We hope that the Chairman of the Russophiles Movement Nikolay Malinov will not be subject to persecution after he received the Order of Friendship in the Kremlin, Kremlin's Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. This would be illogical and the consequences would be detrimental, Peskov said. Malinov is investigated in Bulgaria over espionage in favor of Moscow. President Putin’s spokesperson voiced hopes that people like him will have the opportunity to work for the development of the friendly relations between the two nations in the future. Bulgaria’s Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov already requested the Inspectorate of the Supreme Judicial Council to check and sanction the magistrate who allowed Malinov to leave Bulgaria despite the travel ban.