The settlement of Kuzelga in the Beloretsky district was founded in 1930 by “special settlers”, dekulakized peasant families deported from other areas during the forced collectivisation of agriculture. In this case, as “3rd category kulaks”, they were moved from other parts of the Bashkir ASSR. Those who died there were buried in individual graves in the cemetery on the outskirts of the settlement. The exact numbers are not known.
On 30 October 2013, thanks to the activities of a long-standing inhabitant of Kuzelga, R.Yu. Gubaidullin, and with the support of the town administration and a local construction firm, a monument was opened in memory of the forced settlers.
A Book in Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repression in the Bashkortostan Republic (7 vols, 1997-2011) contains over 50,000 biographical entries: for those shot (6,014), mainly but not exclusively during the Terror; the 25,846 sent to the camps in 1930-1933 (11,891) and in 1937-1938 (8,220); 7,649 who were exiled as “dekulakized” peasant families in 1930 and 1931; and a large number who were arrested but not convicted (5,222). These totals were calculated from Memorial’s online database.
| Date | Nature of ceremonies | Organiser or responsible person | Participants | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
30 Oct.
|
Solemn ceremonies on Remembrance Day for the Victims of Political Repression
|
Mezhgorye town administration
|
town administration, residents of Mezhgorye, relatives of settlers, schoolchildren
|
Annual event
|
| State of burials | Area | Boundaries | Other sites in same area |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Individual grave-markers have survived
|
not defined
|
not delineated
|
Memorial to the Victims of Political Repression (1989), Sermenevo village
|
[ original texts and hyperlinks ]
P. Bikbayev, “Gulag special settlement in Bashkiriya”, Sovetskaya Bashkiriya, 20 April 1990
“A memorial has opened in Mezhgorye to the prisoners of the Kuz-Elga special settlement”, website of Bashkortostan’s public chamber, 30 October 2013
Reply by the Beloretsky district administration, dated 13 August 2014, to a formal enquiry from RIC Memorial (St Petersburg)
