Many projects were mooted since the 1990s for establishing museums of communism in Sofia, Dimitrovgrad, and Haskovo, but none came to fruition.
During the same period, many monuments of the Soviet regime were destroyed or dismantled.
During the summer of 2011 attempts to create exhibits on the role of the communist regime in Bulgaria were made by a group of artists who painted "pop icons" on the Soviet army memorial in Sofia in June 2011.
At that point, the government decided to establish museums in Bulgaria and also to restore dismantled monuments.
The establishment of the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Ancient Sofia, and the National Museum Complex (renamed as "the Bulgarian Louvre") came to be established in Sofia as a result of that decision.
At the same time it was decided by Ministry of Culture to create the Museum of Socialist Art in Sofia to enhance the city's cultural ambiance and its position as a major tourist attraction, in conformity with similarly themed museums that had been established in many cities of Eastern Europe.
It was also considered and accepted by the ministry that the museum would be a subsidiary of the National Gallery of Art.
Vezhdi Rashidov, the Minister of Culture, himself a sculptor, took the initiative to see through the project of creating the museum for exhibiting the artistic heritage of the communist regime.
The Government of Bulgaria fully supported the initiative  and provided funds to the extent of 1.5 million euros to establish the museum, hoping that the revenue from the sale of entry tickets would recover this cost in a period of 2 years.
The remnants of the socialist regime were found from basement of very town in Bulgaria for installation at the museum before it formally opened on 19 September 2011.

Amidst controversy, the museum's name, originally planned to be "Museum of Totalitarian Art", was changed to "Museum of Socialist Art".
The new museum was formally inaugurated on 19 September 2011.

At the inauguration, which was held in the presence of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova, and many ministers, the Finance Minister Simeon Djankov stated: "We are closing one page of the Bulgarian history and communism is going where it belongs – in the museum ... Bulgaria has already shaken it off and is moving forward".
The date of the inauguration also marked the formal occupation of Bulgaria by communists in 1944.
As journalist Georgi Lozanov noted: "Bulgaria must have a museum of communism that will tell new generations the story of a period that should never again become reality".
Many projects were mooted since the 1990s for establishing museums of communism in Sofia, Dimitrovgrad, and Haskovo, but none came to fruition. During the same period, many monuments of the Soviet regime were destroyed or dismantled. During the summer of 2011 attempts to create exhibits on the role of the communist regime in Bulgaria were made by a group of artists who painted "pop icons" on the Soviet army memorial in Sofia in June 2011. At that point, the government decided to establish museums in Bulgaria and also to restore dismantled monuments. The establishment of the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Ancient Sofia, and the National Museum Complex (renamed as "the Bulgarian Louvre") came to be established in Sofia as a result of that decision. At the same time it was decided by Ministry of Culture to create the Museum of Socialist Art in Sofia to enhance the city's cultural ambiance and its position as a major tourist attraction, in conformity with similarly themed museums that had been established in many cities of Eastern Europe. It was also considered and accepted by the ministry that the museum would be a subsidiary of the National Gallery of Art. Vezhdi Rashidov, the Minister of Culture, himself a sculptor, took the initiative to see through the project of creating the museum for exhibiting the artistic heritage of the communist regime. The Government of Bulgaria fully supported the initiative  and provided funds to the extent of 1.5 million euros to establish the museum, hoping that the revenue from the sale of entry tickets would recover this cost in a period of 2 years. The remnants of the socialist regime were found from basement of very town in Bulgaria for installation at the museum before it formally opened on 19 September 2011.
Amidst controversy, the museum's name, originally planned to be "Museum of Totalitarian Art", was changed to "Museum of Socialist Art". The new museum was formally inaugurated on 19 September 2011.
At the inauguration, which was held in the presence of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova, and many ministers, the Finance Minister Simeon Djankov stated: "We are closing one page of the Bulgarian history and communism is going where it belongs – in the museum ... Bulgaria has already shaken it off and is moving forward". The date of the inauguration also marked the formal occupation of Bulgaria by communists in 1944. As journalist Georgi Lozanov noted: "Bulgaria must have a museum of communism that will tell new generations the story of a period that should never again become reality".
Museum of Socialist Art, Sofia