Why Bulgaria's president is resigning and why this could change the country's course

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has announced his resignation exactly one year before the end of his second term, openly hinting at plans to move into parliamentary politics.

Radev established himself as a pro-Russian politician, questioning Ukraine’s territorial integrity and blocking the transfer of military aid to Kyiv.

His prospective participation in parliamentary elections is already being described by some observers as a chane of a "frontman" within Bulgaria’s camp of "friends of Putin."

Read more about how Radev’s move could reshape Bulgaria’s political landscape in the article by Volodymyr-Nazarii Havrish of the Foreign Policy Council "Ukrainian Prism": A resignation for Russia: why Bulgaria's president is stepping down and what this means. 

Radev’s decision can hardly be called unexpected – quite the opposite.

Experts have been discussing the possibility of a new political force being created around the sitting president to contest parliamentary elections, throughout the country’s prolonged political crisis. The key reason has been Radev’s consistently high level of public trust, which for a long time exceeded that of most members of parliament.

On 19 January 2026, symbolically marking the anniversary of his second presidential inauguration, Radev addressed the nation for the final time as president, announcing his intention to resign and transfer presidential powers to Vice President Iliana Iotova.

His speech sharply criticised the current model of governance, the work of parliament, and successive governments since 2020. Radev pointed to declining living standards, a deep corruption crisis, and a widespread loss of public trust in the authorities.

He concluded with a call to fight for Bulgaria’s future, clearly implying that he intends to take part in that fight directly.

On 23 January, Bulgaria’s Constitutional Court approved the president’s resignation, after which the now former head of state can officially announce his entry into parliamentary politics.

The reaction of other political forces suggests that all major players had been preparing for this scenario.

As president, Radev positioned himself close to a moderately pro-Russian and anti-European line.

It appears that a policy of "non-involvement in the war", effectively rejecting military assistance to Ukraine, along with support for the peace initiatives of US President Donald Trump, will become key pillars of the new party’s election campaign.

This strategy gives Radev a strong chance of attracting voters from the pro-Russian Revival party, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, as well as populist movements such as MECH and Velichie.

At the same time, he may mobilise Bulgarians who have lost faith in politics altogether and previously abstained from voting.

That said, a scenario in which Radev’s party succeeds in forming a pro-Russian coalition in the next parliament appears unlikely.

Nevertheless, the emergence of a new political force led by Radev could significantly complicate the formation of a pro-Western and pro-European coalition.

This, in itself, would pose a serious threat both to Bulgaria, which has struggled to escape a years-long political crisis, and to Ukraine, which continues to rely on Bulgarian support.