WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?

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WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?

WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?
Fri, 12/17/2010 - 12:23

Possibly the most infamous star in Bulgaria's history used to adorn the spire of the former Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party widely referred to as "The Party House."

where in bulgaria are you 51-52.jpg
© Anthony Georgieff

The Stalinist monstrosity is now used by the National Assembly for office space. After the fall of Todor Zhivkov in 1989, the Communist Party was quick to rename itself into "Socialist," but refused to dismantle the red star. It took a series of mass rallies culminating in a violent attack on the building to convince the authorities that no one, save for a few diehard commissars, wanted that sort of symbolism in the middle of Sofia. Finally, in October 1990, the authorities, who had been telling the general public that the Party House star had been manufactured of Soviet-imported rubies and was worth its weight in, well, rubies, succumbed and used a helicopter to take it down.

You would have thought someone had preserved the most persevering emblem of 45 years of Bulgarian 20th Century history? Perhaps put it in a museum or made an art installation out of it?

Think again. The star is almost intact and can be seen for free by anyone willing to walk by it.

Issue 51-52

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