Name: How Gen Z helped topple Bulgarias government
Uploaded: 2025-12-12T14:20:09.398Z
Duration: 3 min 55 s
Description: Gen Z has become the driving force behind mass anti-corruption protests that helped topple the Bulgarian government after less than a year in office.

Gen Z has become the driving force behind mass anti-corruption protests that helped topple the Bulgarian government after less than a year in office.

Sofia

Hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians participated in recent protests against government corruption, culminating in the resignation of Prime Minister Rozen Zhelyazkov’s cabinet less than a year after taking office. The protests were notably driven by Generation Z activists, including the founders of the ActivePolitics platform, who used social media and accessible information to mobilize young people.

ActivePolitics played a central role by translating complex political issues for youth audiences and encouraging both online and street activism. As Bulgaria faces the task of forming a new government, it remains uncertain whether these developments will bring lasting political stability after years of public distrust and repeated elections.

How Gen Z helped topple Bulgaria's government

Hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians have taken to the streets over the past weeks, rallying against the government and its perceived failure to curb corruption. On December 11, Prime Minister Rozen Zhelyazkov announced the resignation of his cabinet less than a year after taking office. For the first time, the main driving force behind the protests were young people from Generation Z, among them 26-year-olds Ivailo Majarov and Asen Lazarov. Ivailo and Asen are the founders of ActivePolitics, an online platform that breaks down complex political topics into simple, accessible language for young Bulgarians. They launched the project in 2021 in this peer time. For us, the problem is not that the young people are apolitical. On the contrary, for us, the problem is that the information about our policy is not explained. My generation needed to be provided with information in an accessible language, that is, with a clear visualization, with different pictures, with colors. Vote on a law giving the state control over the Russian Luk oil refinery. After one of these posts, dozens of young people urged others to step out of the network and into the streets. In the first place, we need to prepare the posts and send them to the government, with clear and concrete demands of what we want to happen for the budget for 2026. Working with volunteers, they designed protest posters for anyone to print and bring to the square. Online, we can get together, we can communicate, we can be critical of the government, but going out on the street is one of the strongest ways to show. A month ago, the organization had 8,000 Instagram followers. Today, it has more than 30,000. Ahead of the largest protest on December 10, Ivailo and Asen spent an entire day mobilizing other young people, both in Bulgaria and across the diaspora. For Ivailo and Asen, this protest wave is also personal, a continuation of the fight their parents joined during the 2013 demonstrations against some of the same political figures. Delyan Pevski, sanctioned by the US and the UK for corruption, and former Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, who's been facing numerous controversies centered around corruption and abuse of power. Under Bulgaria's constitution, President Rumen Radev will ask Parliament to form a new government. If that fails, he will appoint an interim administration until new elections are held. Whether the government's resignation will bring real political stability remains uncertain. If that fails, he will appoint an interim administration until new elections are held. Whether the government's resignation will bring real political stability remains uncertain. After years marked by deep public distrust, corruption scandals and repeated snap elections.

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