Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Politicians arrested for throwing red paint at the Russian embassy in Sofia

| updated on 4/8/22 7:36 PM
Arman Babikyan (left) and Nikolai Hadzhigenov.
Photo: BGNES

Leaders of "Stand up, BG!” movement and former MPs Arman Babikyan and Nikolai Hadzhigenov were arrested for 24 hours, after they threw red paint at the sign of the Russian embassy in Sofia.

They commented that by this act they expressed their civil position against the war in Ukraine. Hadzhigenov and Babikyan also said that Russian ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova should be expelled and Bulgaria should send military as well as humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

The two were handcuffed, put in a patrol car, and detained for questioning, after they refused to present their identity cards to the police. 

About 30 protesters gathered in front of the Police Station where Hadzhigenov and Babikyan were detained. One of them, Valentina Vasileva of the European People's Party commented: "So far we have no information about them. We did something like a protest and poured two cans of red paint on the Russian Embassy." 

Several hours later Arman Babikyan and Nikolai Hadzhigenov were released. 




Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Light precipitation is expected in the southern regions of the country

During the night, the sky will be mostly clear over most of the country. There will be more significant cloudiness over the southern regions and in some places light precipitation is possible. On Friday, it will be mostly..

published on 8/14/25 7:10 PM

Bulgarian services dismantle Spain-to-Turkey drug trafficking ring

An organised criminal group trafficking drugs from Spain and the Netherlands to Turkey has been dismantled by the State Agency for National Security (DANS) and the General Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (GDBOP). The leader of the group and..

published on 8/14/25 5:29 PM

Six European countries help Bulgaria fight fires

Last week, Greece, Spain, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to help them deal with forest fires, many of which are occurring simultaneously across Europe, the European Commission announced...

published on 8/14/25 4:50 PM