Vigilante Murder Raises Fears of Russian Neo-Nazi Influence in Bulgaria

The sadistic murder of a 37-year-old man by a group of teenagers in the city of Plovdiv has sparked a heated debate about neo-Nazi influence on local youth and highlighted the issue of vigilante activity in Bulgaria. Georgi Kuzev, from the small town Krichim, died of his injuries on August 5, several hours after a beating that was partially livestreamed on TikTok by teenagers who had concocted a scheme to track, lure and then attack alleged paedophiles. Kuzev was lured to meet a 17-year-old girl who had posed as a 15-year-old in their correspondence. Five teenagers, three boys and two girls, have been charged with murder. However, pictures from the attack which made their way into the media suggest there may have been a larger group of teenagers involved in the attack on Kuzev. The pictures in which the teenagers pose next to Kuzev’s bloodied body also give a new reading of the events: all of the teenagers are making the gesture of a clenched fist with the thumb bent or pointed upward and then inward. Called the “Tesak gesture”, it is associated with Maxim Martsinkevich (1984-2020), a notorious Russian neo-Nazi activist who was nicknamed Tesak (meaning "Hatchet" or "Cleaver"). Subscribe to Balkan Insight Premium to read the full article. Please login to your account below if you are already a Premium Subscriber. Buy Premium Subscription Our Premium Service gives you full access to all content published on BalkanInsight.com, including analyses, investigations, comments, interviews and more. Choose your subscription today and get unparalleled in-depth coverage of the Southern and Eastern Europe. Buy Premium Subscription If you have trouble logging in or any other questions regarding you account, please contact us