Author: Ivaylo Noizi Tsvetkov
DW: You spent a large part of your life in Tampa, Florida, a traditionally Republican-leaning state. I remember that as a business person you supported Trump before and during his first term, you even received a letter of thanks from him, but in our recent conversations you confided to me that you were disappointed with him. Why did you become so disenchanted?
Denis Rizov: Actually, Florida has not always been a traditionally Republican-leaning state. Even in the 2000 presidential election, ballots had to be counted by hand multiple times, until Al Gore finally lost to Bush Jr. by 1 electoral vote, even though he won the popular vote by 543,000 votes.
As for the letters from Trump, the story is even funnier than you remember. You've been my guest at different times and you know that mail in America is a separate world. Almost everything there happens by mail, and this hasn't changed even after the "final victory of the Internet" in all spheres of communications. From parties and individual politicians to basic necessities and cars to real estate on newly discovered planets and diamonds, everyone bombards the American with various offers by mail. Presidents are no exception, and their staffs generously spend their leaders' budgets, flooding the electorate with millions of tons of correspondence.
I have indeed supported the GOP (Grand Old Party - Republicans - editor's note) since the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century with a check every month at these same mails. Accordingly, as a kind of ally of the conservative idea, I began to receive letters from the candidate for President Trump at first, then from the President-elect Trump, and after January 2016 - from President Trump. I received several invitations to the first inauguration, and a week after it even two cases of "Trump" wine. One with white and one with red, as well as a small handful of confetti from the event. Of course, at first I solemnly opened this meaningless correspondence, but it soon became clear that in 99% of the letters, after the thanks for the support and assurances that I was an invaluable and important partner of the president, his family and the party, there were necessarily attached modest requests for additional contributions with the option to choose between three amounts. I stopped opening the letters somewhere in 2018-2019 and started putting them in a drawer. Today I can boast of perhaps the largest collection in the world of unopened letters from Trump. There are hundreds of them. I also have a particularly interesting photo of him with a personal dedication from him, from which it is clear that Denis Rizov "rocks" and that we will make America great again, together. I think the price was around $250.
I became disillusioned with Trump only at the beginning of this year, when - after winning everything possible, a second presidential term, the Senate and Congress - instead of using that power to make the changes he promised, he "stuck" in settling old scores with enemies and, worst of all, hit him on profiteering. After episodes like the scandal with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the incident with Zelensky in the White House and the short arrogant speeches from the board of Air Force One on all sorts of topics, I began to feel uncomfortable not only listening to him, but also seeing him. The good thing is that I have remotes for all my TVs and I can stop Trump from the information flow faster than he can stop military conflicts.
Does all this have anything to do with the wave of right-wing conservative populism that is taking away hard-won freedoms and whose de facto flagship he is?
I am not bothered by populism, because for a long time now it has been an increasingly common form of presenting political messages and is practiced so massively that it has lost meaning. My feeling is somewhere between amazement and fear when I see the lawsuits filed against media outlets and universities. This was unthinkable in the America I came to in 1993. Education and freedom of speech have always been the foundation of American democracy. That is not the case now. I hope things will normalize after the midterm elections at the end of 2026. I welcome many of the things that the MAGA people want to change, but I don't agree with the arrogant way in which Chief Donald does it. The clip in which he takes off in a military plane to bombard protesters with feces is a bit too much for me. I'm a heavy metal musician, we are hardly impressed by things of this kind, but this was a greasy chalga.
The average American sings the anthem with his hand on his heart, including before every sporting event, that he lives in the "land of the free", etc. Is their concept of freedom changing in any way? Is it possible that today, in a certain sense, it - won with blood, sweat and tears - is quietly turning into something else? Something like "meta-freedom", which in almost their entire history would sound like an oxymoron?
The average American continues to sing the anthem in the same way. The concept of freedom there is simple. The military is engaged in defending generally recognized American values around the world. That is why at the games people always stand up and applaud such people. A wonderful tradition.
However, there is a problem domestically that even MAGA fans still do not suspect. Americans are politically emasculated. They believe that the givens from the time of the founding fathers are protected by the Constitution, the separation of powers and mutual control between institutions. And there comes a moment when MAGA takes power, and categorically. Including both houses of parliament. Practically every idea of the government is guaranteed to be voted on. However, the president, not at all quietly, adopted a form of government - with decrees (executive orders), which by law should be used only in extraordinary circumstances. I can't explain it with anything other than saving time. However, this saved time has the scent of autocracy, which is quite alarming. If we add to this the sending of federal military units (National Guard) to states that "don't listen" and the lawsuits against media and universities, the alarm should grow into fear.
Americans have not lived like us in an environment of "developed socialism" and do not have the experience and immune system when and what to be afraid of. This hinders their possible resistance to something like this. Almost all of my friends and colleagues there are MAGA supporters and I have discussed the situation with them. Most have already seen that prices have not gotten better and that they are very likely to rise further. In this regard, the president's favorite myths can only do harm. Their current conviction is that Trump will "think of something" after all. They have no idea what and when, but they hope. They have gotten used to it over the years.
After three decades in one of the centers of the First World and the cherished West, you return to your native Bulgaria, which still seems to me to be in the Second. Why?
It is very interesting when you observe the development of Bulgaria during certain periods. It definitely seems to me that our country is not in the Second World. It is rather between the Second and the First and seems to be closer to the First. And the "cherished West" is no longer cherished, because life there is not what it was 20-30 years ago. In my opinion, people have been living more peacefully and happily in Bulgaria lately. Many parts of the country now look much better, even at first glance. A middle class has appeared. There are more cultural events, better attended and better paid. These are enough reasons to return to our country. Add to them that I am entering my seventh decade of life, and my daughter also lives here.
Naturally, there are still many things to fix in our country, to create traditions and rules for an equal start, fair competition and, above all, to reward the successful. There are remnants of the socialist system that still apply - such as the equalization of wages for entire groups of "working" or, for example, the raising of salaries "by the bucket" in certain sectors, especially in the state administration. Which, besides being abnormally huge for the 21st century, for some reason is increasing instead of decreasing.
Look at what an interesting thing - I know more than one or two people, some of them quite well-to-do, i.e. with successful businesses and opportunities, who are thinking about where to go abroad. What would you tell them?
Look at the age at which some of the politicians in our country held what positions. Look at the projects they participated in and how each of them graduated. A remarkable achievement is how many of these people, in a record few years, have managed to close their access to doing business or politics in different places.
Getting into politics in Bulgaria is not difficult if you are unscrupulous or have some money. However, growth is achieved slowly and with perseverance in order to be sustainable. It is a marathon, not a sprint. Most politicians are somehow always in a hurry and constantly sprinting. They are impatient and often stumble, after which they are forgotten very quickly.
And the people you mention in the question should not rush to leave the country. Provided that they have already achieved some success here, they will certainly need more time to do it elsewhere than to help with something or at least to endure for a while until things here steadily improve. There is no way that Bulgaria's development can continue for long, as it is at the moment. Life is a wavy line and everything comes in stages. The economy has found a way to grow even under these social and political conditions. Society will find a way to catch up, and it is even possible that politicians will disappear in the form in which we meet them today. It is clear that at the moment it seems that no one needs them. One day someone will put the most thieves in prison and things will get better very, very quickly.
And what would you say in principle to Bulgarian emigrants, although they are diverse - "back to the future"?
I would tell them different things, and it depends on the country they are in. Everyone has to go through their own Golgotha. And every decision and action has its time.
To do what they feel is best for them. It turned out that Bulgaria is going its own way, with or without the people who, for some reason, leave it. It is idiotic to go somewhere where you have to prove yourself for years, learn the language, rules, catch up with the locals, achieve things, only to return back to prove yourself again, learn the rules and catch up with your native locals. I am not a very good example of this thesis, although I have never really emigrated, but I have simply lived musically, wherever, whenever and however I have judged. For me, to date, Bulgaria is a better option than America. This is it.
I recently came across a discussion of three very smart Bulgarians who were discussing the same issues, and I completely agree with one of their theses - that the Bulgarian moves one level forward with each generation. Both socially and purely geographically. 90% of us are grandchildren or great-grandchildren of a family from a village. Look at yourself, me or any person you choose. Our great-grandparents lived and worked in the village. Their children, our grandparents, migrated to the nearest city. The generation before us is probably in Sofia. And ours lives or at least develops somewhere abroad. We are already fighting for a place under the sun with Hans in Germany or John in America. And very often we are better or at least equal to them in every respect. Societies in the West are a little tired of the competition over the years. In Bulgaria it is the opposite - the opportunities are increasing, which makes us optimistic and more combative. That is, there is no point in living abroad, provided that the rules and chances for success today are equal to those of the "cherished West" that we remember from our childhood.
Is it time to stop with the, in my opinion, ill-educated dichotomy - "here" and "there"?
To people born in the 21st century, such a question would seem surprising. They live on the globe and state borders and regulations are an annoying detail that they take into account when necessary. Let's just say that we know that "here" and "there" do not exist outside our aging brains.
You have been one of the pop culture icons since the end of the Zhivkov regime because of "Ahat" and not only that, a proponent of the deafening rock rebellion against that regime. Now, however, you want to invest in Bulgarian culture. Why don't you live your life?
Because that's how I understand the expression "to live your life". In addition to being a musician, I am also a manager. It is a pleasure to implement projects. And at the end of my career, I prefer this to happen in Bulgaria, to be related to music and generally to cultural and media endeavors. And most of all, I am energized by people from the younger generation. It is possible that this is the influence of my daughter Vicky. I would like to pass on the experience I have to their generation. For this reason, we are also building a community center in the second quarter of the 21st century. Even just for one such project, it is worth coming home.
What are you sorry about today?
I am sorry for everything that I have no right to. Now seriously: Some time ago, the most important thing for me was freedom. At the moment, when there is more or less of it, I feel sorry for justice. The world is becoming more and more unjust and Bulgaria, in its own small local way, is in the vanguard of this work. It is not influenced by the global trend, but by the greed of a few thousand idiots with communist thinking and feudal orders - in a world in which the global economy is managed by the same global financial capital, which does not need nations and states. That is, it does not care where what happens, if the business is going well.
In this sense, the native oligarchs and their political servants, realizing that their importance is local, and the capital - practically imperceptible, to have global significance, have oriented themselves "internally". For them, all that matters is what is happening between Kalotina, Kulata, Kapitan Andreevo and Ruse. They take a quick look at the "international situation" just so that something doesn't surprise them. Or so that they don't step on someone with global significance. Accordingly, the struggles are local to them. As are the profits. And accordingly, justice is absent - also only local. Let's not forget that in our country it doesn't hurt to be in government, sanctioned under the "Magnitsky" for corruption, and there are already political prisoners.
But I don't feel bad about that, but it annoys me. I feel bad that everyone has grabbed something to pick at. They have some money and seem satisfied, even proud. That is, there are not many people with higher goals and dreams. Accordingly, development in most areas is not what there is the opportunity and capacity for. I definitely feel bad about that.
Can you briefly explain what drives you and why we even have to live this life - here, there and everywhere, as Paul McCartney sings?
It's clear. We have reached a certain age and at this point there is nothing better to do than to help the young people around you, at least to pass on what you have learned from the failures from the previous question. So that they don't repeat them when the baton is in their hands.
You yourself chose this fate - the "eternal black sheep". Why? Sorry, I couldn't resist asking this question, people insist.
I will answer with a part of the lyrics of another song by "Ahat" from the same album: "The blind wear imported clothes/Smell the stench of rum./Nobody asks questions./Silence is the law./The axe falls on every head/The axe does not forgive/The axe does not forget".