The remains of victims of Stalinist purges recently uncovered in Russia's Far East should be honored with a memorial complex, a local historian said on Monday.
The mass grave of victims of the Stalinist purges was uncovered by construction workers in October. Bullet holes in skulls found shows that many of the victims were shot but historians said they could have also starved or been worked to death.
"The uncovering of the area where political prisoners were shot has had a huge impact on society. In my opinion, it is time to build a historical remembrance complex near Vladivostok to properly commemorate the innocent victims of repression so they will always be remembered," Boris Shadrin said.
In the early 20th century a military graveyard and White Guard concentration camp were located in the area.
The road was being constructed as part of Vladivostok's preparations for the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which will be held in Vladivostok in 2012. Construction has now come to a halt.
Shadrin said the complex could be built in Vladivostok at the site of a transit camp, through which tens of thousands of prisoners were taken. The human rights and humanitarian society Memorial has already placed a monument to the victims of political repression on the site.
"Another option is to mark the uncovered mass graves with obelisks. This will create an entire complex of memorials," he added.
Local historians have evidence showing that there are several more mass graves in the area.
In Vladivostok, a working group of representatives from the city representative board and clergy has been set up for the reburial of the remains. Work on gathering and examining the remains will be carried out by local archeologists and historians in May when the earth thaws. The remains will be buried in one of Vladivostok's graveyards.
During the Stalinist purges millions of people were executed on fake charges of espionage, sabotage, anti-Soviet propaganda or died of starvation, disease or exposure in Gulag labor camps in Siberia and the Far East. According to official statistics, 52 million were convicted on political charges during Stalin's regime.
VLADIVOSTOK, April 19 (RIA Novosti)
