Butovo firing range
Encyclopedia
The Butovo firing range is the name of a location where more than 20,000 political prisoners were shot during the Great Terror
of the Soviet Union
and thereafter from 1938 to 1953. It is located in the Yuzhnoye Butovo District of Moscow
, near the village of Drozhzhino. Among those killed in Butovo were Béla Kun
, Gustav Klutsis
, Seraphim Chichagov
, and a number of Orthodox priests later canonized as the New Martyr
s. The Russian Orthodox Church
took over the ownership of the lot in 1995 and had a large Russian Revival memorial church erected there in the 2000s. The mass grave
may be visited on weekends.
Fyodor Drozhin. The estate's owner in 1889 was certain N.M. Solovov, who turned it into a large stud farm
and had a large hippodrome
built there. His descendant, I.I. Zimin donated the stud farm to the state in the aftermath of the Bolshevist Revolution
in exchange for right to flee the country. The farm became the property of the Red Army
.
In the 1920s the site, now officially named Butovo, was ceded to the infamous OGPU. In 1935 it was turned into a small firing range for the NKVD
. The remaining grounds of the former farm were occupied by a sovkhoz
Kommunarka and a dacha
of Genrikh Yagoda
. During the Great Purges the cemeteries of nearby Moscow could not cope with the number of victims of Soviet terror. Because of that, in late 1936 both the firing range and the nearby sovkhoz Kommunarka were turned into a Special Object, or a secret mass murder site operated by the NKVD
.
The exact number of victims executed there remains unknown as only fragmentary data has been declassified by NKVD's successor services. Some sources cite between 10 and 14 thousand people murdered at Kommunarka and additional 20,765 at Butovo, the latter number includes only those executed between August 1st, 1937 and October 19th, 1938. Reportedly the most busy day at the firing range was February 28, 1938 when 562 people were executed on the same day. The site remained heavily guarded by Soviet and later Russian secret police until 1995, when it was sold to Russian Orthodox Church
.
Among those killed and buried at Butovo were Soviet military commander Hayk Bzhishkyan, Vladimir Dzhunkovsky
, Nikolai Krylenko
, former leader of Hungary Béla Kun
, Aleksandr Drevin
, Marija Leiko
, bishop Seraphim Chichagov
, Prince Dmitry Shakhovskoy
, Gustav Klutsis
and Polish poet Bruno Jasieński
.
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and thereafter from 1938 to 1953. It is located in the Yuzhnoye Butovo District of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, near the village of Drozhzhino. Among those killed in Butovo were Béla Kun
Béla Kun
Béla Kun , born Béla Kohn, was a Hungarian Communist politician and a Bolshevik Revolutionary who led the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919.- Early life :...
, Gustav Klutsis
Gustav Klutsis
Gustav Klutsis was a pioneering photographer and major member of the Constructivist avant-garde in the early 20th century...
, Seraphim Chichagov
Seraphim Chichagov
Seraphim Chichagov , born Leonid Mikhailovich Chichagov, was a Metropolitan bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church who was executed by firing squad and subsequently canonized as a New Martyr....
, and a number of Orthodox priests later canonized as the New Martyr
New Martyr
The title of New Martyr or Neomartyr of the Eastern Orthodox Church was originally given to martyrs who died under heretical rulers . Later the Church added to the list those martyred under Islam and various modern regimes, especially Communist ones, which espoused state atheism...
s. The Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
took over the ownership of the lot in 1995 and had a large Russian Revival memorial church erected there in the 2000s. The mass grave
Mass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple number of human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. There is no strict definition of the minimum number of bodies required to constitute a mass grave, although the United Nations defines a mass grave as a burial site which...
may be visited on weekends.
History
Until 19th century the site was occupied by a small settlement by the name of Kosmodemyanskoye Drozhino, first attested in 1568 as owned by a local boyarBoyar
A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....
Fyodor Drozhin. The estate's owner in 1889 was certain N.M. Solovov, who turned it into a large stud farm
Stud farm
A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry, is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud" comes from the Old English stod meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding" Historically, documentation of the breedings that occur on a stud farm leads to the...
and had a large hippodrome
Hippodrome
A hippodrome was a Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words "hippos and "dromos"...
built there. His descendant, I.I. Zimin donated the stud farm to the state in the aftermath of the Bolshevist Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
in exchange for right to flee the country. The farm became the property of the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
.
In the 1920s the site, now officially named Butovo, was ceded to the infamous OGPU. In 1935 it was turned into a small firing range for the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
. The remaining grounds of the former farm were occupied by a sovkhoz
Sovkhoz
A sovkhoz , typically translated as state farm, is a state-owned farm. The term originated in the Soviet Union, hence the name. The term is still in use in some post-Soviet states, e.g., Russia and Belarus. It is usually contrasted with kolkhoz, which is a collective-owned farm...
Kommunarka and a dacha
Dacha
Dacha is a Russian word for seasonal or year-round second homes often located in the exurbs of Soviet and post-Soviet cities. Cottages or shacks serving as family's main or only home are not considered dachas, although many purpose-built dachas are recently being converted for year-round residence...
of Genrikh Yagoda
Genrikh Yagoda
Genrikh Grigoryevich Yagoda , born Enokh Gershevich Ieguda , was a Soviet state security official who served as director of the NKVD, the Soviet Union's Stalin-era security and intelligence agency, from 1934 to 1936...
. During the Great Purges the cemeteries of nearby Moscow could not cope with the number of victims of Soviet terror. Because of that, in late 1936 both the firing range and the nearby sovkhoz Kommunarka were turned into a Special Object, or a secret mass murder site operated by the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
.
The exact number of victims executed there remains unknown as only fragmentary data has been declassified by NKVD's successor services. Some sources cite between 10 and 14 thousand people murdered at Kommunarka and additional 20,765 at Butovo, the latter number includes only those executed between August 1st, 1937 and October 19th, 1938. Reportedly the most busy day at the firing range was February 28, 1938 when 562 people were executed on the same day. The site remained heavily guarded by Soviet and later Russian secret police until 1995, when it was sold to Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
.
Among those killed and buried at Butovo were Soviet military commander Hayk Bzhishkyan, Vladimir Dzhunkovsky
Vladimir Dzhunkovsky
Vladimir Fyodorovich Dzhunkovskiy was a Russian statesman. He held the posts of the Governor of Moscow Guberniya and the Governor-General of Moscow .-Biography:...
, Nikolai Krylenko
Nikolai Krylenko
Nikolai Vasilyevich Krylenko was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet politician. Krylenko served in a variety of posts in the Soviet legal system, rising to become People's Commissar for Justice and Prosecutor General of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic.Krylenko was an...
, former leader of Hungary Béla Kun
Béla Kun
Béla Kun , born Béla Kohn, was a Hungarian Communist politician and a Bolshevik Revolutionary who led the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919.- Early life :...
, Aleksandr Drevin
Aleksandr Drevin
Aleksandr Davydovich Drevin was a Latvian painter.Drevin attended art school in Riga and first came to Moscow in 1914. He studied under Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin...
, Marija Leiko
Marija Leiko
Marija Leiko was a Latvian silent movie actress in Europe since the 1910s, especially popular in Latvia, Germany and Russia.- Life and film career :...
, bishop Seraphim Chichagov
Seraphim Chichagov
Seraphim Chichagov , born Leonid Mikhailovich Chichagov, was a Metropolitan bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church who was executed by firing squad and subsequently canonized as a New Martyr....
, Prince Dmitry Shakhovskoy
Dmitry Shakhovskoy
Prince Dmitry Ivanovich Shakhovskoy was Russian liberal politician.- Life :Active participant in zemstvo congresses, 1904-1905; one of the organizers of the Union of Liberation....
, Gustav Klutsis
Gustav Klutsis
Gustav Klutsis was a pioneering photographer and major member of the Constructivist avant-garde in the early 20th century...
and Polish poet Bruno Jasieński
Bruno Jasienski
Bruno Jasieński was a Polish poet and the leader of the Polish futurist movement.Bruno Jasieński was born Wiktor Zysman on 17 July 1901 in Klimontów in southern Congress Poland, Russian Empire to a Polish family of Jewish and German roots, but from his mother's side he was a descendant of the...
.