SOFIA, August 26 (Itar-Tass) — The monument to the Soviet Army in central Sofia has been once again desecrated, sources from the Russian Embassy to Bulgaria told Tass on Friday.
This time, vandals have painted out the inscription “To the Soviet Army Liberator from Bulgarian People,” the sources said.
The Russian Embassy sent a note to the Bulgarian authorities, stressing that the agreement on friendly relations and cooperation between the Russian Federation and Bulgaria and other bilateral documents oblige the Bulgarian side to take necessary measures to protect and take care of monuments.
The Embassy has asked the Bulgarian authorities to take all necessary measures to find and punish those who have desecrated the monument, rub the paint off and install a system of video control over the territory where the monument is situated.
This is not the first time that the monument has been desecrated. On the eve of Victory Day, representatives of Bulgarian public organisations, school students and Russian diplomats removed all insulting inscriptions and Nazi symbols from the monument.
However, in June graffiti was sprayed on one of the bas-reliefs, and sculptures of liberators were turned into American movie heroes – Superman, Santa Claus, clown Ronald – mascot of the McDonald fast-food restaurant chain and other characters.
The monument was cleared of graffiti, but vandals were not found.