Only one-fifth of Bulgarians approve of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and almost 60% are fearful of Russian aggression, a new poll carried out by Alpha Research showed.

Putin used to be very popular in Bulgaria, but this changed after his invasion of Ukraine. The country took a strong pro-Western turn and managed to overcome its energy dependence on Moscow.

The poll shows 58% of Bulgarians are concerned about Russian aggression and its attempts to weaken the EU and Nato.

62% of Bulgarians do not approve of Putin, while just 20% approve of him.

The poll also showed 58% of Bulgarians believe that Kremlin is responsible for the death of Aleksey Navalny – Putin’s most popular critic. 

Only 20% said that Putin was not responsible for Navalny’s death and 22% could not decide.

55% of Bulgarians do not expect the upcoming presidential election in Russia to be free and fair, and just 18% believe the opposite.

“Among supporters of all parties except of these of [far-right pro-Russian] Vazrazhdane the understanding dominates that those in power in Kremlin are responsible for the death of the opposition [leader] and that the presidential election will not be fair,” Alpha Research said.

‘Despite the political scandals and crises, the events related to the ruling of Russia help us realise that Bulgaria has gone a long civilisational way in the parliamentary democracy and its membership to the EU and Nato are a prerequisite for economic prosperity, shared values and security guarantees,” Alpha Research also noted.