Memorial Day for victims of political repressions was included in the Russian calendar of memorable dates in 1991. October 30 was not accidentally chosen: this day in 1974, prisoners of Mordovian camps went on a hunger strike in protest against political repression. Victims of political persecution are remembered in Pridnestrovie. A memorial complex was created in Tiraspol, on the territory of which a mourning rally and a ceremony of reburial of the remains of citizens shot in 1937-1938 took place today. They were found near the walls of the gunpowder cellar of the Tiraspol fortress. In the early 90s of the last century, during the restoration of the gunpowder cellar of the bastion of St. Vladimir, the remains of more than 1250 repressed were found and exhumed, each of which was shot dead. Accusations of counter-revolutionary activity, espionage, and treason to the Motherland were not confirmed by anything. The names of the dead seemed to be permanently deleted from history, shamelessly buried in execution pits along with those to whom they belonged. But thanks to modern activists - search engines, archaeologists, members of the Heirs of Victories movement - not only the remains of victims of political repressions are executed and reburied in accordance with generally accepted standards, but their documents and, most importantly, honest names are restored. In 2017-2019, exploration work in the Tiraspol fortress was resumed. As a result, more than seven hundred people are laid to rest. Today, the remains of another 380 victims of political repression are interred. Hundreds of Tiraspol residents and guests arrived at the mourning ceremony, among them is the PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky with his wife. The participants in the memorial event bowed their heads over the mass grave and paid tribute to the victims with a moment of silence.
Addressing the audience, the PMR President recalled that the funeral reburial ceremony was held at the fortress walls for the third year in a row. Here are 17 execution pits, where not only the remains of the dead are found, the memory of people and events rises to the surface, the President said.
At the end of the memorial service, fresh flowers lay to the grave. Then the participants of the event went down to the gunpowder cellar of the bastion "St. Vladimir" of the Tiraspol (Middle) fortress, which is included in the register of historical monuments of the PMR and is listed as a branch of the Tiraspol United Museum. Until recently, the museum of the Tiraspol Fortress and the parish in the name of the New Martyrs and Confessors were located within its walls. At the initiative of Vadim Krasnoselsky, a museum re-exposure was held. Now in the cellar there are exhibits related to political repressions, as well as dedicated to the Cossacks in Pridnestrovie, more precisely, the so-called gossip.
The Orthodox parish in the name of the new martyrs and confessors grew up in the eponymous church, erected on the territory of the fortress. Its coverage and the first Divine Liturgy took place today in anticipation of the mourning rally. Within the walls of the new church, built at the expense of citizens and philanthropists, today not only prayers addressed to God sounded, but also words of gratitude to caring people. The Archbishop of Tiraspol and Dubossary Sawa presented to Vadim Krasnoselsky the Order of Merit to the Church, recalling that the President initiated the construction of the church in the name of the new martyrs and confessors of the Russian Church, and during the two years of its construction he provided attention and support. The President, gratefully accepting the award, emphasized that he considered it not personal, but belonging to everyone who participated in the construction of the church, exhumation and reburial of the remains of the bodies of executed victims of political repression, the creation of thematic expositions in the museum and improvement of the memorial complex as a whole.
