In the early 1990s, others say 1989, human remains were discovered during excavations near the Sulazhgorsky brick works on the outskirts of Petrozavodsk. With the help of the Karelian Memorial Society, the pits were opened and the remains of between 200 and 700 people were uncovered (reports vary). It was established that those executed in Karelia by the NKVD during the Great Terror (1937-1938) on the orders of extrajudicial bodies were buried here.

Soon a similar burial was discovered near the Besovets settlement, not far from Petrozavodsk. There the remains of more than 200 people were found (the inscription on the memorial says 400). They were reburied in the Zaretskoe cemetery in Petrozavodsk which had been closed for further burial. The reburial took place on 30 October 1991. In February 1992 Memorial in Petrozavodsk created a commemorative site at the common grave with funds provided by the city administration. A slab of black granite stands at the centre of the memorial, bearing the words “Here the victims of political repression in 1937-1938 have found rest”. Three other stones carry the names of those shot during the night of 27 November 1937. To the left stands a pillar of grey granite and two blocks of stone transported from the White Sea Canal, with the remnants of metal attachments. Nearby are several personal memorials: granite plaques on the ground and enamel medallions on the trees.

In 1995 the memorial acquired the status of a regional site of cultural heritage. At the place where the remains were found in Sulazhgore the Bishop of Petrozavodsk and Karelia  with the official support of the Petrozavodsk city administration erected an 8-metre-high memorial cross.