Bulgarian Banksy Has Fled Abroad - Report

Sculptures of Soviet soldiers in Bulgarian capital have been transformed into Superman, Santa Claus and Ronald McDonald. Photo from Herald Sun

The anonymous artist, dubbed the Banksy of Bulgaria, who gave statues of Red Army soldiers in the capital Sofia a US pop culture facelift, triggering a heated controversy, has fled the country, according to unconfirmed information.

The still unidentified young man painted the statues to bid farewell to his home land and went abroad, Lyuba Kolezich, a well-known local journalists, has revealed.

The artist was inclined to talk to the media over Skype, but was worried about the consequences this could have on his relatives, who are still in Sofia.

The Bulgarian capital woke up to the transformed monument last Saturday morning, but it is still not clear who is behind the display.

The unknown street artist 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, Captain America, Robin, and Wonder Woman.

The Soviet flag waved by the soldiers was painted to become a US flag, while a big inscription added by the artist below the soldier statues said, "Rolling with Time."

The emergency overnight cleaning of the monument, organized not by the municipality, but the little known forum "Bulgaria-Russia", chaired by Svetlana Sharenkova, triggered a wave of angry comments on the Internet.

The monument the artist defaced or transformed was erected in Sofia in 1954 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Russia's liberation of Bulgaria during the Second World War.

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