In 1917-1921 the Trubetskoi tower of the Petropavlovsk fortress was part of the Cheka/OGPU network of prisons. During the Red Terror executions were carried out there.

From the late 1980s onwards the remains of those shot were repeatedly discovered during building work at the fortress. In 2007 when yet another burial was uncovered the prosecutor’s office finally opened a criminal investigation. In 2009-2011 and again in 2013 the search for the burials continued. In 2009 a grave containing 16 bodies was opened and expert investigation established the date of execution as 13 December 1918. One of those shot was identified as naval officer major-general A.N. Rykov. In June-July 2010 in an area of more than 1,200 square metres a further six burials containing more than 90 bodies were discovered. In 2013 four more burials containing the remains of about fifty victims was found in an area of 900 square metres.

The St Petersburg Investigative Committee refused to bring criminal proceedings because “the statute of limitation had expired”. The human remains and other items found during the opening of the burials are being held temporarily by the St Petersburg History Museum.