Sofia's Soviet Army Monument Ranked among World's Most Controversial

Sofia's Soviet Army monument was painted by unknown street artists to represent a set of US pop culture characters. Photo by BGNES

The soviet army monument in Bulgaria's capital Sofia has made it into travelandleisure.com's list of "World's Most Controversial Monuments"."

''Soviet-era war memorials honoring Red Army soldiers are often vandalized. But this WWII monument in the capital, Sofia, got an especially colorful makeover in June 2011,'' is how the website describes the controversial transformation of the monument that took place several months ago.

On June 18, several anonymous Bulgarian street artists painted over the Soviet soldier figures in downtown Sofia, ironically turning them overnight into The Joker, Wolverine, Santa, Superman, Ronald McDonald, Captain America, Robin, and Wonder Woman, among others.

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 the time".

The monument was quickly cleared by members the "Bulgaria-Russia" forum.

The 120-foot statue of Christ in Lima, Peru, the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and the Valley of the Fallen in Spain's Madrid are among the other monuments included in the curious list.

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