A post on a Russian blog which is someone’s personal opinion first made rounds in Bulgarian media and then in Macedonian media and social networks, with a special addition – a statement allegedly made by Putin regarding dividing Bulgaria. However, Putin has never made such a statement, writes Truthmeter.mk.
Under the content-sharing agreement between Truthmeter.mk and Meta.mk, we republish the text below:
A post in the Facebook group “Macedonians vs Bulgaroids” (screenshot here) contains a screenshot from an article in which it is claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin solicited for division of Bulgaria into three parts. This is not true, as that statement is completely fabricated.
The post shared in the Facebook group “Macedonians vs Bulgaroids” is getting a great deal of attention for sharing a screenshot of an article with the title:
EXTRAORDINARY: Putin asked for fascist BULGARIA to be DIVIDED into three parts
The headline of the post begins with the word EXTRAORDINARY in capital letters. Although that word indicates something completely new and of great significance, the post in question is anything but. This screenshot is in fact taken from an article published last January, which makes the post neither extraordinary nor new. Additionally, it is untrue.
The article in question was published on the медиа outlet Mkdenes, which was taken from the Bulgarian media outlet Faktor.bg, which in turn was taken from an article on the Russian propaganda media putin-today.ru.
However, neither the Bulgarian nor the Russian version of the article states that Putin ever asked for fascist Bulgaria to be divided into three parts. A statement of that sort from the Russian president cannot be found anywhere – not in any world-famous media, nor in Russian media. If Putin had ever said such a thing, it would have been reported by several media outlets and there would have been responses from many world leaders because such a statement would interfere with the territorial sovereignty and integrity of another country. Such a statement would be especially significant as Bulgaria is a member state of both the European Union and NATO.
The article and the subsequent drama began with an article on the Russian propaganda media outlet putin-today.ru. Their website is full to the brim with propaganda posts, most of which are extremely sensationalist, and many of which are untrue. The article in question is just some author’s opinion. It is an opinion-piece in the blog section of the website. In fact, the post is not even original. It is signed with the name “Mamomot”, which contains a link to the website telegra.ph. Anyone can write anything they please and have it published on the website telegra.ph. The website is by no means a relevant source of accurate and verified information that should be cited, much less translated in several languages. Throughout the entire article, Putin’s name is not mentioned once. Furthermore, the article does not state that he thinks or stated that Bulgaria should be divided into three parts. That is the author’s personal opinion. Putin’s name is also not mentioned in the article published by putin-today.ru.
The Bulgarian media outlet Faktor.bg, which was the first to translate the Russian article into Bulgarian, specifies the following in its headline:
“Putin today” wants “Nazi” Bulgaria to be wiped off and divided between Serbia, Turkey and Russia.
The Bulgarian article also does not claim that this is Putin’s opinion or that he ever uttered those words. It is simply a translation of the Russian article, in which the name of the Russian President is not mentioned either.
From the article in Bulgarian Faktor we finally arrive at the article on Macedonian portal Mkdenes, published at the beginning of 2023, which presents the content of the article as if it were Putin’s opinion. The headline consists of an alleged quote by Putin where he talks of dividing Bulgaria. A whole year after the publishing of this article, this non-existent statement of Putin was shared in a Facebook group, where it received a lot of attention as though it were real and recently stated.
In the Facebook group the screenshot of the article was shared in, “Macedonians vs Bulgarioids”, one can find various arguments regarding the origin of Macedonia, Bulgaria’s claims regarding Macedonian history, as well as the dispute between the two countries, which serves as an obstacle on North Macedonia’s road to the European Union. Although Putin’s alleged statement has nothing to do with Macedonia, most of the comments on the post containing Putin’s statement are about the dispute between North Macedonia and Bulgaria.
From all the above-stated facts, we can conclude that this viral post is untrue. Putin never said that Bulgaria should be divided into three parts. This headline comes from an opinion piece on a Russian blog.
