SOFIA -- Sofia’s city council has approved a proposal to dismantle the massive monument to the Soviet Army and relocate it to another site in the Bulgarian capital.
According to the March 9 decision, Mayor Yordanka Fandakova must now issue a request to the Sofia City region, which administers the capital, asking that the contentious monument be moved to the grounds of the Museum of Socialist Art a few kilometers southeast.
The monument stands on municipal land south of the capital’s center near the National Palace of Culture and the city’s Central Park, but the towering sculpture is state property and the city council thus does not have the authority to move it without the consent and cooperation of the government.
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The monument with an expansive pedestal was erected in 1954 to honor the Soviet Red Army. It has long been a point of contention, with critics arguing that it was built for propaganda purposes to promote the former communist government on the 10th anniversary of the Soviet declaration of war against Bulgaria and of the subsequent coup d’etat that overthrew the Kingdom of Bulgaria in September 1944.
The Monument to the Soviet Army is also known as the Monument to the Red Army of Occupation. Sofia’s city council first voted in 1993 to have the statue removed, but it has remained in place to this day. The monument has been the target of numerous popular protests and forms of artistic expression, including in 2011 when depictions of Red Army soldiers on the site of the monument were painted over as superheroes, Ronald McDonald, and Santa Claus.
The Troubled History Of Bulgaria's Soviet Monument
In February, the issue of removing the monument heated up when several plaques on its facade were destroyed and the city authorities determined that they posed a danger to passersby.
Svetlozar Rayanov, a 61-year-old retired scientist, was detained for 24 hours for destroying the plaques. He later told journalists he had damaged the monument as an act of protest against Russian aggression.
"My main protest is against the war that Russia is waging against Ukraine, but the date also coincided with Red Army Day, which is celebrated on February 23, and now it is Defense of the Fatherland Day," Rayanov said at the time.
City councilors from the pro-European coalition Democratic Bulgaria, former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov’s GERB party, and the Patriots for Sofia voted in favor of relocating the monument on March 9 after several hours of debate.
Representatives of Bulgaria's Socialist Party (BSP) opposed the proposal, and pledged to appeal the decision if it passed.
Acting Prime Minister Galab Donev also commented on the issue, suggesting that decisions about the monument should be made after early parliamentary elections scheduled for April 2.
"Politicians should leave this topic for after the elections so that the most correct decision can be made in a calm environment," Donev said.
The BSP, Revival (Vazrazhdane), and other pro-Russian parties have protested the relocation of the monument, including throwing eggs and paint at the municipal building housing the city council as the measure was debated.
On March 7, the city council’s Committee on Education and Culture ruled in favor of relocating the monument, based on a proposal submitted by the Democratic Bulgaria coalition in 2020.