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Ruslan Trad

28 Apr, 13 tweets, 7 min read

@newlinesmag

Thread: Yesterday, the @newlinesmag published my text on Wagner PMC and how such groups are used in the context of Putin's foreign policy. This is just an overview. Behind the scenes, the text summarizes the work of several years of tracing the topic.

newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-…

@avramovok

Back in 2018, with @avramovok we launched a series of publications in @DefensePost related to Putin's Russia policy internationally and the footprint of Russian private military companies in Syria.

thedefensepost.com/2018/02/17/rus…

This series of publications continued with attention to the arrival of Russian mercenaries in the CAR and expanding the global footprint from Ukraine and Middle East to Africa.

thedefensepost.com/2018/05/09/rus…

While the global usage of Wagner is no secret to analysts, the assassination of three Russian journalists in the CAR has shown to the international public the importance of the topic. Then, in 2018, we published a special article about it.

thedefensepost.com/2018/08/17/rus…

@EA_WorldView

Meanwhile, Wagner and similar organizations were used for glorification as fighters became part of the popular culture. We wrote about this in @EA_WorldView. Since then, Wagner and other PMC became famous including on comic books and songs.

eaworldview.com/2018/02/music-…

@CNN

The report by @CNN's @clarissaward, @TimListerCNN, @sebshukla proved our findings from 2018. Everything we discovered after that showed the evolution of the Russian mercenary groups. Then we predicted Wagner will go to Africa - as it did. edition.cnn.com/interactive/20…

But the mercenary model - which is directly linked to Russia's top politicians and oligarchs - is not visible only in Africa and Syria. While Wagner is the "elite group", the ENOT PMC are the ideological warriors from Eastern Europe as we wrote: theglobepost.com/2018/10/08/pat…

@The_NewArab

In one of my latest texts, published by @The_NewArab, I also review the soft power of Russia in Syria, which is also connected to the network of which Wagner PMC is a part. english.alaraby.co.uk/english/indept…

Some of the best authors on the subject should be mentioned. Such as Candace Rondeaux’s Decoding the Wagner Group newamerica.org/international-…

@JMJalel_H

100% recommend the @JMJalel_H`s The Pendulum on Wagner and Libya: warontherocks.com/2021/01/the-pe…

@sergeysukhankin

The understanding of the activity and ideology behind Wagner PMC and the Putin’s foreign policy could not happen without the research of @sergeysukhankin. You need to read each of his texts for @JamestownTweets - literally. jamestown.org/analyst/sergey…

Last but not least, research on Wagner and accompanying groups will not be possible without a number of Russian journalists (some of whom have been killed) and websites that continue to publish on the subject.

Years of research and follow-up on the subject of Wagner culminated in the publication of a book in 2020 called Russia's Invisible Armies. Published in Bulgaria, we hope that one day there will be an English version. ciela.com/ruskite-nevidi…

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More from @ruslantrad

Ruslan Trad

@ruslantrad

20 Feb

The 22-year-old Syrian-Bulgarian wrestler Mohamed Abdulqader goes to court. The Bulgarian specialized prosecutor's office accuses him of “terrorist activities” with his father, who is part of Sultan Murad Division. No evidences provided. 1/

Some details: aljazeera.com/news/2020/7/10…

This case is part of similar suspicious arrests carried out in Bulgaria since 2017. The prosecution claims it is a “fight against terrorism”, but none of the detainees have anything to do with such activities. 2/

Mohammed Abdulqader’s father is part of Sultan Murad Division. The group was part of the Free Syrian Army supported by the Friends of Syria, an international coalition, which Bulgaria was part of. 3/

Read 5 tweets

Ruslan Trad

@ruslantrad

15 Jul 20

Protests across #Bulgaria for a week. This is the first mass wave of protests in 7 years. There is a lot to explain to the foreign observer, but the most important thing is that people are extremely disgusted by the corruption and Orban-style government.

There are different groups in the protests. There is no clear leadership, but the protests began after an action by the democratic Yes, Bulgaria against luxury properties of State Security-related politician Ahmed Dogan and his circle.

Dogan's party is in coalition with the Nationalists and Borisov's party. They tried to threaten ethnic violence if the protests continued. These threats are no longer working and protests continue against the oligarchs who support the government.

Read 24 tweets

Ruslan Trad

@ruslantrad

23 Jun 20

A new wave of revelations about trading in abuse of power in Bulgaria reveals connections between businessman Plamen Bobokov and a presidential adviser. For example, Bobokov has asked for police records to be deleted for a Libyan with whom he has contact.

We still don't know who this Libyan is, but he's from Benghazi. Most likely he helped with oil deals for a company where Bobokov participates - Prista Oil.

Bulgarian business has contacts in Benghazi for years, and Haftar was an opportunity. I am pretty sure there is a link.

In this way, the revelations about Bobokov's activity go in another direction. It is not just a clash between institutions in Bulgaria, but much deeper niches which were unknown to the ordinary Bulgarian audience.

Read 4 tweets

Ruslan Trad

@ruslantrad

3 Dec 19

To imagine what life is like in some government areas in Syria: my family really has no livelihood because orchards have been destroyed by the army and farmers have no access to the land as a collective punishment for ”supporting rebels”.

One of my aunts has a disabled child. Her husband was killed. She has to support herself but cannot because of a lack of work. The family tries to help, but they do not have a livelihood because they haven't a right to cultivate the land. Absolute chaos.

Some relatives tried to work in Lebanon, but the isonomic situation is reflected badly. In this way, tens of thousands of people in the area are jobless.

Read 5 tweets

Ruslan Trad

@ruslantrad

18 Jul 19

От известно време имаше подадени сигнали срещу българи, живеещи в Кения. Техните дейности включваха източване на кредитни карти, връзки с мафията и т.н. Цитираната фирма SportPesa е напълно българско творение за милиони €. Нека разкажа малко за това.

news.bg/world/keniya-g…

Фирмата SportPesa е създадена след като основателят й, Герасим Николов, успява да вкара пари за пране. Пет години след създаването си, фирмата е спонсор на Кенийската футболна лига, Евертън, Хъл Сити и с участие в Испанската лига.

Герасим Николов става известен през 1990-ге покрай връзките си с Барона. Заедно с Красен Тенев бягат в Кения след успешни акции за източване на кредитни карти. SportPesa е един от начините за изпиране на парите. Николов има връзки и с вицепрезидента на Кения.

Read 6 tweets

Ruslan Trad

@ruslantrad

2 Jun 19

Over 360,000 Bulgarian Turks left Communist Bulgaria to Turkey between 30 May 1989 and 22 August 1989 as part of the so-called Revival Process - a policy of forced assimilation of Bulgaria's Muslim minority. This 1989 expulsion is one of the largest ethnic cleansings in Europe.

As part of the campaign, all Bulgarian nationals who were ethnically Turkish were forced to change their names to non-Muslim names amid much official intimidation, some violence and loss of life. Ethnic Bulgarian Muslims had already been forced to change their names in 1972.

The name-changing campaign was carried out between 1984 and 1985. The repressions lasted unabated from 1984 through 1989. Those who refused were subjected to persecution, including imprisonment, expulsion, and internment in the then reactivated infamous Belene concentration camp.

Read 8 tweets

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