The 36-metre high Soviet Army Monument in the centre of Sofia is a stark reminder of the Communist control over Bulgaria from 1946 to 1989.

The monument was constructed in 1954 and features a Russian soldier flanked by a woman and a man from Bulgaria.

And while Bulgaria gained it’s independence nearly a quarter of a century ago, the Monument still commands a presence in one of the largest parks in Sofia.

There is two secondary sculptures as you will see from the photographs hereunder.

Two years ago, inhabitants of the Bulgarian capital awoke to see the figures in one of the secondary sculptures painted in famous cartoon characters.

On my inspection  of the monument the only evidence of ‘outside activity’ was that feet on two of the figures had been painted.

* Click on photographs to open and then further click to enlarge.