Vladimir Mitev: Details are the key to understanding Southeastern Europe

Wade Rathke

Intro

ACORN Radio is an American progressive media outlet, which broadcast on 12 September 2025 an interview with the founder of the Bridge of Friendship and co-founder of Cross-border Talks Vladimir Mitev. The interview took place after the ACORN International Organizers’ Forum met civic activists and researchers in Bucharest, Ruse and Sofia in August 2025. 

ACORN International is a federation of autonomous member-based community organizations and tenants unions. ACORN International has active affiliated organisations in multiple countries, such as Cameroon, Canada, the Czech Republic, England, France, Honduras, India, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Peru, Scotland, Tunisia, the United States, and Wales.

Wade Rathke: This is Wade’s World, where we talk to the most interesting people in the world, on KABM 88.3, The Voice of the People. 

Song: Wanna see how the other half lives? Wanna see how we get around? Why don’t you come visit me on the East Side?

This is Wade Rathke, and you’re listening to Wade’s World, The Voice of the People program. Welcome to the East Side of town, so that we can talk about how the other half lives, and what life is like here, living in Wade’s World. Whether that’s the East Side of Little Rock, New Orleans, or on Acorn Radio in Nairobi, Arua, Kampala, Bengaluru, Bristol, or Bombay, points East and West, or we are either rebroadcast or live streamed at kbf.org, wamf.org, or acornradio.org.

A podcast will be available of this show and on these websites and at http://www.chieforganizer.org. You know the story of Wade’s World. We talk to the most interesting people in the world, and today we’re talking to Vladimir Mitev, who’s an independent journalist, who I was fortunate to meet in Bulgaria and Romania recently, with the Organizers Forum.

Vladimir is also involved in Bridges of Friendship, but you’re going to hear about many of his projects. Vladimir, welcome to Wade’s World. 

Vladimir Mitev: Hello.

Vladimir Mitev’s activity

Okay, so give us a sense. You’ve been working in Bulgaria, that’s where you live, but you also are very well versed on what’s happening in Romania, right? How does that come to be?

Perhaps the beginning is always characterized by curiosity and desire. In my case, it certainly helped that I was born in a relatively large city in Bulgaria on the border with Romania. Even in high school, I could see buildings on the other side of the Danube River, which is like the Mississippi River for our region. They were from another country.

This remained with me as a vector of interest. Over the years, I was curious to travel, and when I got the opportunity to learn Romanian, I grabbed it. By then, I was already pursuing a career as a journalist.

Eventually, being a journalist who writes about international issues and knowing the language of your neighbor helps you gain original, unedited, firsthand experience. Years of traveling, interviews, writing, and meeting people—or anything you may label as cross-border or cross-cultural communication—followed.

Well, I think you actually, I mean, we met in Bucharest, and I think you introduced us to the young woman who’s doing a lot of grassroots organizing, didn’t you?

Yes, you’re right that I know some or even many progressive Romanians, including those involved in certain grassroots movements. That’s because of my work. I’m associated with certain media and move in those circles. I appreciate this experience very much.

So, when your team approached me and said it wanted to visit Bucharest and Sofia, I offered to help with contacts.

Absolutely. And we were very impressed with her and her tenant organization, which has been working for about 10 years. But a lot of people don’t know a lot about Romania or Bulgaria.

The general situation of Bulgaria and Romania

So if we were talking to an audience in the U.S. and you were trying to explain sort of what the situation is currently in either country, how would you begin something like that? How would you say what Bulgaria is today or what is Romania today?

For people in the USA, I guess this region is still somewhat associated with being behind the Iron Curtain. Of course, many years have passed. Many things have changed. We are now part of NATO and the EU. However, perhaps a certain distance remains between most people in the U.S. and my country simply because we are accustomed to having a lot of European investment here. A lot of transportation occurs through Bulgaria and Romania between Europe and Asia. However, Americans are perhaps less common here. In any case, one important thing to know is that the Black Sea is here. Both Romania and Bulgaria are Black Sea littoral countries.

Strategically speaking, Russia is close. A recent development, especially since the war in Ukraine began, is that things have been happening at a faster pace, though perhaps they were happening at a slower pace beforehand. There is a tendency for our countries to strengthen in terms of infrastructure and the military because of the belief that there is a risk associated with Russian activity in the region.

However, there may be something more important than that. As I said, the European Union is a major economy, and much trade takes place between Europe and Asia. Türkiye is Bulgaria’s southeastern neighbor. Türkiye is very close. In fact, it’s another Black Sea country. If you imagine a terrestrial corridor between Vienna and Istanbul, it passes through Bulgaria.

Given that Romania and Bulgaria are in the European Union but Serbia is not, you can imagine that a lot of transport passes through there every day, especially trucks. I would say thousands of trucks pass through the Bulgarian and Romanian borders on that road between Western Europe and Asia every day. These are two important things.

I won’t discuss the cultural dimensions of our importance. Perhaps we are more important to people in the US for economic or geopolitical reasons.

Bucharest and Sofia as European capitals

Bucharest seemed to surprise some of our delegation. It really seems to be a very European city. People just have this notion, as you said, that everything behind the Iron Curtain is like Russia. But Bucharest and Sofia both seem very European, don’t they?

Yes. First of all, these are the capitals of countries that were nation-states even before socialism. For example, Sofia has a lot of Austrian influence from the Belle Époque era before the First World War.

Bucharest is known as the “Little Paris,” so it has a lot of French influence, including in its infrastructure and architecture. Therefore, it shouldn’t be surprising that we are Europeans. Clearly, we belong to Europe.

I should mention one small detail. During the Cold War, Romania had a slightly more independent foreign policy than other Eastern Bloc countries. Romania had relations with the USA, and President Nixon visited Romania during the Cold War, as far as I know. Unlike other countries in the region, Romania also had relations with Israel. 

I would say that generalization helps to an extent, but it can also create a false image. It’s important to know the details about our region and our nations because they may be surprising and important.

English language is widely spoken

Well, I think so too. For example, English was widely spoken. We had very little difficulty communicating, and it turned out that English became a mandatory subject for elementary school students starting in second grade. Isn’t that right?

Yes, I can confirm that young people – even those close to their 50s – have been learning Western or foreign languages for quite a long time. Romania used to be a French-speaking nation even before that. In Bulgaria, it is usually said that German is the second foreign language.

I think both countries have a tradition of teaching foreign languages in high school. For example, I graduated from an English-language school in Rusce, which was considered the best at the time. I had a lot of English classes. I’m not sure exactly how many, but I had three types of English classes. I had foreign teachers who were either American or British, and I studied German as a second language. 

I would say that, especially in urban middle-class families, children are educated in foreign languages here. It’s important for our countries to be connected with the rest of the world.

Of course, we’re also fortunate in the United States to still be able to speak English. We envy the fact that so many other countries encourage learning multiple languages. We’re talking to Vladimir Mitev, an independent journalist. He’s frequently involved in Bridge of Friendship, and he’s often asked to comment to Bulgarian audiences on what’s happening in Romania.

The extreme right in Bulgaria and Romania

Vladimir, there’s a lot of concern worldwide about the rise of populist, far-right movements. You certainly see the polls in France, the UK, and elsewhere showing the rise of these parties in the United States.

President Trump is clearly giving us an education in things we didn’t expect. How would you characterize the current politics in Romania and Bulgaria? I know there was a very contentious election in Romania.

I think the courts ordered a new election, claiming there had been outside influence from foreign powers. How would you explain all this – was it due to an American audience, or an influence from other countries?

Now, it’s a big issue on which books are being written. 

Exactly. That’s not a fair question, but do your best.

If I have to be very short and concise, I would say focus on that one key to look at our situation. At least for me, there is a certain distance between Western Europe and our region. You know, traditional Western Europe is somehow linked to the protection of human rights and minorities, including LGBT people. Western Europe is also interested in the green transition more than our region. 

So, there is a certain distance between the European Commission, the American Democrats, and what is generally labeled as Soros. There are different conspiracy theories about that here. These groups, real or imagined, are seen as adversaries by some local interests that are more vested or rooted here. I guess one reason for the abundance of this so-called “sovereignist” discourse, protests, and sentiments is this contradiction, which can also be seen as cultural.

These allies of Western Europe, as I described them—the European Commission, etc.—are seen as less religious than our imaginatively traditional societies. There could be also economic reasons for this mutual contestation, because, when we joined the European Union, many Western corporations came here. Usually, where there are greater resources, such as natural resources or flows of money from foreign banks, there are also greater resources.

Most of our banks are owned by interests from other countries. So, on a different level, there is a certain tension or competition between Western Europe before 1989 and Eastern Europe. Of course, these are very complex relationships.

Many people in our region may find it beneficial to engage with Western Europe and learn from its standards, for example. The European Union is often associated with higher standards for various affairs. These are, as I said, very complex issues, but mostly people benefit from the transition from socialism to capitalism or democracy, generally, people who benefit from this transition are more likely to be pro-European Union and pro-Western Europe. People who feel a loss of status or have certain difficulties and are marginalized are more likely to resist.

When you have a certain emotion, such as dissatisfaction, it’s not difficult to find an ideology, people, or political tendency that can express it. If you don’t find it, it will find you. I hope this picture gives us a key to understanding our contradictions.

It’s more complex. I should mention that some national elites in our countries want to be the owners of the territory. This is a nationalist tendency – a belief that Western Europeans should not interfere with us so much.

On the other hand, at every level, there are arguments for different positions. Some people say that we have similarities with certain mafias because our transition was often related to corruption and thug life. People who got rich through extortion or other semi-legal activities during the transition might feel like they own the economy to some extent, but they don’t want competition from Western Europe.

No matter what position you choose, I would say that there is something progressive or retrograde in each element of this contradiction.

The outward migration flow from Souhteastern Europe

One issue is that we were repeatedly told that after Romania joined the EU, about 5 million Romanians left the country to work in other EU countries. I’m sure the numbers were significant in Bulgaria, too. This must have had an impact.

Some people we met in Romania described how many Romanians work abroad for part of the year and then return to Romania for the rest of the year. How does that work, going to other countries for part of the year and then returning to Romania with your resources? How does that play out in Romania?

It used to matter a lot. And I think it still matters in the elections. It’s the diaspora, the people who are abroad, who have an important voice during elections, for example, for president.

And it is interesting that many of the people who are economic migrants and who work unprivileged jobs, jobs which require less education, tend to be sovereignists when they go to Western Europe. And then they tend to be very anti-system with regards to their home country. This was exactly the situation with Romania, with the elections which were annulled, because the sovereignists, including abroad, hated this two parties system which was existing until recently and which was governing the country, the two big parties of transition. They were seen as privileged, they were distributing the national resources to their companies, to their loyal voters, but people who are abroad, who are outside of this deal, let’s say, clientelist deal, emigrants were very angry because they were seeing that a lot of different professions in Romania receive big pensions, pension early, while people who are abroad suffer a lot. So, I mentioned dissatisfaction. I think that an important emotion, maybe, of course, not in all the migrants, economic migrants, but a lot of people who go abroad are not happy with the situation they are put in, and they have a certain feeling of revolt, maybe even against these privileged allies at home. But, of course, it’s more complex.

For example, I happen to be aware of a lot of efforts from Bulgaria, and even there is a state agency for Bulgarians abroad, a lot of efforts to create schools, like weekend schools or Sunday schools where Bulgarian is being teached. And the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is very important for keeping connection with these communities abroad. 

So, again, you have very different stories, but when you mentioned migrants, my first association was this, that they didn’t leave for good, they left because they were maybe in unprivileged regions in their home country, regions where there were no foreign investment or there were no good jobs, and they were forced to work, unprivileged to work in Western Europe, for example.

Also, being a migrant from another country, they may often face discrimination or some attitude of disrespect, and as a result of that, they become angry, which I can find is logical.

Yes, I see what you mean. Obviously, they get to vote even if they’re in the diaspora, as you said. We’re talking to Vladimir Mitev, an independent journalist who frequently interprets for audiences in Romania and Bulgaria. He’s here to talk about what’s happening between the two companies as part of the Bridge of Friendship.

The Roma people in Bulgaria and Romania

Vladimir, the Roma population is a significant minority in Romania. We met with Roma for Democracy and other groups in both Romania and Bulgaria. What is the status of this community in Bulgaria and Romania? Are they making progress? Are they still facing discrimination? How would you describe this issue?

Again, my subjective feeling is that there is a more established intellectual Roma elite in Romania, and more people from Roma communities have managed to get an education. I have seen certain initiatives, including grassroots initiatives like the Roma Theater, which make the Roma cause, including the cultural cause, heard and known by non-Roma Romanians. 

This is important because it is known that the Roma people suffered slavery in Romania for hundreds of years. They were also victims of the Holocaust. It’s important to have elites, or better-established elites. These are people who, in my view, live on an equal footing with the majority population. I think this leads to greater recognition of the rights and interests of your community. 

Of course, I’m not saying that Bulgaria doesn’t have such elites. It does. Again, there are NGO Roma people in Bulgaria. But I’m not aware of a Bulgarian Roma theater, for example. I don’t see people of Roma origin as visible in the media, as they are in Romania.

On social networks, though, you can find interesting voices from the Bulgarian Roma community. There are also professors who teach abroad. So, many things are probably being done. 

Still, I feel that Roma are more marginalized in Bulgaria. It may also matter that there are a greater number of them in Romania. This may inevitably lead to certain recognition.

From past visits to Bulgaria, I know there were different efforts to bring Romanian organizations together, as well as a standing consortium. But that fell apart. We met with a Roma leader who was on the other side. He believed that regional strength was more important than electing people and implementing programs. 

Clearly, there’s less unity. I’m not sure if that’s clear, but it seems like there’s less unity around the Roma agenda in Bulgaria than in Romania. And you’re right. It could have to do with the numbers. 

Inward migration in Bulgaria and Romania

Is immigration an issue in either of these countries? It’s become a major issue in other European countries. Clearly, it’s one of the drivers for Trump in the United States. In your view, Vladimir, is immigration an issue in either Romania or Bulgaria?

Even in the last week or two, I would say that immigration has become a very important issue in Romania. Romania has imported workers from Sri Lanka and Nepal who are mostly employed in hotels and restaurants, as well as in construction and food delivery. For a few years, the coexistence of these people and the Romanian majority was unproblematic.

Now, Romania is in a specific situation in which the country has a significant budget deficit. The country is even threatened with insolvency if it doesn’t manage to reduce expenditures and increase state income. I believe that the government’s introduction of austerity measures will create problems in society.

In this context, I think there may be an attempt to divert people’s attention towards these Asian workers who have darker skin. There have been a few cases of violence against these people. Romanian society is also reacting to this because, as I said, I have observed Romanians and Sri Lankans and Nepalese living together peacefully for years.

I really hope this wave, encouraged by certain politicians from sovereignist or nationalist parties, will stop. There are state institutions that can intervene. For example, an extreme right party attempted to organize a march in this anti-immigrant context. The municipality of Bucharest banned the protest after many Romanians wrote to the institution to request it. I would say that we are now at the beginning of something, and we have to see if the Romanian state will be able to manage it. 

Conclusion

Got you. Vladimir, I want to make sure that people have enough time to find out how to continue this conversation with you or support your work before we run out of time. Is there a way for people to keep in touch with you? Is there a website or email address they could use?

For those interested in Bulgarian-Romanian affairs, regional affairs, Central European affairs, or European-EU affairs, I would suggest following us on Substack. The Bridge of Friendship and Cross-Border Talks are two Substack accounts worth following. I think these media outlets can tell you a lot about international relations and social issues, which may also be of interest to your audience.

Is there an email address where they can reach you directly?

They can contact me directly on Substack because my email address is a bit long.

This is Cross-Border Talks on Substack and Bridge of Friendship. Thank you for joining us. We could have talked much longer, but this has been very helpful.

This has been Wade’s World, where we talk about things you’ve never heard, for another week. As Lucinda Williams sings, it’s a place of things you’ve never seen and will never forget. Wade’s World is underwritten by the Darrell Foundation at Progressive Force Enabling Change, which is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

As the song goes, we say it loud and clear on the air. Until next week, we’ll have another guest. This is Wade Rathke from Wade’s World.

Thank you.

Photo: Vladimir Mitev (source: YouTube)

Subscribe to the channel of the blog “The Bridge of Friendship” in YouTube, where a number of video and audio interviews are published! The blog can also be followed in Facebook and Twitter. Its Telegram channel is here. And here is its Substack account.

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