In 1941, more than 170 Lithuanian men, women and children were deported (16 May 1941, Politburo resolution) to the village of Kuzhurla in the Ust-Kan district. The adults were put to work in the fields and lived in tents and temporary huts. Those who died, mainly children, were buried in a separate section of the village graveyard according to Catholic tradition, and headboards were placed on their graves. The total numbers who died then are unknown.
In 1990, former deportees and their relations visited the graveyard and put up a wooden Catholic cross there. In 1991, Lithuanian researcher Gintautas Alekna studied the graveyard and made a photo survey. In 2012 members of the “Destination, Siberia” youth expedition from Lithuania worked in the cemetery under Alekna’s direction. They prepared and installed a new larch-wood cross (designer Robertas Ozalinskas) and restored the fence around the memorial.
Research on the Genocide of the Lithuanian People (Lietuvos gyventoju Genocidas; 3 vols. 1999-2009) contains about 130,000 biographical entries (in Lithuanian). Vols. 1 & 2 cover the period from 1939 to 1947; vol. 3 from 1948 onwards.
| Date | Nature of ceremonies | Organiser or responsible person | Participants | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
nk
|
Commemorative Services
|
nk
|
nk
|
From time to time
|
| State of burials | Area | Boundaries | Other sites in same area |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Headboards have not survived
|
not defined
|
not delineated
|
Memorial to Victims of Political Repression (2010) in Ust-Kan village
|
[ original texts and hyperlinks ]
Note on the 1991 expedition by the Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania
“Ekspedicija Altajus 2012”, Lemtis (Destiny) association website (in Lithuanian)
G. Alekna, “Ekspedicija 2012. Altajus Kuzurla” (YouTube film), retrieved 26 May 2022
Reply by the Ust-Kan district administration (No 211, 7 March 2014) to a formal enquiry from RIC Memorial (St Petersburg)
