MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. Russia’s State Duma at its first plenary meeting of the spring session adopted a statement condemning the idea of dismantling the monument to the Soviet soldier-liberator Alyosha in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv.

"The members of the State Duma of Russia’s Federal Assembly express extreme indignation in connection with the challenging and hypocritical proposal by members of the Plovdiv Municipal Council from the party Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria (DSB) for dismantling the monument to the Soviet liberator soldier Alyosha by the end of 2024. This latest reckless move by DSB party members is a blatant demonstration of disdain for the history of their country, a despicable attempt to desecrate the common historical memory of our fraternal peoples, a manifestation of maniacal and desperate desire to belittle the heroic feat of Soviet soldiers, the decisive contribution of the Soviet Union and the Soviet people in the fight against Nazism during the Second World War," the resolution reads.

The legislators recalled that this initiative, if supported by the city's municipal council, "will bring indelible shame to both the initiators and the legislative and executive authorities of the city and will clearly demonstrate the inadequacy and political short-sightedness of Plovdiv’s authorities."

They recalled that the prototype of the monument, created at the initiative of the Bulgarian people, was Red Army soldier Alexey Skurlatov, a native of Altai, a holder of several frontline excellence awards, who in 1944 participated in the restoration of a telephone link between Sofia and Plovdiv. In August 1982, Skurlatov was welcomed in Plovdiv with great honors as a national hero and awarded the title of the city’s honorary citizen, the legislators stressed in the statement.

"The barbaric war unleashed in the West against the monuments of the Soviet era in fact testifies to the inferiority complex and helplessness of the current Western so-called elites, who regularly demonstrate total incompetence and incapacity in addressing key issues on the domestic and international agenda. We urge the Plovdiv Municipal Council to distance itself from the provocateurs and to take the necessary steps to preserve cultural and historical monuments and other artefacts of material and spiritual culture in accordance with the agreement between the government of Russia and the government of Bulgaria on cooperation in the field of culture, education and science," the resolution reads.

The State Duma expressed the certainty that the residents of Plovdiv and the people of Bulgaria as a whole will defend the monument and preserve the memory of the feats of heroes of the Great Victory over fascism. The State Duma’s message will be sent to the United Nations and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA), among others.