The garden of memory is needed by the living. The country's largest memorial to the victims of pre-war political repression opened

Historian Anastasia Dunaeva lays flowers at the memorial slab in the “Garden of Memory”, on which the name of the Moscow governor of the times of Nicholas II, Vladimir Dzhunkovsky, is carved

Cool autumn day. Occasionally the sun peeks out from behind the clouds, illuminating the huge area with bright rays.

But the people gathered at the Butovo training ground do not react to this. Each has their own, but at the same time common pain: tens of thousands of executed Soviet citizens are buried here - someone’s husbands, fathers, grandfathers. Doctors, priests, ordinary people. All of them, in a fierce, difficult time for the country, found their last refuge here. What is their fault? Sergei Mikhailovich Shik no longer walks - his health in his advanced years is becoming weaker every year.

His grandson Alexander brought him to the memorial in a wheelchair. Sergei Mikhailovich is the son of priest Mikhail Shik, who was shot on September 27, 1938.

Exactly 79 years have passed since that tragic day. The priest was accused of belonging to a counter-revolutionary organization of illegal churchmen. Only two days passed from the moment the sentence was pronounced by Stalin’s “troika” to its execution.

And today, when the date of the death of Mikhail Shik and the opening of the monument merged into one day, the son and grandson of the murdered man could not help but come here - a memorial complex was opened at the site of the death of tens of thousands of people to preserve the memory of the victims of repression.

It is difficult to convey in words the pain and grief with which Sergei Mikhailovich has lived for decades. He constantly asks himself questions: for what, why? But he doesn’t find an answer to them. Tears flow from him - he lived to see the moment when tribute was paid to the victims of cruel repression - this is the little that descendants can do for thousands of people. It’s not the dead who need it, the living need it.

The “Garden of Memory” itself is like a dug ditch, the depth of which is four meters - this is exactly what mass graves were like, where the bodies of those executed were dumped.

The walls are granite slabs with engraved names of the repressed. None of the 20,762 people who rest in this land are forgotten.

Dozens of relatives walk leisurely along the memorial, carefully peering at the names carved into the granite. One must not miss one thing - the closest, dearest, beloved - father, grandfather, the one who, due to injustice, is no longer around.

Why? Who knows this? And it is there - the treasured one.

Fingers gently trace the letters engraved in the stone. This is memory, the only thing left of a person.

Sergei Mikhailovich Shik, whose father was shot at the Butovo training ground, rings the funeral bell

The apple orchard, which appeared here back in the 70s of the last century, was laid out by state security officials. Living memory of innocent victims is the little that KGB officers, but of a different generation, could do back then.

People lay flowers, light candles, lamps, read prayers to themselves, and no one is able to hold back their tears. The pain that has lived in the soul for years is breaking out, and finally a memorial has appeared that will never let anyone forget about the tragedy of a multi-million people.

Souls will find peace.

Before the opening of the memorial, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch of All Rus' Kirill, the memorial complex was consecrated by Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsky and Kolomna.

Natalya Solzhenitsyna speaks at the opening of the memorial

PHOTO: Alexander Kozhokhin, “Evening Moscow”

He also served a funeral service for all the victims buried here, executed at the firing range from August 8, 1937 to October 19, 1938.

Many tragic events have occurred in our country over the past hundred years. This year we commemorate all those who suffered in the repressions immediately after the revolution of 1917,” noted Metropolitan Yuvenaly. - We are trying to restore destroyed shrines that remind us of past persecutions, of the new martyrs who died in the 30s of the last century.

All those who ended up in exile camps, those who were shot, did not disappear into oblivion in time. And the memory is not completely killed, and the soul is not petrified.

The “Garden of Memory” memorial project won the competition for the best monument to the victims of the Sinai plane crash.

On Tuesday, the jury of an open creative competition for the best design of a monument to those killed in a plane crash in the Arab Republic of Egypt on October 31, 2015, chose the winner: the project of the “Garden of Memory” memorial, developed by a team of students from the State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (SASU). The foundation stone of the memorial will be installed on Rumbolova Mountain in Vsevolozhsk on the next anniversary of the tragedy.

According to the head of the Committee on Architecture and Urban Planning, Evgeny Domrachev, the jury members took into account the results of an online vote, in which about 700 people took part, as well as entries in the guest book, where over 200 people expressed their opinions. The jury also took seriously the opinions of the relatives of the victims, who asked the competition participants not to use geographical names or aircraft parts in their projects.

“In our opinion, it is the “Garden of Memory” that best fits with the memorial zone that has developed in Vsevolozhsk. It will not be discordant with the monuments erected here in memory of the victims of the Chernobyl disaster in honor of the soldiers who died in the Chechen and Afghan wars,” said Evgeny Domrachev.

The project is a corridor of stone slabs on which the names of all those killed in the plane crash are carved, metal structures in the form of pipes on which the wind will play, and elements of landscape design and landscaping.

Deputy Chairman of the Leningrad Region Government Mikhail Moskvin said that the team of authors will receive a prize from the reserve fund of the Leningrad Region Government. Financing of construction will be carried out jointly by the regional budget and the budget of the city of Vsevolozhsk, The completion date for the work is October 31, 2017.

The competition was announced at the end of June, and the acceptance of works was completed on August 5. A total of 28 projects by sculptors and architects from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Perm, Chelyabinsk, Ulyanovsk, Voronezh, and Samara were received. The works are presented by both experienced authors and young students of the St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering and the Moscow Architectural Institute.

As a result of the crash over the Sinai Peninsula on October 31, 2015, an A321 Kogalymavia aircraft flying from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt to St. Petersburg, killed all 224 people on board. Among them were 48 residents of the Leningrad region.

Press service of the governor and government of the Leningrad region

https://youtu.be/GNkL_0lz-OE

The “Garden of Memory” will bloom on Rumbolova Mountain in Vsevolozhsk. The Committee on Architecture of the Leningrad Region chose the best design for a monument to the victims of the plane crash over the Sinai Peninsula. There were several winners, as the team work of the St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering won.

Mikhail Moskvin, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Leningrad Region for Construction
We were based not only on online voting, on the opinion of the competition jury, but at the same time on the opinion of relatives whose loved ones died in this disaster. The relatives did not want to see in the form of a monument anything resembling an airplane or any geographical features where the disaster occurred, because this was the cause.

Irina Zakharova, Chairman of the Board of the Flight 9268 Foundation
I really wanted it to have a revival theme. We really hope and believe that the souls of our loved ones are alive, they are somewhere in another dimension. I wanted the monument to reflect something bright, life-affirming and beautiful.

28 authors from St. Petersburg, the Leningrad region and Moscow submitted their works to the competition. Until the results were summed up, their names were kept strictly secret. Sketches and models of the memorial could be viewed at an exhibition in the foyer of the regional government building. The laying of the stone in the presence of relatives of the victims will take place at the end of the month. The memorial will open next year. The preliminary cost of the project is estimated at 7 million rubles.

On September 27, 2017, on the day of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the Chairman of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for the perpetuation of the memory of new martyrs and confessors of the Russian Church consecrated the memorial “Garden of Memory” at the Butovo site and Lithium with the commemoration of the ever-memorable Bishop Arseny (Zhadanovsky) and everyone at the Butovo training ground in this time of hard times who were tortured and killed. His Eminence was co-served by the dean of the stauropegial parishes and Patriarchal metochions of the Moscow region () Archpriest Victor Sandar and the rector Archpriest Kirill Kaleda.

The participants of the ceremony were member of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation V.P. Lukin, member of the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation S.A. Karaganov, widow of the writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn N.D. Solzhenitsyn, Minister of Culture of the Moscow Region O.V. Kosareva, head of the Leninsky district O.V. Khromov, Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Moscow Region Yu.V. Gridnev, delegations from the embassies of the European Union countries, relatives of the victims, parishioners of the Church of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia in Butovo.

Before the start of the service, the Metropolitan and all those gathered were greeted by the rector of the Church of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia in Butovo, Archpriest Kirill Kaleda.

Then Metropolitan Yuvenaly addressed the crowd:

“All-honorable fathers, dear brothers and sisters, we have gathered today on the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord. This is a day of strict fasting, when we remember the suffering and death on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. And now I imagine a picture of the crucifixion. In the middle is Christ and on both sides are crucified thieves. They behaved differently in their dying hour. One died unrepentant, and the other turned to Christ with the words: “Remember me, Lord, when you come into Your Kingdom!” and heard Christ’s answer: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise (Luke 23:42-43). These, my dears, are the two paths of the human race since then - some die as unrepentant sinners, and others, although they sin, follow Christ in the hope of His mercy.

Our Russia has experienced many tragic and heroic events throughout history. With the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, this year we remember everyone who suffered during the repressions that began immediately after the 1917 revolution. And how do we do this? We build churches in honor of the new martyrs, we create societies of memory and, most importantly, we offer fervent prayers for the departed. In memory of the new martyrs, especially this year, in our Moscow diocese, we strive to restore destroyed shrines that remind us of past persecutions.

What is our memory of the dead? Some of them are numbered among the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church, others stand before the Righteous Judge, who will determine their heavenly eternal consideration. And the task of the Church is not to forget anyone. In our prayer, we rely on the feat of the new martyrs and confessors, and we have the boldness to pray for all the people who suffered, who were unjustly, lawlessly, criminally deprived of their lives. I called the created monument, which we will consecrate today, an alley of sorrow, an alley of prayer and memory. And therefore, before we begin its consecration, I invite all of us to pray for those killed buried at the Butovo training ground. Let us offer up our unworthy prayers that the Lord, in His mercy, may give rest to all those who have died, and grant us righteous life in Christ.

This monument was built with the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch and through the sacrificial labors of the people whom His Holiness noted with his awards, so before our prayer I would like to present these signs of the Primate’s attention to the donors.”

General Director of the Video-International group of companies S.A. Vasiliev was awarded the Order of the Blessed Prince Daniel of Moscow, III degree, the general director of the construction company "Helga" - the medal of the Russian Orthodox Church "Patriarchal Gratitude".

N.D. addressed Metropolitan Yuvenaly and those gathered. Solzhenitsyn and member of the Federation Council V.P. Lukin, who spoke about the creation of a public institution - the Foundation for Support and Memory of Victims of Political Repression. One of the foundation’s projects will be participation on October 30 in the opening in the center of Moscow of a monument to all victims of political terror.

The Garden of Memory memorial was built on the territory of the Butovo training ground with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. Work on the creation of the memorial was initiated by the community of the Church of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.

The concept was developed by Archpriest Kirill Kaleda and the director of the Butovo Memorial Scientific and Educational Center I.V. Garkav. The project was prepared by the architect A.N. Zhernakov.

Funding for the work was provided by S.A. Vasilyev, the grandson of V.A., who was killed at the training ground. Petrov, and donations from citizens, primarily relatives of the victims. Construction was carried out by Helga LLC.

The memorial is dedicated to the victims of the repressions of 1937-1938 who were shot and buried at the Butovo training ground. Symbolically, it represents a funeral ditch, on the walls of which, on granite boards, are carved the names of 20,762 people killed at the training ground in the period from August 8, 1937 to October 19, 1938. Data on those killed are taken from acts on the execution of capital sentences punishments discovered in the KGB Central Archive in the early 1990s. On the boards, names are grouped by date of execution, and inside the list they are in alphabetical order by last name. For each murdered person his last name, first name and date of birth are indicated, and for the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church their rank is also indicated. The total length of the boards is 300 meters, with a height of 2 meters.

The memorial is located in the eastern part of the burial grounds, in an area free of burial ditches, where an apple orchard was planted by KGB officers in the 1970s. The memorial got its name from its location in the garden.

The memorial has become the largest monument in Russia to the memory of those who suffered during the hard years, where the specific names of those killed are indicated.

On August 8, at the Butovo training ground, a ceremony was held to mark the anniversary of the start of mass executions in 1937-1938. Exactly 80 years ago, the first shots were fired here: 91 people were shot.

During the event, participants saw the Garden of Memory monument being prepared for opening. The names of the victims of the mass executions that took place at the Butovo training ground are inscribed on the stone steles.

The consecration of the monument with the participation of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and the official opening are scheduled for September this year.

In an address on behalf of the Moscow Government in connection with the date, the importance of the memorial complex in Butovo was emphasized as one of the most famous memorials in the world dedicated to the memory of victims of political repression of the Soviet era.

The director of the memorial, Igor Garkavy, spoke about the project of the monument “Garden of Memory” and how historical memory is formed in May 2017 in an interview with “Battle of Memory at the Butovo Test Site”:

"...We believe that the best form of interfaith interaction is joint work to perpetuate the memory of the victims. For example, we are now making a memorial - a memory lane, where the names of the victims - all without exception - 20,762 people whose names we know will be immortalized on stone tablets. We have already spoken with representatives of the diaspora about assistance in organizing the museum's exhibition, and we see cooperation in this project as a very real form of interaction.

– The memorial and the Sunday school are located in the former buildings of the NKVD special zone – doesn’t this “succession” seem strange?

– In our understanding, this is, one might say, a natural development of the memorial complex. The wooden house in which we are located is an outbuilding of the Drozhzhino-Butovo estate, which housed the commandant’s office of the special zone in the 30s. That’s why it was so important to restore it and adapt it for museum use. The red three-story house is a former dormitory for students and workers of the MGB center, and the two-story building, on the ground floor of which there is a school, is a training center. Apparently, there was no fence on the burial grounds at that time, and sports activities, training in hand-to-hand combat and shooting took place in the space where mass graves were located underground.

The Butovo Test Site Memorial has existed for more than 20 years and is constantly being developed. The Butovo training ground has become a kind of topos in the public consciousness. Even people who have never been to Butovo and have not seen these mass graves talk about the Butovo training ground in discussions. He became a symbol of that era literally before our eyes - 20 years ago several dozen people knew about him."

A ceremonial service at the "Garden of Memory" memorial at the Butovo training ground will take place . The ceremony starts at 14.00.

On this day, from 12.00 to 16.00, buses from the Dmitry Donskoy Boulevard metro station will depart every 20 minutes.