To remember

Volunteers exhumed the remains of 653 executed in the late 1930s of the last century over the past four months from the execution pits near the powder magazine of the Tiraspol fortress. All of them were reburied today at the Memorial of Victims of Political Repressions. The ceremony was attended by the leadership of the republic and parliamentarians – Vice Speaker Galina Antyufeeva and the Deputy of the Supreme Council of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic Igor Buga.

Work on the extraction of the remains from the execution pits continued for the past few years. Volunteers of the youth-patriotic movement "The Heirs of Victories" worked at the powder magazine of the Tiraspol fortress during eight field seasons. It was here that in 1937-1938 people accused of espionage, treason and anti-Soviet activities were brought from the territory of the Moldavian ASSR and the nearest regions of Ukraine. According to the documents found in the archives, more than 4.5 thousand people were shot at this place. Among them there were well-known leaders of the Moldavian ASSR, directors of enterprises, the military, the intelligentsia, chairmen of collective farms and ordinary peasants. Most of them were arrested on fabricated denunciations. There was no investigation.

The families of the repressed did not know about the fate of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers for almost a century. Only a few of them in the late 50s of the last century received documents on the posthumous rehabilitation of their relatives. Finding the grave of a loved one was almost impossible even in this case. The task of the volunteers was not only the exhumation of the remains of the executed at the powder magazine, but also the establishment of their names. Literally miraculously preserved documents were found during the field work. the Restored with difficulty surnames, which the researchers were able to read, made it possible to restore the names of almost 4 thousand people. The search for the relatives of these people continues to this day.

The remains, found by volunteers at the powder magazine of the Tiraspol fortress over the past 4 months, were reburied at the Memorial of Victims of Political Repressions. It is located literally a hundred meters from the place where thousands of people died. The ceremony was attended by those whose relatives and friends were shot in the late 30s of the last century, representatives of traditional religious denominations for our region. Orthodox, Old Believers, Catholics and Baptists read memorial prayers. The Russian ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov was among those who spoke about the importance of this event.

Documents found during the work near the walls of the powder magazine, personal belongings of the executed took their place in the exposition of the museum, which is open here, at the place where more than 4.5 thousand people were shot 90 years ago.