Sofia Mayor on the Fence over Latest Soviet Monument Makeover

Society | August 21, 2013, Wednesday // 15:25
Bulgaria: Sofia Mayor on the Fence over Latest Soviet Monument Makeover The Mayor of Sofia, Yordanka Fandakova, photo by BGNES

Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova has responded with a guarded comment to the latest artist makeover of the controversial Soviet Army Monument in the Bulgarian capital.

On Wednesday, the the monument "woke up" with the Red Army soldier figures painted in pink and with the inscriptions in Bulgarian and Czech "Bulgaria apologizes" ("Bulharsko se omlouv?").

August 21st marks the 45th anniversary of brutal Soviet crushing of the Prague Spring, in which the Bulgarian communist regime played a major role.

While Fandakova has expressed her support for the anonymous artists' message - describing it as "topical - she believes the Soviet Army Monument was "not the place for it."

This is not the first time when the monument of the Soviet Army in Sofia has been decorated.

The most famous "decoration" of the monument so far happened in June 2011when a group of street artists painted the bronze figures of Soviet soldiers to represent various US pop culture characters, turning them into The JokerWolverineSanta,SupermanRonald McDonaldCaptain AmericaRobin, and Wonder Woman, among others.

In August 2012, colorful hoods of the soldiers of the controversial monument of the Soviet Army in downtown Sofia were painted in sign of support for the female Russian punk group Pussy Riot, who are facing trial over "anti-Putin" acts.

There have been several other paintings as well.

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Tags: Russian, band, Pussy Riot, Russia, Vladimir Putin, the Joker, Wolverine, Santa, Superman, Ronald McDonald, Captain America, Robin, Wonder Woman, sofia, Soviet Army Monument, street artists, street art, soldiers, hoods, Pink, tank, Prague Spring, David Cerny, Yordanka Fandakova

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