At the request of Shcherbakov, the Chelyabinsk Public Prosecutor’s Office issued an action order to the Mayor’s Office about the improper maintenance of the Fraternal Cemetery of Soldiers

Press Release, 26.06.2024

Photo: The Memory Memorial at the Fraternal Cemetery of Warriors with decommissioned S-75 anti-aircraft missile systems installed by the monument / Photo by the regional branch of the party

The Chelyabinsk Public Prosecutor’s Office, in a response letter to the leader of the Chelyabinsk Yabloko Yaroslav Shcherbakov, admitted that the gravestones in the cemetery were destroyed, there were no stars on the tombstones, and the burial fence was broken. In addition, there is decommissioned military equipment by the monument to grieving mothers devoted to the victims of the Second World War, which is prohibited by order of the State Committee for the Protection of Cultural Heritage Objects. In connection with the identified violations, the Chelyabinsk Public Prosecutor’s Office issued an action to the Mayor’s Office about the improper maintenance of the Fraternal Cemetery of Soldiers. Earlier, Yaroslav Shcherbakov reported that the memorial at Lesnoye Cemetery, an important place for Chelyabinsk residents, had been under conservation for four years, and access to it was closed even on Victory Day, 9 May.

The monument to grieving mothers which bears the official name “Memory”, together with the fraternal cemetery of soldiers who died from wounds during the Second World War in hospitals in Chelyabinsk, is an object of cultural heritage. The monument symbolises the grief of the mothers, wives, sisters, and brides of soldiers killed in the war. About two hundred soldiers of the Second World War were buried in the cemetery.

Now two decommissioned S-75 anti-aircraft missile systems are installed at the memorial side, which is not only prohibited by order of the State Committee for the Protection of Cultural Heritage Objects, but also contradicts the significance of the monument, Yaroslav Shcherbakov says.

“The militarisation of memory is inappropriate and unlawful,” Shcherbakov notes.

The Mayor’s Administration promised to repair the cemetery in 2024 and dismantle military equipment when funds become available. By mid-year, work on repairing the memorial still has not begun.