Work On Cutting Down Bulgaria's Contentious Red Army Monument Gets Under Way

Two workers suspended above the lead figures of the partially dismantled Monument To The Soviet Army on the morning of December 13.

The topmost portion of the monument -- depicting a Soviet soldier’s outstretched right arm and submachine gun -- was cut off the night before.
 

Workers removing the main statue’s outstretched arm on December 12.

Sofia authorities say the Sofia landmark will be removed entirely by Christmas.
 

The Monument To The Soviet Army was installed in 1954, a decade after the Red Army marched into Bulgaria unopposed after the country declared its neutrality following years of alignment with Nazi Germany.

A worker preparing removal of the portion of the monument depicting a Soviet soldier’s arm and PPSh submachine gun on December 12.

The complex glorifying the Red Army in central Sofia has long been controversial.  

The topmost portion being removed from the central column on December 13.

Some Bulgarians point to well-tended Soviet memorials in Vienna, Bratislava, and Berlin and question why the Sofia monument needs removal.

A man supporting the removal of the landmark holds a sign saying “Get Russia out of Bulgaria.”

Others in Bulgaria have long viewed the landmark as an insult to the memories of Bulgarians who suffered under the country’s Soviet-backed communist regime.

 

Pro-Russian demonstrators on December 12 protest against the impending removal of the monument.

Police surround the monument ahead of its demolition on December 12.

In the wake of the 2022 Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the monument became a political flashpoint and has repeatedly been vandalized, often with messages in support of Ukraine.

Workers on the monument on December 13. 

Once fully dismantled, sections of the landmark will reportedly be removed to an unspecified “state facility” and eventually put on display to the public.