Bulgarian capital Sofia hates their Soviet army monument. You would too if you had a gigantic bronze relief remind you about an invading country’s forces that crushed a reformist uprising 45 years ago. It’s been vandalized. It’s now all pretty in pink, tagged with the words “Prague ’68” and “Bulgaria apologizes” in Czech and Bulgarian, as in, sorry about the Warsaw Pact, you know, that time Bulgarian troops aided the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia…
Why pink? Not sure, but they’ve been doing this for awhile. The Monument to Soviet Tank Crews has been pink’ed over and over, notably by hot Czech artist David Černý, who added a finger on top of it.
Many Sofia residents want the Soviet army monument removed, but it’s curious how the pompous thing has become a graffiti protest board over the years. In 2011, anonymous graffiti artists gave the Soviet soldiers a meticulous make-over, turning them into pop culture icons of capitalist Americana — Superman, the Joker, Captain America, Santa Claus and Ronald McDonald — and tagging it with “In step with the times!” It’s also been Guy Fawkes’ed and Pussy Riot’ed.
(Photo: ArtDaily)
