Baba Vanga may have passed away almost 30 years ago – but her legacy as the ‘Nostradamus of the Balkans’ continues to live on.
Bulgaria’s legendary mystic was trusted by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, and made a name for herself across Europe for predicting the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine, the death of Princess Diana and New York’s 9/11, her followers claim.
She is even believed to have foreseen her own death on August 11, 1996, at the age of 85, after a battle with breast cancer.
There was certainly no shortage of believers while she was alive, and still, tourists from across the world travel to her home in the village of Rupite, located near the crater of an extinct volcano, Kozhuha, to feel her spirit.
What draws them in is not just superstition, but a belief in her power to perceive the unseen and heal the troubled.
No written records are known to have been made of Vanga’s prophecies, which span centuries.
Each time she predicted an event correctly, her legend grew, and in Russia she is even considered saint-like. Any inaccuracies were quickly forgotten.
These are some of the claims linked to 2026 that keep circulating.
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Perhaps the most dramatic claim for the New Year is that humanity will make its first contact with another civilisation, Sky History reported.
Another widely repeated claim says massive earthquakes, violent volcanic eruptions and extreme weather will batter 7 to 8% of the planet’s land area in 2026.
Vanga – full name Vangelia Pandeva Gushterova – has allegedly pointed to a year of escalating conflict ahead.
Looking at how the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are going, the brewing Thailand-Cambodia conflict, and the so-called ceasefires in both Gaza and Lebanon, this prediction seems to be right.
Her followers credit the mystic with foreseeing a medical leap in cancer diagnosis and treatments.
2026 could be the year multi-cancer early-detection (MCED) blood tests move from pilots to national screening programs in at least one country.
Did any of Vanga’s 2025 predictions come true?
Vanga predicted further conflict in mainland Europe. This would be the event that will eventually decimate the continent’s population.
Looking at the past 12 months – from Russian drone incursions across Nato, defence budget increases and return of conscription in major EU states – it is safe to say that Europe is bracing for war.
This year was predicted to witness catastrophic natural events, including the eruption of dormant volcanoes.
Only last month, the Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia erupted after being quiet for nearly 12,000 years.
Vanga is also believed to have predicted massive floods, which would wreak havoc, and an earthquake along the US west coast.
These events will result in loss of life as well as mass displacement, she is believed to have warned.
Since September, floods and landslides have struck heavily in southeast Asia, killing more than 1,750 people.
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