Stalin-Era Mass Graves Discovered in Ukraine

News August 31, 2021

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ODESSA, UKRAINE—The AFP reports that mass graves that may hold the remains of thousands of people have been found at the site of a garbage dump in southern Ukraine ahead of work to expand Odessa airport. The dead are thought to be victims of Stalin’s Great Terror of the 1930s. “They dug out pits in the garbage and threw these people in or shot them dead as they were standing there,” said archaeologist Tetyana Samoylova. The bodies were then covered with garbage, she explained. More than 400 truckloads of garbage were removed to reach the 29 graves that have been found so far. “The bodies lie in several layers,” added researcher Oleksandr Babych. “Already we can see at least five layers.” A memorial is being planned for the site, according to Odessa mayor Gennady Trukhanov. For more on Ukrainian archaeology, go to “Hail to the Bождь (Chieftain).”

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