In December 2009, the remains of those executed before, during and after the Great Terror were found near the Sedankinsky Heights [25-01] during construction of the Sedanka-Patrokl Highway. The following year, in May-June, volunteers excavated the site and in an area 200 by 150 metres they found 495 skulls bearing bullet holes. Expert assessment by the Primorsky Region Forensic Department confirmed the origin of the remains.
On 3 November 2010, the remains were reburied in the northern part of the cemetery and an Orthodox cross was raised over the mass grave. On the initiative of the Freemen and Freewomen of Vladivostok a memorial was erected in August 2013 “To the nameless victims of the cruel year 1937 …”. The memorial complex at the cemetery includes the Chapel of the Resurrection, consecrated on 30 October 2013, the Day in Commemoration of the Victims of Political Repression.
A Book in Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repression in the Primorsky Krai, 1920s-1950s (1 vol. 2014, 456 pp) is available online.
The Great Terror in the Primorsky Krai, 1937-1938 (two books, 2015) is available online: Part 1, First Category Arrests: Those shot (858 pp); Part 2, Second Category Arrests: Those sent to the camps (522 pp).
| State of burials | Area | Boundaries |
|---|---|---|
|
reburial is in good condition
|
about 100 sq m
|
within the limits of the memorial area
|
[ Original texts & hyperlinks ]
“Builders in Vladivostok will find several more mass burials on their path”, PrimeMedia.ru, 17 April 2010 [retrieved, 27 May 2022]
“The remains of victims of repression found in Vladivostok will be reburied”, RIA Novosti, 16 April 2010
“The remains of the executed have been buried in Vladivostok”, RIA PrimaMedia, 3 November 2010
“A monument to victims of political repression opened in Vladivostok”, www.newsvl.ru, 13 August 2013 [retrieved, 27 May 2022]
“A cupola and a cross have been added to the memorial”, VL.ru, 28 October 2013 [retrieved, 27 May 2022]
“Lesnoe Cemetery, Vladivostok. Reburial of executed in a mass grave”, Virtual Museum of the Gulag [retrieved, 27 May 2022]
Reply from Vladivostok City Administration (№ 3220D of 10 April 2014) to a formal enquiry from RIC Memorial (St Petersburg)
