Difference between revisions of "Silovi Grupirovki (Bulgaria)"

A further contributory factor to the growth of the security service sector was that it was particularly appealing to former wrestlers who lost their jobs with the collapse of the communist system. In the People’s Republic of Bulgaria, wrestling had been a popular sport in which the Communist party had invested a substantial amount of money establishing sporting facilities and organising tournaments. Bulgarian wrestlers were successful on the international stage and thus considered to enhance the reputation of the Republic in the world. In return for this perceived contribution to the country’s international status, the sportsmen were compensated with a comfortable lifestyle, guaranteed by the state (Appelius 2006: 169<ref>Appelius, S. 2006. Bulgarien. Europas Ferner Osten. Bonn: Bouvier Verlag</ref>; Bulanova-Hristova 2011: 341<ref>Bulanova-Hristova, G. 2011. Von Sofia nach Brüssel. Korrupte Demokratisierung im Kontext der europäischen Integration. Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft</ref>). After the sudden cessation of the totalitarian state control in November 1989 and during the first years of the transition, the sportsmen were deprived of their privileges. The former wrestlers found themselves in urgent need of alternative employment. A large number of these wrestlers decided to use their physical strength, together with their connections to former communist elites to fill the gap in the supply of security services. Businesses with security services – sourced through either private security companies or so-called ‘insurance companies’ – became the main source of income for the former wrestlers. Serving their own monetary interests, the former wrestlers organised in gangs and became 'violent entrepreneurs' – the so-called ''Siloviye Gruppirovki''. The gangs were registered as official companies offering a variety of security services. These 'problem solving services' ranged from violent 'persuasion' of private persons, often contract partners on behalf of their clients (Appelius 2006: 169<ref>Appelius, S. 2006. Bulgarien. Europas Ferner Osten. Bonn: Bouvier Verlag</ref>; Volkov 1999: 750<ref>Volkov, Vadim. 1999. 'Violent Entrepreneurship in Post-Communist Russia', Europe-Asia Studies, 51 (5):  741-754</ref>; Bulanova-Hristova 2011: 342-44<ref>Bulanova-Hristova, G. 2011. Von Sofia nach Brüssel. Korrupte Demokratisierung im Kontext der europäischen Integration. Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft</ref>), to vandalism, kidnapping and assassinations (Outhwaite and Ray 2005: 81<ref>Outhwaite, W. and Ray, L. 2005. Social Theory and Postcommunism. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd</ref>).