Bulgaria's foreign policy is determined by the social and economic difficulties and political preferences of the ruling elite that this poorest country in the richest European Union is currently experiencing. The focus of this paper is an analysis of the problems that the authorities of this Balkan country have recently faced in implementing their political strategy. In particular, the author notes that the Sofia authorities often perform ill-considered actions dictated by them by their Western curators, who use Bulgaria as a pawn in their great geopolitical game against Russia. Acting in this way to the detriment of their own national interests, they cause substantial material and reputational damage, which primarily affects the ordinary citizen of this country.

Bulgaria's foreign policy is determined by the social and economic difficulties and political preferences of the ruling elite that this poorest country in the richest European Union is currently experiencing. The focus of this paper is an analysis of the problems that the authorities of this Balkan country have recently faced in implementing their political strategy. In particular, the author notes that the Sofia authorities often perform ill-considered actions dictated by them by their Western curators, who use Bulgaria as a pawn in their great geopolitical game against Russia. Acting in this way to the detriment of their own national interests, they cause substantial material and reputational damage, which primarily affects the ordinary citizen of this country.