According to eyewitnesses, those shot in the town of Roslavl between 1929 and 1937 were buried in the forested areas between the villages of Sloboda and Krivoles. Information provided in 1995 by the Smolensk Region FSK (predecessor of the FSB) indicated that 717 people were shot in Roslavl between 1928 and the end of 1937: the details came from execution reports preserved in the archives.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a sign dedicated to “The innocent slain” was set up next to the site of the burials on the Warsaw Highway. On 30 October 2009, a memorial “To the victims of political repression, 1929-1937” was unveiled 50 metres away from the sign. The memorial was created thanks to the efforts of the LDPR deputies in the Regional Duma, with the support of public organisations and the administration, at both regional and municipal levels.
A Book in Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repression: the Smolensk Martyrology (7 vols. 2001-2008) contains biographical entries on 26,300 who were shot or sent to the Gulag.
| State of burials | Area | Boundaries |
|---|---|---|
|
have not survived
|
not established
|
not delineated
|
[ Original texts & hyperlinks ]
“A first memorial to the victims of political repression was been set up in the Smolensk Region”, Smolensk 2.0 website [retrieved, 29 May 2022]
“Conclusions of Smolensk Region FSK on verifying mass burials of the victims of political repression …, 31 January 1995”, Herald of the Katyn memorial, (No 7) 2007
“A burial of victims of political repression near Sloboda village”, Virtual Museum of the Gulag [retrieved, 29 May 2022]
