The Type of 'Vandalism' Bulgaria Cares for

All kinds of inscriptions can be seen on the walls of the Bulgarian capital Sofia – but mostly obscenities and xenophobic remarks.

The city's municipal authorities have never seemed to care too much about swastikas and violence-inspired signs – even on the most representative buildings – but last Saturday, they were caught off guard by something rarely seen before in the country: a real artistic provocation.

The simple "Rolling with the time" underneath a Soviet monument was the inscription that stirred the spirits.

An unknown street artist (or artists) painted the bronze figures of Soviet soldiers in downtown Sofia, turning them into various US superhero and other pop culture characters – including The Joker, Wolverine, Santa, Superman, Ronald McDonald and Captain America, among others.

Like never before, a group of Bulgarians washed the monument clean just a couple of days after the "accident".

The high Bulgarian officials and many citizens were quick to condemn the monument's "superhero makeover", while many others welcomed it as an act of bravery and creativeness.

While both parties do seem to have a point, one feels inclined to believe the artist's statement did not have anything to do with mocking the memory of the poor soldiers it represents. It is not the ordinary "dogs of war" that are to blame for the most tragic atrocities in the world's history, it is the likes of Hitler and Stalin.

And it is not the Soviet soldiers that brought about 50 years of Communist oppression in Bulgaria. Neither has the love for everything Western which bloomed in the 1990's made the lives of the Bulgarians much better.

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