27.05.2020, Sofia.
The head of the Lozenets district in Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria, Konstantin Pavlov made a proposal to demolish a monument to Soviet soldiers erected on the place of a communal grave, where the remains of 154 soviet soldiers and officers lie, and to rename the Boulevard in honor of a liberal journalist Anna Politkovskaya [known for her criticism of the Kremlin’s policy in Chechnya; obtained United States citizenship – translator’s note], reports the oldest Czech daily newspaper Lidovky.cz on May 24.
The publication reports that the head of the district Pavlov was annoyed by the hype that has raised around the reconstruction of the monument to fallen Soviet soldiers in the Park near Cherni Vrah Square. The Russian Embassy in Bulgaria provided money for restoration work. Russian television and the TASS News Agency reported the story and widely covered the reconstruction of the monument in Sofia. “And this at a time when the Czech Republic threatened the heads of Prague-6 [where the monument to Marshal Konev was demolished – editorial note],” said Pavlov.
Pavlov then appealed to the mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova with a proposal to dismantle the monument.
In a letter to the mayor, the municipal official wrote that he admired the feat of Soviet soldiers, but there was no fighting in Bulgaria; and moreover, he noted that Bulgaria was originally a member of the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis during the war as well as an ally of Nazi Germany. And when the Red Army approached Bulgaria in September 1944, the country changed sides in the conflict, and many Bulgarians, on the other hand, helped the Red Army to liberate Europe.
Pavlov, the head of the Sofia district, would like to move the monument to the Museum of Socialist Art, and if the remains of Soviet soldiers are really found in this area here, they will be transferred to the cemetery with honors. The area around the monument is then proposed to be renamed Anna Politkovskaya Square in honor of the deceased Russian journalist.
Pavlov laments that his proposal was ignored, because the mayor belongs to the ruling Conservative Party, and Pavlov himself belongs to the opposition Liberal Party.
He claims that the Red Army brought “not freedom, but further totalitarianism, this time of the Soviet communist persuation“ to Eastern Europe. The head of the Lozenets district himself regrets that he is not able to demolish the monument, as it was in Prague-6. According to the official, demolition requires a permit from the Ministry of Defense and nature conservationists, after which City Council must make a decision. “This would have been a process for many years,” Pavlov said.
But he is optimistic, because on May 8, 2020 the foreign ministers of Eastern European countries and the United States signed a joint Declaration, which emphasizes that the cessation of hostilities in May 1945 did not put an end to the enslavement of Europe. At the same time, the Declaration states that for another half-century, Central and Eastern Europe remained under the Communist regimes.
The Russian Embassy in Sofia expressed concern over such proposal of the district mayor and called it “an attempt to rehabilitate Nazism“.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
