Former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev won his country’s parliamentary elections on Sunday and will become its next prime minister. But while the victory of Radev’s newly created Progressive Bulgaria Party could represent a fresh beginning for a nation fraught with political strife, some people are concerned about his ties to Russia.

From military to presidency
Radev, 62, was born in Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria. His early career was dedicated to military service. He was a fighter pilot and commander in the Bulgarian Air Force. 

Upon winning the ceremonial role of the presidency in 2017, Radev cultivated the “persona of a fearless patriot uncorrupted by party politics,” said Politico. In January, after anti-corruption protests toppled the government, he became the first Bulgarian head of state to step down from the presidency and announced his candidacy for prime minister. During his campaign, Radev “cast himself as an opponent of the country’s entrenched mafia and its ties to high-ranking politicians,” said The Associated Press.

‘More pro-Russian stance’
Radev has “positioned himself as the populist standard-bearer for anti-corruption protests,” said The Washington Post. His win may indeed give Bulgaria its “best chance in recent history to do away with the stranglehold of corruption” that has “plagued it for decades,” said The New York Times. 

But many in Europe are concerned about his potential friendliness with the Kremlin. During his campaign, Radev made it clear his government will take a “more pro-Russian stance, consistently opposing aid to Ukraine and saying he wanted to restore relations with Moscow,” said the Post. 

The new prime minister has also criticized the European Union and “called for a new security architecture in Europe.” If tensions were to continue rising between Bulgaria’s new government and the EU, it could cause financial strain, as “Bulgaria’s economy is heavily dependent on EU funding.” 

Other analysts believe that Radev’s Russian coziness is more of a political tactic. He will be “unlikely to seek to be disruptive in relations within the European Union,” said Vessela Tcherneva, the deputy director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, to the Times. In the “coming economic crisis, he would not risk the freezing of EU funds.” 

More than a quarter of women under age 25 hold a negative view of men, according to a recent poll from The New Statesman. This “new radicalism” challenges the “prevailing narrative” that the so-called gender war is being driven by radicalized young men, said the outlet. A “growing army” of women influencers broadly referred to as the femosphere is “urging” women to adopt a more cynical mindset toward the opposite sex, said The Times, and encouraging them to “ditch their romantic delusions” and “be more aggressive in the dating game.” 

What is it? 
The term comes from the concept of the manosphere — a loose online-based community promoting a view of “traditional masculinity,” with men in a dominant position while women are subservient, said the outlet. The femosphere flips manosphere terminology on its head. Instead of “taking the red pill” (embracing the belief that society does not value men), the “pink-pill philosophy” encourages women to break with the egalitarian conventions of liberal feminism and see men as the “problem sex.” 

What does it mean in practice? 
Femosphere philosophy urges women to avoid casual relationships with men and take on a “more emotionally distant, calculated approach” to dating, said NBC News. Mirroring the “pickup artists” of the manosphere, the femosphere has its own “female dating strategists,” said The Guardian. They include “dark feminine” influencers who “encourage women to find men to support them financially.” 

The appeal is understandable, said feminist theorist Sophie Lewis to the outlet. The promise of liberal feminism that women could “have it all” has left many “saddled with both productive and reproductive labor.” The femosphere offers liberation from the “double shift.” 

What’s the impact? 
The movement risks “turning dating into a transactional or manipulative experience” in which “authenticity” takes a “back seat to strategy, according to critics, said NBC News. But femosphere influencers insist it’s centered on the “empowerment” of women rather than hatred of men. It’s about “pushing back against dating norms that have historically disadvantaged women” by adopting a mentality that “encourages self-worth, boundaries and higher standards in relationships.”

Bicycles and scooters roll through a traffic jam in Bogotá, Colombia. In the first quarter of the year, 162 people died in traffic accidents in the capital — a 13% increase from last year, said Colombia One. This is an “alarming and painful surge for citizens.”
Pablo Vera / AFP / Getty Images

With the United States celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence this year, Americans are reflecting on how historical highs and lows shaped the country into the nation it is today. Instead of shying from uncomfortable parts of the country’s past, you can better understand American history by visiting these important places.

Manzanar National Historic Site, Inyo County, California
Two months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which resulted in the U.S. government incarcerating more than 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants in 10 camps, which operated until the end of World War II. The most well-known camp, California’s Manzanar War Relocation Center, held more than 10,000 people and is now a historic site.

Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, various states
The Trail of Tears passes through nine states and covers 2,200 miles of land and water. It ends in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the capital of the Cherokee Nation, and the nearby Cherokee Heritage Center “holds archives, oral histories and a reconstructed 17th-century village,” putting the tribe’s “removal into the longer sweep of Cherokee civilization.”

Whitney Plantation, Wallace, Louisiana
The reality of slavery hits visitors at this former plantation (pictured above) as soon as they arrive. There’s no whitewashing here. Whitney rejects the rosy antebellum view, focusing instead on slavery’s horrors. Guided tours are available, and the museum describes its docents as “historical interpreters who share the full, unvarnished truth of the site’s history.”