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Archived Articles
Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.
He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.
In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.
Global Real Estate Project
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Balkans: Two shootings - one targetTwo recent shootings in two European capitals, Sofia and Belgrade, against two high profile figures, showed how fragile our sense of security could be when we are in the Balkans. On March 7th, one or more unidentified killers shot dead the wealthiest Bulgarian, Mr. Ilia Pavlov, walking out of his office not too far from downtown Sofia. On March 12th, the Serbian Prime minister Mr. Zoran Djindjic, walking out of his office was assassinated by one or more snipers. Who did it? Who paid the bill? And of course why? These are the questions the investigators in both cases will have to answer in the coming days, weeks, perhaps years. One thing is clear, the Balkans, at least part of them, will remain a very uncertain place to live in the foreseeable future, both for the local people and for the expatriates. Ilia Pavlov at age of 42 was the wealthiest person Bulgaria has ever had, and one of the wealthiest persons in Eastern Europe. His personal wealth of more than $1 billion may seem very modest compared to some really big fortunes in Europe and America but it seems enormous given the financial situation of the ordinary people in Bulgaria. His name made headlines in the local media just days before he was killed. Pavlov had to testify in the trial of five people accused of the murder (again murder) of the former Bulgarian Prime Minister, Andrei Lukanov, in 1996. At that time they both planned to do jointly a business involving building a new trans-border natural gas pipeline. Killing Ilia Pavlov in a small country like Bulgaria could mean many things but above all it tells the public that there is a new big player that everyone should respect. And that no one should feel safe if one of the most powerful men in the country was shot dead just like that. Five days later the Serbian Prime minister, Zoran Djindjic, died the same way. Is the criminal gang, Zemun, responsible for this murder or not? Only investigation can tell. The bottom line is that in Serbia too no one should feel safe if the killers' bullets could reach the Prime Minister. In Serbia there was an additional reason for the ordinary people to feel afraid...the authorities declared a state of emergency. Some time ago we pointed out that the shadow of Milosevic past is still present in this region, where the killings are often used for settling the controversies. These two professional assassinations are just a part of the long list of high profile slayings that occurred in both countries during the last decade. In countries where no one above a certain financial level could pretend his money is clean, there is always a possibility of criminal money redistribution by eliminating their owners. These shootings are also a lesson for all those attracted by the low property prices in some Balkan countries who are ready to pack and go live there. If the prices are low, there is certainly a reason for that. One of them is that life there could be very uncertain.
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See also the directory of companies providing real estate services in, and general real estate information of Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Albania, Montenegro and Macedonia.
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