site.btaSofia Municipality to Acquire Sculptural Figures of Soviet Army Monument from State

The Sofia Municipal Council (SMC) Thursday accepted the proposal of Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev for the Sofia Municipality to acquire the sculptural figures and bas-reliefs from the Monument to the Soviet Army free of charge from the State.

“We are the owners of the land. It is normal that the figures should also be our property, so that the decision can be made by the Sofia Municipal Council,” Terziev pointed out. He emphasized that the decision is within the powers of the the SMC.

Ivan Takov, Chair of the BSP for Bulgaria municipal council group, stressed that the proposal is not only inappropriate, but also illegal. He noted that the document is one and a half pages long, without financial justification and without clarity about the purpose of the acquisition, and criticized the Sofia Mayor for neglecting problems in the areas of cleanliness and public transport and focusing on the monument instead. “We will not allow this national treasure and cultural and historical heritage to be forgotten,” Takov pointed out.

After the acquisition, the Municipality intends to hold talks and public discussions on the future appearance and location of the artistic ensemble as part of the city’s cultural memory. The Mayor pointed out that by the end of autumn, the process of developing conceptual projects for the future of the space where the Monument stood is expected to be completed. Afterwards, everyone will be able to give their opinion on what should happen at the site, including whether the monument should remain there, Terziev stated.

On December 12, 2023, the dismantling of parts of the Monument began. The figures on top of the main structure were removed by December 19. Since then, the monument and the area in its vicinity has been fenced off.

The monument was built in 1954 in a large park in central Sofia, called the Knyazheska Garden. It portrays a soldier from the Soviet Army as a freedom fighter, surrounded by a Bulgarian woman, holding her baby, and a Bulgarian man. There are other, secondary sculptural composition parts of the memorial complex around the main monument. The park is a popular place where many young people gather.

The Monument to the Soviet Army in Sofia is the most impressive of several dozen such structures scattered throughout the country and one of over 4,000 memorials to the USSR's drive against Hitler's Germany in WW II across Europe. For long years, there has been talk of taking it down and moving it out of the city centre but the issue has turned out to be too sensitive for some people and political parties in Bulgaria, and the project too divisive for society.