Eternal memory – Kommersant
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In the Perm Territory, unknown persons demolished a memorial in memory of Lithuanians and Poles exiled here for logging during the period of Soviet political repressions. The monument was erected seven years ago at the cemetery of the abandoned special settlement of Galyashor and did not have an official status, but it was looked after by residents of the neighboring village, descendants of the repressed and human rights activists. The authorities of the region have not yet reacted to the situation, but the ex-ombudsman of the region, member of the Human Rights Council Tatyana Margolina intends to send official inquiries about what happened. Human rights activists are outraged by the destruction of the memorial and remind that the repressed and their relatives have the right to be remembered.
The destruction of the monument to the repressed foreigners became known on April 21, when residents of the neighboring village of Velva-Baza came to clean up the cemetery. As the publication writes Parmanews.rujudging by the nature of the damage, the memorial was demolished even earlier. “Moreover, the technique with which this was done did not pass through the village where they live (local residents.— “b”). It somehow went around, – Tatyana Margolina, a member of the Presidential Human Rights Council, ex-Ombudsman of the Perm Territory, told the media. – I am very ashamed of such actions in the Perm Territory. Ashamed before the memory of people. What happened does not fit into the concept of state policy to perpetuate the memory of victims of political repression. It’s against her.”
According to the Memorial society (included in the register of foreign agents, then liquidated at the request of the court), the Galyashor settlement was founded in 1932. Until the end of the 1940s, special settlers, including exiled foreigners, were sent there to work in logging. Later, the settlement was abandoned, but the cemetery of the exiles was preserved there. In 2016, at the expense of a group of Lithuanian citizens (some of whom were born in Galyashora), a monument was erected there. A stele made of wood with a slot in the form of a Christian cross was erected on a concrete base. 89 names and surnames of the exiles were written on metal plates. There was also an inscription: “Lithuanians, Poles, victims of political repressions of 1945, are buried here. We remember you, we love you, we miss you. Compatriots”. Memorial emphasized that all the people whose names were on the monument were rehabilitated in Russia as victims of political repression.
Tatyana Margolina stated that she would make official requests for the demolition of the monument. The head of the Kudymkar district, Natalya Stoyanova, told Kommersant that she was not aware of the situation; The regional government has not yet responded to the request.
Nadezhda Agisheva, a member of the Public Chamber of the Perm Territory, said that the cemetery in Galyashora was officially closed in the 1970s. It is located on the lands of the forest fund and is not serviced by the municipality, so any work there – even the cleaning of graves – is formally outside the legal field. “The monument in Galyashora has no official status. But I believe that the memorial does not violate anyone’s rights and does not harm the forest fund, – said Nadezhda Agisheva. – It was installed on the initiative of Antanas Gurkshnis, a resident of Perm, who grew up in this village. The meaning of his installation was to preserve the names of the dead repressed Lithuanians.” According to Ms. Agisheva, before the coronavirus pandemic, there were attempts to legalize the monument and transfer the land under it to municipal property.
Last fall, the organization “Center for Historical Memory” applied to the regional inspectorate for the protection of cultural heritage with a request to assign the status of a memorial place to the entire Galyashor tract, but was refused.
“I think that the authors of this vandalism justify it with the demolition of Soviet monuments in Lithuania. But this monument does not contain any political symbols of “unfriendly” states,” she said.
“The demolition of this monument is a vile, vile, malicious act of unscrupulous and dishonorable people: both customers, and organizers, and performers,” Ivan Vasilyev, a former employee of the Perm “Memorial”, commented on social networks. “People buried there were forcibly removed from their native places , lie in a foreign land and are not responsible for what is happening now. They have the right to be remembered, their relatives and compatriots have the right to be remembered.”
We add that in 2019 the police tried to interfere “Memorials” and Lithuanian volunteers to take care of the graves in Galyashora. Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs considered that several trees were allegedly illegally cut down in the course of work at the cemetery. They opened a criminal case, which was later suspended. The police also accused one of the local residents of violating the rules for registering foreigners. The man was fined, but was acquitted on appeal.
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