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Necropolis /Memorial cemetery for the victims of political repression "Makarikha"
The “Makarikha” memorial cemetery for the victims of political is situated on the northern edge of the town of Kotlas. The cemetery in the neighbourhood of Makarikha emerged in the early 20th century. Until 1940 it was the only cemetery in town; it was closed in 1959. From the 1930s this was the burial site for special settlers who had died in the assembly and transit station adjacent to the cemetery, as well as for those who died in Kotlas prison. From the 1940s to the early 1950s prisoners from the Kotlas Camp, exiles, special settlers labour army workers and those who died in the hospitals of the German prisoner-of-war camp were also buried in this cemetery, in anonymous graves. The names of those buried here are unknown, with only few exceptions. Between the 1950s-1980s part of the cemetery was destroyed, some individual graves of Kotlas inhabitants and common burial mounds have been preserved; mass graves are marked by areas where the ground has subsided. On 23 April 1998 the Town assembly of deputies resolved to recognize “Makarikha” as a memorial cemetery to the victims of political repression, following a request by the “Sovest’” [“Conscience”] society. Between 1995 to 2007 seven public monuments and more than ten personal memorial signs were put up in the “Makarikha” cemetery. | Name of necropolis | Memorial cemetery for the victims of political repression "Makarikha" |
| bus stop "ul. Gvardeiskaia" |
| Description | The cemetery is situated in woodland. The territory borders on roads and buildings, it is not fenced in. A large part of the territory is overgrown with bush. Most of the individual graves and gravestones of Kotlas inhabitants are in poor condition and visibly not tended to. The memorial section has been cleared, the grave mounds are marked with soil, in some places rudimentary railings with information plates have been installed. The memorial zone is clearly visible from the side of ul. Lenina [Lenin Road]. There is a large information screen at the bus stop "Ulitsa Gvardeiskaia". |
| Landscape | woodland (mainly pine forest) |
| Area | total area 5 ha, area of the preserved part of the cemetery 2 ha, area of the memorial section 0,6 ha |
| Borders | The borders of the cemetery and the memorial section are marked on maps and guides of the town. The cemetery itself is not fenced in, along the perimeter of the memorial section there are information signs. |
| Years of the burials | from early 20th century, closed in 1959 (until 1940 the only cemetery in town) |
| Exact year the burials ended | 1959 |
| Who is buried here | inhabitants of the town of Kotlas; special settlers; prisoners of Kotlas prison; exiles, labour army workers; German prisoners-of-war who died in the hospitals of Kotlas. |
| Availability of information on those buried here | There are no lists of those who are buried in the "Makarikha" cemetery; some individual names are known. The deaths of special settlers, exiles and labour army workers were recorded by the ZAGS [registry office]. |
| Type of burial | individual graves, common graves |
| State of preservation | 2 ha of the overall area of the cemetery (5 ha in 1959) have been preserved. Part of the cemetery was destroyed in the early 1950s when a dam was built and sand was removed together with human remains. The southern part was developed in the 1970s (“gorodok VOS” [“village of the All-Union Society for the Blind”], ul.Portovikov). Iin the 1980s, private garages were built on the northern part. Several individual graves of Kotlas inhabitants and common burial mounds have been preserved; mass graves are marked by a characteristic subsidence in the ground. |
| Quantity | the overall number is not established |
| Excavations | inspection of the site in the early 1990s, interviews with old residents (carried out by the Kotlas "Sovest'" ["Conscience"] society |
| Development | A group from the history club of school No 17 under the supervision of history teacher Militina Vladimirovna Klapiiuk tends to the memorial cemetery. The pupils clear the territory, cut down bush and restore gravestones. |
| Memorial signs | Catholic cross (unveiled 17 November 1995). Monument to the victims of the collectivisation (unveiled 13 May 1998). Triptych "Pogibshim v nevole" ["To those who died in captivity"] (unveiled 30 October 1998). The "Cossack Cross" (unveiled 16 August 2003). The "Monument to the Warriors" (unveiled 22 June 2005). Cross (unveiled 05 September 2006). In addition, more than ten personal memorial signs have been put up in the cemetery. |
| Status | Resolution of the Town assembly of deputies No 86 from 23 April 1998: "recognize as a memorial cemetery to the victims of political repression in the town of Kotlas." The resolution was approved on 1 September 1998 by the head of the municipality “Kotlas”. The plot of about 0.6ha that has been set aside as memorial cemetery is town property and recorded in the accounts of the Kotlas local history museum. |
| Detailed annotation | Makarikha is a neighbourhood on the northern edge of Kotlas, between the central region and the Limenda settlement. From the mid-1930s this area was used for the building of additional living quarters for the inhabitants of Kotlas, and until the mid-1950s exiles, special settlers and deported people lived here. The Kotlas town cemetery in the Makarikha neighbourhood served as a burial site for the town’s inhabitants from the early 20th century until its closure in 1959 (until 1940 it was the only town cemetery). From the 1930s special settlers who had died in the “cabin settlement” – the assembly and transit station adjacent to the cemetery - were buried here, too. They were buried without coffins and for the most part in mass graves. Also buried here are those who died in Kotlas prison (ul. Cherniakhovskovo, 2). From the 1940s to the early 1950s labour army workers and special settlers from the settlements of Limenda and Mikheikin Islands (local names – Golovka [Head] and Khvostik [Tail]), as well as those who died in the hospitals of the German prisoner-of-war camp were also buried here. In the 1940s and 1950s local residents were sometimes buried on top of the graves of special settlers. The names of those special settlers, labour army workers, deported people and prisoners of war buried here are unknown. Between 1929-1934 families of special settlers lived here in temporary buildings (cabin settlement) until the river became navigable in spring (in separate years up to several thousand people). By 1959 the territory of the cemetery measured approximately 5ha. Part of the cemetery was destroyed in the early 1950s when a dam was built and sand was removed together with human remains. The southern part was developed in the 1970s and became the site of the “gorodok Vsesoiuznogo obshchestva slepykh” [“village of the All-Union Society for the Blind”] (ul.Portovikov). Later, in the 1980s, private garages were built on the northern part. On 29 September 2001 human remains were discovered during the installation of water pipes on ul. Portovikov. They were neither exhumed nor reburied and remained under the road. At present, the cemetery territory measures 2ha. Several individual graves of Kotlas inhabitants and common burial mounds have been preserved; mass graves are marked by areas where the ground has subsided. On 17 November 1995 the first memorial sign, erected on the initiative of the general consul of the Republic of Poland in Saint Petersburg and the Kotlas society “Sovest’” [“Conscience”] and financed by the Polish Council for the protection of memorials to battle and martyrdom, was unveiled. It is a catholic cross with a plaque inscribed in both Russian and Polish; “1930 g., 1939 g., 1956 g. Zamuchennym poliakam, russkim i vsem ubitym i umershim v kotlasskikh lageriakh: materiam, otsam, sestram, brat’iam, docheriam, synov’iam… Vechnyi pokoi. Vechnaia pamiat’. Sootechestvenniki iz Pol’shi. Varshava 1955 g. / “Polakom, rosjanom i wszystkim zmarłym zamęcszonym w kotłaskich łagrach: matkom, ojcom, siostrom, braciom, córkom, synom…Wieczny odpoczynek. Wieczna pamięċ. Rodacy z Polski. Warszawa. 1995”. [“1930, 1939, 1956. To the martyred Poles, Russians and all those who were killed and died in the Kotlas camps: to the mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons.... Eternal peace. Eternal memory. Compatriots from Poland. Warsaw 1995.”]. In 1998 the Town assembly of deputies of the first convocation resolved (resolution No 86 from 23 April 1998) to recognize “Makarikha” as a memorial cemetery to the victims of political repression, following a request by the “Sovest’” [“Conscience”] society. A.I. Shashurin, the head of the municipality “Kotlas”, approved the decision on 1 September 1998. The plot of about 0.6ha that has been set aside as memorial cemetery is town property and recorded in the accounts of the Kotlas local history museum. The remaining territory of the cemetery is not included in the protected zone. Between 1995 to 2007 seven public monuments and more than ten personal memorial signs were put up in the “Makarikha” cemetery. In May 1998, the “Sovest’” [“Conscience”] society initiated the erection of a monument to the victims of the collectivization, which bears the inscription: “Liubili, verily, zhili/ sviatye, greshnye tut./ V velikoi obshchei mogile/ obshchii nashli priiut./ Sdez’ pokoiatsia krest’iane – shertvy kollektivizatsii sela, uzniki peresylki Makarikha. 1929-1933./ Sdelan na narodnye sredstva, sobrannye Kotlasskim obshchestvom SOVEST’.” [“Here loved, believed and lived / the saintly and the sinful./ In the great common grave/ they found shelter together./ Here lie peasants, the victims of collectivisation, prisoners of the Makarikha transit prison. 1929-1933. Erected by the Kotlas “CONSCIENCE” society with funds that were collected from the people.”]. In 1998, the “Sovest’” society also initiated the erection of a memorial triptych to the priests, children of exiles and foreign citizens who were shot. The inscriptions read: “Rasstreliannym i zamuchennym sviashchennoslushiteliam: BYSTOVU N.M. 1858-16.07.31, VORONOVU S.A.1879–26.12.37, VOSKRESENSKOMU N.А. 1893–1937, LAVROVU V.P. 1885–06.11.37, ROZALEVU А.V. 1895–1931, TRUBACHEVU I.А. 1876–06.11.37. Net nichego tainogo, shto ne stalo by iavnym. Evangelie. Obshchestvo SOVEST’ 1998 g.”; VECHNAIA PAMIAT’ DETIAM, LISHENNYM KROVA I PISHCHI. DETIAM, BRODIVSHIM S SUMOIU NISHCHEI, DETIAM, V ETAPAKH I SSYLKE POGIBSHIM, MLADENTSAM, V RUKAKH MATEREI OSTYVSHIM. Svyshe 800 detei ssylnykh pogiblo v 1930-1934 gg. Obshchestvo SOVEST’ 1998 g.”; “INOSTRANNYM GRAZHDANAM – ZHERTVAM POLITICHESKIKH REPRESSII. VSEM, KTO PO VOLE CHUZHOI POKINUL RODNYE KRAIA. VSEM, KTO NASHEL ZDES’ POSLEDNII POKOI, DA BUDET PUKHOM ETA ZEMLIA. Obshchestvo SOVEST’ 1998 g.”.
[“To the shot and martyred priests: Bystrov N.M. 1858-16.07.31, Voronov S.A.1879–26.12.37, Voskresenskii N.А. 1893–1937, Lavrov V.P. 1885–06.11.37, Rosalev А.V. 1895–1931, Trubachev I.А. 1876–06.11.37. There is no mystery that does not come clear. Gospel. “Conscience” society, 1998”; “May the memory of the children who were denied shelter and food live forever. The children, who wandered in poverty, the children who died in transit and in exile, babies who went cold in their mothers’ arms. Over 800 child exiles died in 1930-1934. “Conscience” society. 1998”; “To the foreign citizens, the victims of political terror. To all who were forced to leave their native lands. May they rest in peace in this earth. “Conscience” society. 1998.”]. On 16 August 2003 a memorial cross erected by the Kotlas Cossack group was unveiled. The inscription reads: “Kazakam Rossii, zhertvam politicheskikh repressii, bezvino pogibshim v lagere-peresylke Makarikha. 1930-1934gg. Vechnaia vam pamiat’.” [“To the Cossacks of Russia, the victims of political repression who innocently died in the Makarikha camp and transit prison. 1930-1934. May your memory live forever.”] In 2005 the council of veterans initiated the erection of a “Monument to the Warriors” on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the victory in the Second World War; it was unveiled on 22 June 2005. In 2006 the town administration and the parish of the Stefanovskii church had a cross erected. The inscription reads: “Etot poklonnyi krest ustanovlen v sentiabre 2006 v pamiat’ vsekh pogrebennykh na kladbishche “Makarikha”. [“This cross was erected in September 2006 in memory of all those buried in the Makarikha cemetery”].
A group from the history club of school No.17 tends to the memorial cemetery, under the supervison of M.V. Klapiiuk. |
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Necropolis /Memorial cemetery for the victims of political repression "Makarikha"
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