Pavel Chernev | |
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Personal details | |
Born | Sofia, Bulgaria | 10 July 1969
Died | 19 March 2016 Sofia, Bulgaria | (aged 46)
Profession | Lawyer, politician |
Pavel Mihaylov Chernev ( Bulgarian: Павел Михайлов Чернев) (10 July 1969 – 19 March 2016) was a Bulgarian politician and lawyer. He was also one of the MPs who opposed the Independence of Kosovo. [1]
Born in Sofia, Chernev graduated from the juridical faculty of Sofia University and was a practicing attorney. [2] In his younger years, he focused on a number of sports such as wrestling and karate, which also taking up security-related jobs. [3] In the summer of 1990, Chernev was a participant in the student pro-democracy protests and occupations.
Chernev was formerly a member of the Attack and was widely regarded as Volen Siderov's right-hand man. [4] During his time with Ataka, Chernev was among the members who played a role in steering the party away from radical nationalists and activists with admiration for Neo-Nazi ideas. [5] Chernev parted ways with the party in 2006 following the development of a conflict of interest with the party leader in the aftermath of his and Siderov's controversial involvement in a traffic dispute with another driver. [6]
He took part in the October 2007 Sofia municipal elections and finished in 10th place out of 41 candidates. [7]
In 2010, Chernev appeared in the Bulgarian comedy film Mission London together with Yulian Vergov, a childhood friend. [8] In his capacity as an actor, he is usually typecast in tough guy or villainous roles. [9]
In 2011, he was a candidate to become President of Bulgaria as a member of the Party for the People of the Nation (Bulgarian: Партия за Хората от Народа), receiving 0.24% of the votes cast. [10] He was also the leader of the Bulgarian section of Stop Islamisation of Europe (SIOE), and held speeches at international counter-jihad conferences. [11]
In 2013, Chernev participated in the Bulgarian version of VIP Brother. [12]
Chernev is opposed to the membership of Bulgaria in the European Union and has called for the holding of a referendum on the matter. [13] His views have been characterized by political scientists such as Ognyan Minchev as uncompromisingly pro-Russian. [14]
During the 2014 Crimean crisis, Chernev was one of the Orthodox Dawn ( Bulgarian: Православна Зора, Pravoslavna Zora) members who helped recruit and organize a small number of Bulgarian volunteers who travelled to Crimea in order to support the Russian operations. [15] He also served as an election observer for the 2014 referendum in Crimea. [16]
In August 2014, Chernev was admitted as a member of the newly formed Patriotic Front, with his Freedom Party ( Bulgarian: партия "Свобода", partiya "Svoboda") also becoming part of the electoral alliance. [14] However, the Freedom Party withdrew its support for the Patriotic Front in May 2015. [17]
On the 19 March 2016, Pavel died after a pulmonary embolism in Sofia, Bulgaria. [18]