with an antisemitic message scrawled on their window with a Star of David after the brewery posted a sign saying they don't serve members of ''Revival.'' The owners of the brewery, who are Jewish, filed an investigation with the Ministry of Interior for the attack to be prosecuted as an antisemitic hate-crime.

Opposition to Denkov-Gabriel Government (2023–2024)

Protest activity

In mid-July 2023, members of We Continue the Change launched an official investigation into ''Revival'' for promoting violence, homophobia and "misanthropic propaganda." Namely, the prosecution cited a post on ''Revival's'' official telegram that consisted of the face of Solomon Passy, a former MP and founder of the Atlantic Club, as a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp being taken away by the Schutzstaffel to be gassed with the caption "If you don't want gas from Russia, come to us and we'll let you breathe some gas." In September 2023 ''Revival'' staged nationwide protests for the removal of all NATO bases in Bulgaria, waving Bulgarian and Russian national flags, blowing whistles and demanding an early election. The protests came shortly after the Bulgarian government ended an embargo on Ukrainian grain. During the protests ''Revival'' supporters rallied around a monument to the Red Army which the government decided to remove. Additionally, the government deported one Russian and two Belarusian nationals connected to ''Revival'' on a recommendation by the State Agency for National Security.

Sofia City Councillors split

Upon the entrance of Revival MPs into the Sofia City Council, the party did not participate in negotiations to end the deadlock and elect a chairman of the city council and refused to support other nominees.

On 8 February, after three months of deadlock, 4 of the 7 Sofia city councillors from Revival voted in favour of Tsvetomir Petrov ( PP-DB), who was selected as the compromise nominee after three-month long talks, subsequently being expelled both from the party and the councillors' group. The head of the Revival's group in the city council, Deyan Nikolov, accused the 4 city councillors of being "traitors" and alleged that they had been potentially bribed. The expelled city councillors defended their actions by claiming they had voted in favour of Petrov in order to end the deadlock. The split within the Revival group led to the de-listing of Revival as a group within the city council, due to it no longer being above the 5-member threshold.

The aftermath of the events in the city council ended up impacting the parliamentary group of Revival in the National Assembly, wherein Kostadinov demanded the resignation of three Revival MPs who had "vouched" for the inclusion of the expelled city councillors during the local elections. After their refusal, the three were expelled from the parliamentary groups and served out their term as Independent MPs. Expelled MP and former PG secretary, Nikolay Drenchev, later alleged that despite claims by Kostadinov that the party was now calm, the situation in the party remained tense and even claimed the party was attending sessions with a licensed psychiatrist.

Visit to Moscow

On 19 February, three Revival MPs visited Moscow at the invitation of the ruling party, United Russia, meeting with members of the State Duma and representatives of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The visit led the PP-DB parliamentary group to request that the MPs who participated in the visit be excluded from committees with significance for "national security". Additionally, the PP-DB MP Yavor Bozhankov sent a signal to the Prosecutors Office and DANS about potential illegal activity on the part of the three MPs. In response, Revival leader Kostadinov claimed the procedure for the expulsion of MPs from a committee did not exist within the rulebook and insisted that the MPs will continue to attend the committee meetings.

On 28 February, the point about the exclusion of two Revival MPs from the Foreign Affairs and Defense parliamentary committees was presented before the parliament by PP-DB, however, the measure was not supported due to the opposition of the other parliamentary parties.

Anti-Euro protests (2025)

On 22 February 2025, thousands of the party's supporters rallied in Sofia in opposition to the planned adoption of the euro. The demonstration began outside the Bulgarian National Bank where protestors immolated an effigy of Christine Lagarde. The protest then continued to a European Union facility in Sofia, which demonstrators attempted to storm. After being pushed away by police, some protestors threw paint and small explosives at the building. Commenting on the demonstration to the media, Kostadin Kostadinov explained "we are here to defend freedom". In a post to social media, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen denounced the attack as "outrageous".

Revival supported the referendum on ascension to the Eurozone proposed by President Rumen Radev in May 2025. Following the dismissal of the referendum by National Assembly chairwoman, Nataliya Kiselova, Revival held a (self-described) "popular assembly", at which they announced plans to organise a national protest on 31 May, as well as carry out acts of civil disobedience.

On 28 May, Revival once again proposed their referendum about ascension to the Eurozone before the National Assembly, however the motion was defeated.

On 31 May, protests organised by Revival were held in Sofia, as well as other towns in Bulgaria. During the protests, party leader Kostadin Kostadinov called for a protest to be held on the 4th of June, the date during which the convergence report about the feasibility of Bulgaria's membership in the Eurozone was set to be published. Revival claimed that 270,000 people participated in the nation-wide protest on 31 May, however those claims are disputed by law enforcement representatives.

During the protest on 4 June, Revival attempted to obstruct the functioning of the National Assembly by occupying the tribune. On 8 June, Revival held another protest against ascension to the Eurozone in front of the National Assembly building. Kostadinov further confirmed that Revival had sent letters to all heads of state and government within the European Union, appealing for them to obstruct Bulgaria's ascension into the Eurozone.

Policy

The party considers North Macedonia as the second Bulgarian state in the Balkans and claims to be working towards the country's unification with Bulgaria. It regards the "complete unification with North Macedonia and the revival and strengthening of the full state independence of a united Bulgaria" as the ultimate goal of its foreign policy.

International relations

Cross-European affiliation and relations

Revival was a member of the Identity and Democracy Party from 31 January 2024. It was subsequently removed in early 2024 from the group's website

Following the 2024 European Parliament election, Revival was one of the first members of the Europe of Sovereign Nations Group in the European Parliament, alongside the various other European parties.

Revival also signed an official memorandum for cooperation "against the destruction of European civilisation" on the 23 August 2023, which was also signed by representatives from the following parties: the Hungarian Our Homeland Movement, the Dutch Forum for Democracy (FvD), the Czech Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), Alternative for Sweden (AfS) and the Swiss Mass Voll.

In December 2023, Revival participated in a conference in Belgrade hosted by the Serbian Party Oathkeepers and Dveri, alongside the AfD and the Our Homeland Movement.

On 12 April 2024, Revival organized the 'Sofia Declaration' with the Slovak Republic, FvD, the Swiss Mass Voll, the Serbian Party Oathkeepers, Our Homeland Movement, AfS, the Moldovan Revival party and the Agricultural Livestock Party of Greece.

Ties to other European parties

Revival has developed a close relationship with the party Alternative for Germany, with Revival's chairman, Kostadin Kostadinov, attending the party's congress in July 2023. Revival additionally invited representatives from AfD, as well as the Moldovan party Revival to the annual commemoration of Liberation Day in 2024.

Revival has maintained cooperation with the Russian ruling party, United Russia, participating in the Forum "Freedom of Nations" hosted by party. In April 2025, Revival signed a cooperation agreement with United Russia, which would see them exchange "experience, ideas and political practices."

The party has relations with the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), attending AUR conferences and campaigning jointly against restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2025, Kostadinov addressed a Bucharest rally in support of Romanian presidential candidate Călin Georgescu, at the invitation of AUR leader George Simion.

The party has also established cooperation with Debout la France and its leader, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan.

Ties to parties outside Europe

Kostadinov, Revival's Chairman, has also claimed that the party has "begun friendly relations" with the African National Congress.

A Revival delegation, led by party vice-chairman Tsoncho Ganev, visited China between the 24 and 26 November 2024 as part of an official visit organised by the CCP.

The party has maintained relations with the Republicans for National Renewal, a donor organisation linked with the United States Republican Party, including a meeting between the head of the organisation, Mark Ivanyo, and Kostadin Kostadinov in November 2023.

In 2024, the party also had meetings with Republican Congressman Paul Gosar and officials from the 2024 Donald Trump presidential campaign.

The party expressed "full support" for Trump following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

The party has also voiced support for Trump's proposed annexation of Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal by the United States. In April 2025, a Revival delegation met with Republican Congressmen Barry Moore and Keith Self and expressed support for replacing the euro on Bulgaria's currency board with the United States dollar, therefore tying the Bulgarian lev to the dollar.

Leadership

* Kostadin Kostadinov – Chairman
* Petar Petrov – Vice chairman
* Tsoncho Ganev – Vice chairman
* Iskra Mihailova – Secretary

Election results

National Assembly

European Parliament

See also

* List of political parties in Bulgaria

References

External links

*

{{Portal bar, Politics, Bulgaria

Bulgarian nationalism
Anti-abortion organizations
Nationalist parties in Bulgaria
Right-wing populism in Bulgaria
Right-wing populist parties
Eurosceptic parties in Bulgaria
Conservative parties in Bulgaria
2014 establishments in Bulgaria
Political parties established in 2014
Far-right parties in Europe
Ultranationalist parties
Opposition to same-sex marriage in Europe
Opposition to NATO
COVID-19 misinformation
Vaccine hesitancy
Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in Bulgaria
Russophilic parties in Bulgaria
Anti-Western sentiment
Anti-American sentiment in Europe
National conservative parties
Anti-gender movement
Bulgarian irredentism
Antiziganism in Europe
Authoritarianism
Far-right politics in Europe