According to The Moscow Times, Russia is demanding that Bulgaria try harder to prevent vandalism of Soviet monuments.
Russian officials are furious over Bulgarians vandalizing Soviet-era monuments to look like superheroes and other Western characters. The Russian government has asked authorities in Bulgaria to punish those responsible and take “exhaustive measures” to prevent similar attacks in the future.
The monument was spray-painted red on the eve of the Bulgarian Socialist Party’s celebration of its 123rd anniversary, 17 August 2014.
Earlier this year, another monument was painted in the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
In August of last year, a Soviet army monument in Sofia received an “artistic apology” and was painted pink for Bulgaria’s support of the Soviet troops who suppressed Czechoslovakia’s Prague Spring revolt against Moscow-based communist rulers.