In 1942-1944 a camp outpost of Gushosdor (The Gulag’s Main Directorate for Road Construction) was based in Mikhailovka village. The prisoners were building the Nizhny Lomov to Penza stretch of the Penza-Kuibyshev (Samara) Highway. Those who died were buried in the village graveyard; their number is not known.
In 2008, following the testimony of old villagers, a mass grave was found. The exploratory work was entrusted to schoolchildren from Plyoss village under the direction of their history teacher T.V. Merkushina. In 2009 the villagers and schoolchildren raised a wooden commemorative cross in the graveyard.
A Book of Remembrance for those shot in the Penza Region or sent to the camps has not been published.
Memorial’s database (2025) names 9,854 victims in the Penza Region. See Duvanny Ravine.
It does not list any who were shot or held in the camps. Drawing on other sources, it names those deported from the Region.
| Date | Nature of ceremonies | Organiser or responsible person | Participants | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
nk
|
Commemorative Services
|
nk
|
nk
|
From time to time
|
| State of burials | Area | Boundaries |
|---|---|---|
|
have not survived
|
not determined
|
not delineated
|
[ Original texts & hyperlinks ]
Communication from T.V. Merkushina, Saint Petersburg, 2013 – RIC Memorial archive (St Petersburg)
Reply from the Penza Region Administration № 2-23-1582, 15 April 2014, to a formal enquiry by RIC Memorial (St Petersburg)
