A large mast in the mountains of southern Bulgaria has made the European Union's poorest country the host of the bloc's tallest mast, filling some with pride and derision from others.
Nationalism and populism are on the rise in this Balkan country, where many people remain strongly sympathetic to Russia despite Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, writes the British "Guardian".
The huge 1.110-square-meter flag, symbolizing Bulgaria's 111.000-square-kilometer territory, was raised on a record-breaking 111-meter flagpole in a forest meadow in the Rhodope Mountains last Sunday.
With this, Bulgaria takes over the title of the tallest mast from Finland, which has a mast 100 meters high, although it does not reach the height of some masts outside Europe that are almost twice as tall.
Political scientist Ognjan Minčev regrets the way in which patriotism was hijacked by "leaders who measure national pride by the height of the mast..."
"This will not make Bulgarians richer, but it will lift people's spirits," Simeon Karakolev, 45, the organizer of the annual folklore festival held at the place below the peak of Rožen, whose foundation is the initiator of this project, told The Guardian.
Karakolev raised 500.000 euros in donations for the mast in a campaign supported by the president of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev.
Local media reported that Radev contacted several public companies on behalf of the campaign to donate money for the mast on the mountain meadow where the festival is held.
The campaign was widely mocked on social media, and a meme showing the president swinging on a mast went viral. Many pointed out that a country facing high emigration and a collapsed health care system had more pressing problems than raising funds for a huge mast.
Political scientist Ognjan Minchev regrets the way in which patriotism was hijacked by "leaders who measure national pride by the height of the mast... quasi-nationalists who are under the domination of Russian propaganda."
Concrete mass poured for mast foundations on pristine mountain meadows, as well as alleged permit irregularities, have influenced environmentalists to call for a ban. Thousands of Bulgarians signed the petition against the installation of the mast, writes "Guardian".
Radev criticized "dishonorable attempts to denigrate and destroy this initiative", while he and Karakolev inaugurated the structure with shouts of "Long live Bulgaria!".
Several thousand people of all ages, many in national costumes, gathered for the ceremony ahead of the three-day annual festival, taking the opportunity to touch the giant flag before it was raised.
“Yes, some people don't like it... [but] flags exist in every country. They are one of the symbols of the nation," Dimitar Mitev, a 69-year-old reserve colonel, told The Guardian, adding that he hopes this initiative will strengthen patriotism.
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