There are other, secondary sculptural composition parts of the memorial complex around the main monument, like the group of soldiers which have been used many times as a canvas by political artists.

The monument was built in 1954 on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the liberation by the Soviet Army, which is the general Russian interpretation of the complex military history of Bulgaria during World War II.

On June 17, 2011, the monument was painted overnight by a group of anonymous artists who call themselves Destructive Creation[1] and who "dressed" the Soviet Army soldiers as the American popular culture characters Superman, Joker, Robin, Captain America, Ronald McDonald, Santa Claus, Wolverine, The Mask, and Wonder Woman.

A caption was painted underneath which translates as "In pace with the times" (in Bulgarian "В крак с времето" – "V krak s vremeto").

The story was filmed in the short documentary In Step with the Time, directed by Anton Partalev,[10] and includes anonymous interviews of the artists of Destructive Creation and various representatives of pro-Russian organizations in Bulgaria.

[13] The painting showed the state of affairs in Bulgaria, split between the traditional relationship to the Soviet Union and the modern influence of Western capitalism.

On August 22, Russia officially demanded sanctions for those responsible for the monument's desecration and that Bulgaria take immediate measures to prevent such incidents in the future.

Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin asked not to dramatize the painting and stated that "Bulgaria has international commitments to maintain these monuments.

The phrase "Glory to Ukraine" was written in Ukrainian on the monument, as well as a reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin (who was called "Kaputin", from the German kaputt, meaning broken).

[19] In his book 'Mikhail' the author Jonathan R. P. Taylor discusses how Russia uses anti-LGBTQ+ hate speech to infect the Bulgarian psyche without a single shot being fired.

[24] Public opinion in 2019, before the invasion of Ukraine, showed that more than two-thirds of Bulgarians saw communist-era monuments as important for Bulgaria's "national identity.