Bulgaria Dismantles Soviet Army Monument

Officials have cited security reasons for taking down the monument. Nikolay DOYCHINOV / AFP/File
Officials have cited security reasons for taking down the monument. Nikolay DOYCHINOV / AFP/File
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Bulgaria Dismantles Soviet Army Monument

Officials have cited security reasons for taking down the monument. Nikolay DOYCHINOV / AFP/File
Officials have cited security reasons for taking down the monument. Nikolay DOYCHINOV / AFP/File

Regional authorities in Sofia on Tuesday began dismantling a towering Soviet-era monument prominently featuring a soldier following years of controversy between Bulgaria's opposing camps of pro-Europeans and Russophiles.
Once considered Moscow's staunchest ally, EU and NATO member Bulgaria still has many monuments glorifying the Soviet era.
Since the fall of the communist regime in 1989, there have been repeated calls for their destruction.
The memorial in Sofia was erected in 1954 and features three bronze sculptures depicting a Soviet soldier, a mother with her child and a worker.
Officials have cited security reasons for taking down the monument, with experts reporting major cracks in the structure.
"The regional authorities decided to dismantle the Soviet army monument after a survey showed that it poses a threat to local residents," said governor Viara Todeva.
Once fully removed, it will be displayed in the Museum of Socialist Art.
The 45-meter (150-foot) monument including bas-reliefs depicting battle scenes was built as a reminder of the Soviet army's arrival in Sofia in September 1944.
In recent years, it has been repeatedly targeted by unknown artists, who painted the sculptures pink, dressed them in superhero costumes or painted them the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag.
But plans to dismantle the monument have long been thwarted by the Russian Embassy and Bulgarian Russophiles, who emphasized the Red Army's fight against Nazism.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova decried Bulgaria's "fresh hostile gesture", accusing it of having "chosen the wrong side of history".
The Socialist and far-right opposition parties also protested the move, stressing that "anti-fascist monuments are being preserved elsewhere in Europe".
"This monument has a rightful place as it illustrates our history and the art of the time," said Vessela Naidenova, a 38-year-old researcher, who came to protest against the dismantling.
But others lauded the move to take down the monument.
"This propaganda tool from bygone days must disappear from the city center," said 19-year-old economics student Daniel Roussev.
According to a poll conducted in October, almost one third of Sofia's inhabitants were in favor of keeping the monument.
The majority of respondents, however, said they would like the memorial to be transferred to a museum or demolished altogether.
Bulgaria is a Slavic and Orthodox country with close historical and cultural ties to Russia.
But relations have been strained since Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine.
Sofia condemned the conflict and has expelled numerous Russian diplomatic staff, as well as the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sofia and a Russian reporter.



Japan Urges 200,000 People to Evacuate Due to Heavy Rain

Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the risk posed by heavy rains because a warmer atmosphere holds more water. (AFP)
Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the risk posed by heavy rains because a warmer atmosphere holds more water. (AFP)
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Japan Urges 200,000 People to Evacuate Due to Heavy Rain

Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the risk posed by heavy rains because a warmer atmosphere holds more water. (AFP)
Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the risk posed by heavy rains because a warmer atmosphere holds more water. (AFP)

Nearly 200,000 people in western Japan were urged to evacuate on Saturday as authorities warned of landslides and floods, while the remnants of a tropical storm trickle over the country.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said "warm, moist air... was causing heavy rainfall with thunderstorms in western Japan" partly due to Kong-rey, which was downgraded to an extratropical low-pressure system from a typhoon.

The city of Matsuyama "issued the top-level warning, urging 189,552 residents in its 10 districts to evacuate and immediately secure safety", a city official told AFP.

While the evacuation was not mandatory, Japan's highest-level warning is typically issued when it is extremely likely that some kind of disaster has already occurred.

Forecasters warned that landslides and floods could affect western Japan on Saturday and eastern Japan on Sunday.

Due to rain, Shinkansen bullet trains were briefly suspended between Tokyo and southern Fukuoka region in the morning before resuming on a delayed schedule.

Kong-rey smashed into Taiwan on Thursday as one of the biggest storms to hit the island in decades.

It claimed at least three lives and injured 690 people, according to the National Fire Agency, which added a migrant worker death to the toll on Saturday.

The storm knocked out power to 957,061 households, 27,781 of which were still in the dark as of Saturday.

Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the risk posed by heavy rains because a warmer atmosphere holds more water.