Macedonian Skopje is changing its face according to a megalomaniac project

Skopje - In the Macedonian capital Skopje, two of the four enormous lion statues have been erected for 2.5 million euros (over 62 million crowns). This is part of a megalomaniacal state project to restore the capital titled Skopje 2014, which continues despite the spring cuts in the state budget and the country's poor economic condition. This was reported today by the news server BalkanInsight.com.
    The seven-meter statues were made in Florence, Italy. Now the lions stand guard on a three-and-a-half-meter pedestal at the bridge of the former revolutionary from the time of Ottoman rule, Goce Delčev.
    "The government could have used the same money allocated for the lions to repair two hospitals," stated Andrej Petrov from the opposition Social Democratic Party. The ruling Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Democratic Party of Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) defends the statues as a symbol of the Macedonian struggle for independence.
    The Skopje 2014 project was introduced this year in February. It aims to restore the capital's former glory, which was overshadowed by the dreariness of communist construction. It plans to include at least 17 large statues and 15 buildings in all classical architectural styles.
    Critics of the construction project criticize the government for the anticipated enormous costs, which are expected to exceed 200 million euros (almost five billion crowns) according to unofficial estimates. However, official figures have not been published. The lack of public debate and questions about the artistic value of the work also provoke controversy.
    So far, eight of the planned statues have been unveiled. In May, the equestrian statues of revolutionaries Delčev and Dame Gruev were unveiled in the central square. In July, a marble statue of the first chairman of the Anti-Fascist Council for National Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM), Metodija Andonov Čento, followed. Statues of the creators of the first Slavic script, Cyril and Methodius, along with their followers Naum and Clement, have also been unveiled. Another sculpture ensemble in the city center commemorates a group of young Macedonian intellectuals who fought for the country's freedom in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.