Georgi Kozhuharov / AP

Chronicle of events. February 12

the beginning of mass protests against rising electricity tariffs

February 21

resignation of the government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov

May 12

Borisov's party wins majority in early elections

May 29

The government of socialist Plamen Oresharski was approved

June 14

protests against prime minister's appointments begin

On Wednesday night in Sofia, about 2,000 protesters barricaded the parliament building and about 100 people inside. Among those who could not leave the parliament for more than eight hours were three ministers, MPs and journalists. At 3 a.m. they were escorted out by the police. About 10 people were injured in clashes with the police overnight. Protests against the new government and corruption have been going on in Bulgaria for about 40 days. The previous mass protests in February led to the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov from the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party and early elections. GERB received the best result in the elections, but not enough to form a government - it was formed by the Socialists and the Turkish Minority Party. However, just a week after the cabinet was formed, in June, people again took to the streets to protest the appointment of a businessman with a scandalous biography to the post of head of the special services. Since then, constant protest demonstrations have continued in the country.

About 2,500 people took part in Tuesday's demonstration. Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski said yesterday that he would remain in office. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he said that the corruption allegations were baseless because the government had only been in power for a month.

The country's citizens are disappointed with both right-wing and left-wing politicians, with their inability to find a way out of the crisis, and joining the European Union has not brought much benefit to the country either - it was not accepted into the Schengen zone, and many problems have become more difficult to solve due to EU directives, says Petr Iskenderov from the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. According to the expert, radical groups are behind the protests. The ruling socialists accuse GERB of inciting them. Bulgaria is the poorest member of the European Union. Unemployment in the country exceeds 12%, and among young people it reaches 28% (according to EU data). Weak support for the government is hindering the implementation of necessary reforms in the field of law, the fight against organized crime and corruption, Citi notes in its report, and ongoing instability may also undermine the already weak interest of investors in the country. The bank's forecast for GDP growth this year is 1%. However, Deutsche Bank notes that Bulgaria has one of the lowest levels of public debt in the European Union - 18% of GDP.

It is difficult to predict how events will develop, but the most likely way out of the stalemate in the domestic political situation could be early elections, while in the conditions of a crisis of confidence in the left and the right, the influence of the Turkish minority party is growing, in the near future Bulgaria is doomed to elections and a permanent crisis, says Iskenderov. 47% of the country's citizens are in favor of early elections, a poll by the Focus agency showed.

Bulgarians don't leave the streets