Russia officially marks for the 16th time the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

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Many a person in Russia will bring natural flowers, candles, yellowed photos and letters to the pedestals of sepulchral crosses, tombs, granite and concrete obelisks in places of mass executions and at the sites of former prison camps on Tuesday as the country officially marks for the 16th time the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions. The Remembrance Day was instituted by a decision of the Supreme Soviet (council) of the RSFSR in 1991. In Soviet times, millions of people were subjected to massive repressions from political motives. An exact number of victims has not been ascertained up to this date. According to the preserved documents alone, 4,060,306 people were subjected to repressions within a period from 1921 to 1953, including 799,455 people who were sentenced to execution by firing squad. Repressions reached their peak in 1937 and 1938, when 1.3 million people were convicted on the strength of far-fetched pretexts and in line with "orders" descended from above, with a half of them executed.

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