Representatives of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan Participate in Memorial Event Dedicated to the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Political Repressions

May 30, 2026. Almaty Region. On the eve of the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Political Repressions, members of the Club of Leaders of Traditional Religions of the city of Alma-Ata visited the Zhanalyk Historical and Memorial Complex.

During the 1930s–1950s, this site served as an NKVD execution ground – a place for the execution and burial of political prisoners and victims of repression. It is the largest mass burial site of victims of political repression in the Republic. More than 4,000 people are buried at Zhanalyk, including a large number of Orthodox clergy, monastics, and laity.

Among those executed and buried at the site are saints glorified among the New Martyrs of the Russian Church: Hieromartyr Porphyry (Gulevich), Bishop of Crimea; Hieromartyr Macarius (Karmazin), Bishop of Yekaterinoslav; Venerable Martyr Pachomius (Rusin), hieromonk of the Aksai Skete; Hieromartyr Simeon Afonkin, priest from Kaskelen; Hieromartyr Sergius Brednikov, priest from Taldykorgan; Hieromartyr Ioann Chestnov, priest from Moscow; Hieromartyr Elijah Berezovsky, priest from Novosibirsk; Hieromartyr Roman Marchenko, priest from Issyk; and Venerable Martyr Galaktion (Novikov), hieromonk of the Valaam Monastery.

Among the well-known clergymen killed and buried at Zhanalyk are: Archbishop Innocent (Pustynsky), former Archbishop of Turkestan; Bishop Tikhon (Sharapov) of Alma-Ata; Archimandrite Arsenius (Kordi); Archimandrite Pavlin (Goncharov) of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra; Archimandrite Arkady (Perepechko); Archpriest Nikifor Strelnikov, former dean of the Resurrection Cathedral in Saint Petersburg; and Archpriest Matfey Shevchenko, former rector of the Ascension Cathedral in the city of Verny.

As part of the memorial observance, flowers were laid at the memorial and participants visited the museum complex dedicated to the memory of those unjustly persecuted during the years of mass repression.

With the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan was represented at the event by Hieromonk Dimitry (Baidek), Deputy Head of the Department for Public Relations of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, and Deacon Vitaly Bystrushkin, staff member of the department.

The event acquired special significance from the fact that the visit took place on Trinity Memorial Saturday – one of the most important days of universal commemoration of the departed in the Church. On this day, the Orthodox Church remembers, among others, all those innocently killed and persecuted during the years of oppression, offering prayers for the repose of their souls.

Participants in the event emphasized the importance of preserving historical memory concerning the tragic pages of the past, which remind contemporary society of the value of human life, dignity, freedom of conscience, and the necessity of peaceful coexistence among people of different convictions and traditions.

For many years, the Club of Leaders of Traditional Religions of the city of Alma-Ata has served as a platform for interreligious dialogue, joint public initiatives, and the strengthening of an atmosphere of peace and concord in society.