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Necropolis /Polish cemetery in the Ezhma special settlement
The Polish cemetery in the Ezhma special settlement (Pinega region, Arkhangel’sk Province) is situated 300 metres to the North East of the former Ezhma settlement. The settlement was set up in 1930 by dekulakized special settlers from the Saratov, Volgograd and other provinces. In March 1940 Polish citizens (63 families, in all 279 individuals) were billeted in Ezhma. They were exiled “osadniki” (Polish settlers from the Western Provinces of the Ukraine and Belorussia, often former soldiers who had received land there after the end of the Polish-Soviet war). The exact number of Polish citizens interned and buried here is not known. A nominal roll of 15 persons who died in the period 1940-1942 has been put together. By 2008 nine crosses that were still standing upright had been preserved and there were separate fragments of about 20 other crosses. On four of the crosses were inscriptions that were scarcely legible. (Photo 15.09.2008) | Name of necropolis | Polish cemetery in the Ezhma special settlement |
| Description | The cemetery is in a forest, in a place that is difficult of access (the roads are impassable, access on foot is difficult).
The cemetery is not enclosed, its boundaries are not marked out and the burial ground is determined visually as a 50m x 70m plot. Burial-mounds are visible on the site and there are about 20 wooden crosses of varying sizes from 0.5m to 2.5m. Nine crosses are still standing upright, the remainder are lying on the ground. On four of the crosses carved inscriptions remain – the names and dates of birth and death of those buried |
| Landscape | Forest tract (mostly fir), waterlogged soil |
| Area | 0.35 hectares (50x70m) |
| Years of the burials | 1940-1942 |
| Exact year the burials began | 1940 |
| Exact year the burials ended | 1942 |
| Who is buried here | Special settlers – polish citizens, so-called “osadniki”, deported from the territories of the Western Provinces of the Ukraine and Belorussia (Polish settlers, often former soldiers who had received land there after the end of the Polish-Soviet war). |
| Availability of information on those buried here | The names of 15 persons are known. |
| Type of burial | Individual graves. |
| State of preservation | The cemetery is abandoned. Burial mounds can be seen in the area and there are about 20 crosses of varying sizes, from 0.2m to 2.5m. Nine crosses are standing upright, the rest are on the ground. On four crosses carved inscriptions in Polish have survived – these are the names and dates of birth and death of those who have died. |
| Excavations | 1989-1990 – G.A. Danilova, 2008 – Expedition of the Consulate General of the Polish Republic in St Petersburg. |
| Expert assessment | Not carried out. |
| Re-burial | Not carried out. |
| Detailed annotation | The Polish cemetery in the former Ezhma special settlement in the Pinega Region of the Arkhangel’sk oblast’ rovince is situated 300 metres to the North East of the former Ezhma special settlement. The settlement can be found 28km to the North East of Kulogor village. It is called after the river of the same name – the River Ezhma, which flows into the River Svetlaya (a tributary of the River Olma which in turn is a tributary of the River Kulaya). The Ezhma special settlement was formed in 1930 by special settlers, “dekulakized” peasants from the Saratov, Volgograd and other provinces, who were given timber-stockpiling work. Polish citizens (63 families, 279 individuals in total), mostly deported “osadniki” (Polish settlers from the Western Provinces of the Ukraine and Belorussia, often former soldiers who had received land there after the end of the Polish-Soviet war) were billeted in Ezhma in March 1940. Before their arrival the inhabitants of the Ezhma settlement were transferred to other forestry areas in the Pinega region. The Polish workers were given work in a Trust called “Pinegoles” – “Pinega Forest” (timber-preparation). Those who died were buried in the forest, 300 metres from the settlement. It is possible that the burial place of the Poles was right next to the cemetery belonging to the special settlers of the 1930s; it is possible that the “Polish Cemetery” was separate, since during research on the site of the cemetery (or a part of the cemetery) no special settlers from the 1930s were found. The Poles buried their dead in individual graves and then erected gravestones – Catholic crosses with the names of the dead. The special settlement regime was revoked on 12.08.1941 by a Decree of the Praesidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, granting an amnesty to the Polish citizens and during 1942 all the Polish families left Ezhma. The cemetery was abandoned after 1942. The exact number of Polish internees who were buried there is not known. In the database “Polish special settlers in Arkhangel’sk Province”, compiled by the Information Centre of the UVD for Arkhangel’sk oblast’ in collaboration with the Research, Information and Education Centre “Memorial” (Moscow), there are the names of 13 people who died in the Ezhma special settlement between March 1940 and before the authorities started removing them from the special settlers’ register (01.09.1941). But this list is incomplete: in the card-index of the Information Centre of the UVD, which the database relies on, there is no information on the removal from the register of a further 26 special settlers from Ezhma. It cannot be ruled out that some of these people – or even all of them – also died in the period March 1940 to 1 September 1940. In addition, it is known that several former special settlers died in Ezhma after being removed from the register, in the period September – December 1941 and during 1942. These deaths were no longer being registered in the Commandant’s office. In the mid-1950s the settlement ceased to exist. The cemetery was first examined by G.A. Danilova, a local historian from Pinega in 1989-1990. More than 20 burial crosses were found. Inscriptions were still on five of them and this allowed G.A. Danilova to add three more names to the list of those who had died. In September 2008 an expedition to Ezhma was organised as part of a research project of the Consul General of the Polish Republic in St Petersburg (called “Traces of Poles in North West Russia”) (participants: G.A. Danilova, A. Egorova, the President of the Arkhangel’sk “Polonia” Organisation and Magdalena Slawinska, an intern in the Consulate General of the Polish Republic). The aim of the expedition was to describe the condition of the cemetery and to produce a photographic record. They found nine crosses (from 0.5m to 2.5m) still standing and separate fragments of about 20 crosses. The inscriptions were still there on four crosses. (Photo 15.09.2008). |
| Opening times | Always open. |
| Link to subject index | access denied |
| Link to subject index | access denied |
| Link to subject index | access denied |
Necropolis /Polish cemetery in the Ezhma special settlement
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