In the 1930s, the Kazanskoe cemetery in Yelets was one site of execution and burial. Victims were shot by the brick wall of the cemetery in its northeast area and were then secretly buried there. The names of 18 people shot in March 1930 are known, three priests among them. Testimony of accidental eyewitnesses preserved knowledge of these shootings. From the 1950s onwards, parishioners of the church of the Kazan Mother of God cared for the burial site.
In 2006, a monument was erected there in the form of a marble lectern holding an open Bible with four symbolic gravestones with metal crosses and tablets: “He lie buried the remains of priests slain in the 1930s. I look for the resurrection of the dead”. Nameplates have been placed next to the monument: Archpriest M.I. Vinogradov, shot 15 March 1930 in Yelets; Archpriest N.F. Protasov, shot in Lipetsk in 1937.
Remember by Name: A Book in Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repression in the Lipetsk Region from November 1917 (two vols. 1997) contains 17,900 biographical entries on those shot or sent to the camps. The second volume focused on dekulakisation has not appeared.
| Date | Nature of ceremonies | Organiser or responsible person | Participants | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
nk
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Requiem masses
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incumbent of the Church of the Kazan Mother of God
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parishioners
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Several times a year
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| State of burials | Area | Boundaries | Other sites in same area |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The section of historical burials has been preserved
|
not established
|
not delineated
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The church of the Kazan Mother of God is registered as a cultural and historic monument of regional importance (since 1971)
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[ Original texts & hyperlinks ]
O. Dyachkin, “The secret of the old cemetery”, Lipetskaya gazeta, 14 October 2013
Reply by the department for culture of the Yelets City Administration (of 30 April 2014) to a formal enquiry by RIC Memorial (St Petersburg)
