In 1937-1938, during the Great Terror, inhabitants of Mariinsk and Siblag prisoners condemned to death were executed on wasteland next to the city cemetery, behind the gunpowder warehouse, and their bodies were also buried there. Long-term residents knew of the site and, in particular, former railway linesman V.F. Kosenko told his daughter in the early 1960s that executions had taken place there.

Subsequently, the area was included within the cemetery and new burials were made there. From  the 1950s to the 1970s the remains of those executed were constantly found during new interments. In 2011, the cemetery was closed for any further burials.

The relatives of archpriest Georgy Nepomnyashchikh, who was shot in 1937, long sought his last resting place and in November 2007, with the help of local enthusiasts, it was found. On 5 August 2007, on the section of the cemetery where the executed were buried, a five-metre wooden cross was erected with a marble plaque reading: “Remember, O Lord, in eternal peace the archbishops, bishops, and all priests, monks and novices who served you and were repressed, here and in other places, and grant them access to your heavenly mansions”. Archpriest Alexei Baranov was behind the erection of the cross and requiem masses are conducted here from time to time.

Nearby are four graves of priests deported to the Kuzbass in the 1930s with members of their families. The memorial site is maintained by those training to be priests on local theological courses.