Sandarmokh

Sandarmokh is a forest clearing in the Republic of Karelia that marks a mass execution and burial site used during the Soviet Great Terror. Most recorded executions at the site took place in 1937 and 1938, and the clearing contains thousands of victims from multiple nationalities.

Today the location is a formal memorial with marked pits, plaques and paths; it is visited by relatives, researchers and commemorative delegations and is the site of annual remembrance events. The memorial layout preserves the scale and distribution of the burial pits.

The killings were carried out by NKVD units during the 1937-1938 campaigns of repression; documentation and witness research in the 1990s led to identification of the site and the names of many victims.

Sandarmokh lies in Medvezhyegorsky District in the Republic of Karelia, in a remote forest clearing associated with the small settlement that gives the site its name.

• Victim numbers: Scholarly research and testimony estimate roughly 9,000 to 10,000 people were executed and buried at the site during the Great Terror of 1937-1938.
• Discovery and memorialization: The location was brought to wider attention by researchers and Memorial activists following its discovery in 1997, after which it became the focus of official and civil memorial work.

What to See #

• Memorial complex: A memorial complex with marked burial pits, stone markers and plaques commemorates the victims; commemorative events and pilgrimages are held at the site.