In the capital of Bulgaria they are preparing to dismantle the monument to the Soviet army
The large monument to the Soviet army in Sofia will be dismantled after former Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's GERB party changed its position.
The monument has previously been the victim of vandals on several occasions, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
Although the Democratic Bulgaria coalition submitted a proposal to dismantle the monument to the Sofia City Council three years ago, it is only now on the agenda of one of the committees and will likely be discussed at the council's scheduled session on Thursday.
The document notes that the monument “is not associated with a historical event.” As you know, in World War II, Bulgaria was an ally of Nazi Germany; the USSR declared war on Bulgaria on September 5, 1944.
According to the proposal of Democratic Bulgaria, the mayor of Sofia, Yordanka Fandakova, should appeal to the state with a request to transfer the monument into state ownership and move it outside the city center. The GERB party had previously refused to consider this proposal, but last week Boyko Borisov unexpectedly spoke out in favor of dismantling the monument.
He called for the immediate removal from the monument of a sign thanking the Soviet liberators from the Bulgarian, which was broken on February 23, 2022. Borisov said that deputies from the GERB party in Sofia would join the Democratic Bulgaria initiative to dismantle the monument.
Immediately after this, Fandakova reported that the city hall commission recognized the inscription as “dangerous” and it would be removed, and now we are talking about the complete dismantling of the monument. The first time the Sofia City Council made a decision on this was back in 1993, but it was not implemented.
The monument to the Soviet Army in Sofia has repeatedly become a victim of vandals.
In 2013, the soldiers depicted on the bas-relief of its pedestal were painted in the form of Hollywood comic book characters, and in 2014, Ukrainians living in Sofia painted the central figure of the bas-relief and the plaque in blue and yellow.
Bulgaria's capital is preparing to dismantle a monument to the Soviet Army.