Memorial Complex for the Victims of the Chon-Tash Burial
DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT
The memorial complex (total area - 2 hectares) consists of a sculptural composition and a museum. The sculptural composition includes: a brick firing oven - the place where 137 people were shot and initially buried; a memorial monument (on September 8, 1999, 137 people were reburied here). The "Ata-Beyit" Museum (area - 400 sq. m) features documents and photographs of the political development of Kyrgyzstan in the 1920s and 30s, materials about the victims of the Chon-Tash burial. The authors of the museum's exhibition are scientific staff from the State Historical Museum A. Israilova, O. Ilyinskaya, K. Kimalaev.
DATE OF OPENING
July 8, 2000.
AUTHORS
Honored Architect of the Kyrgyz Republic, Academician, Professor of the International Academy of Architecture K. Alykulov; architects: U. Beishbaev, T. Alykulov, A. Jumakalykov; sculptors: A. Soodonbekov, V. Shestopal.
In the summer of '91, a mass burial of human remains was discovered in the suburbs of Kyrgyzstan's capital - Bishkek, near the village of Chon-Tash. A series of materials about the mysteries of the Chon-Tash area (translated from Kyrgyz - Big Stone), published in the republican newspaper "Slovo Kyrgyzstana," sparked widespread public interest. The residents of the republic finally learned the truth about the tragic fate of their fathers, husbands, brothers, people of various nationalities who became victims of unprecedented terror.
Approximately twenty kilometers south of Bishkek, the remains of 137 victims of a mass shooting organized by the authorities of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic in 1938 found their final resting place. Here lies the renowned Kyrgyz writer Chinghiz Aitmatov, whose father, Torokul, was among those shot in 1938, as well as the bodies of 27 victims of the April Revolution of 2010. As can be concluded from the name of the memorial, Ata-Beyit honors the memory of those who contributed to the construction of the national identity of modern post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan.
Situated on a gentle slope just a few meters from the road, the Ata-Beyit memorial includes a large gravel-covered circle, raised above ground level and surrounded by flowerbeds; on the way to the memorial, visitors ascend several flights of steps. At the top, they are greeted by an expressive sculptural group made of golden-colored stone: three men with emaciated, twisted bodies and faces distorted by pain. In the center of the memorial is a large tuunduk made of thick red pipes on top of a smooth black stone platform, bordered by slanted granite slabs. The tuunduk is the point where the two main parts of a yurt's framework intersect. Stylized images of the tuunduk decorate many public spaces in Kyrgyzstan - including the national flag of the republic - indicating that the tuunduk has become an important symbol reflecting Kyrgyz statehood. The remains of the victims of the bloody reprisals of 1938 are buried under the intersection of the tuunduk, their names engraved on the red stone around the perimeter. Given that the identities of most victims of Soviet terror buried in countless mass graves cannot be established, it is a rare success that the names of all those killed in Chon-Tash were identified by researchers. Moreover, thanks to free access to the NKVD archives in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan and the discovery of personal documents of the executed at the burial site, the bodies of all 137 victims were identified, their innocence confirmed, and their persecution by the Soviet authorities documented in a small but substantive collection at the Ata-Beyit museum.
Head of the KGB Department of the Kyrgyz Republic, Colonel Alik Orozov:
- The search for mass graves of repression victims in the territory of the republic is associated with a number of serious difficulties. First of all, there is a lack of witnesses and eyewitnesses to the crimes. Such people were usually eliminated. There are also no archival data on these actions. They were, of course, not publicized.
In accordance with the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated January 16, 1989, on additional measures to restore justice for the victims of repression of the 30s, 40s, and early 50s, the State Security Committee of the republic is conducting ongoing work. An investigation is underway to search for people who may know the locations of mass graves of the repressed. The approximate location of possible group burials has been established. One of them is in the Alamudun district, near the village of Chon-Tash.
We have informed the government of the republic about this. The prosecutor's office is initiating a criminal case regarding the discovery of the burial. Its nature and size will be determined by an expert examination. Test excavations provide grounds to suggest the presence of a mass grave here. Our task is to gather as much information as possible about those tragic events. We are counting on the help of anyone who has any information about the locations of mass shootings and burials of victims of Stalinist arbitrariness.
At the far end of the memorial, in a round concrete building, there is a small museum, decorated in the same red color as the tuunduk. The informative exhibition was prepared by staff from the State Historical Museum in Bishkek A. Israilova, O. Ilyinskaya, and K. Kimalaev. In addition to a detailed account of the process of searching for and discovering the mass grave, the exhibition includes poignant quotes from the works of Chinghiz Aitmatov, personal belongings of the executed (boots, caps, cigarette cases), as well as materials from Soviet archives detailing the recognition of the accused as "enemies of the people" and the sentences of the Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz SSR. Photographs of the executed and their families, along with short biographical sketches, emphasize the senselessness of their destruction. This impression is further confirmed by the fact that almost all those shot in Chon-Tash were rehabilitated by the Supreme Court as early as 1957. Twenty years after their exclusion, their party membership was restored, rehabilitation cleared their names, and their innocence was publicly recognized. The rehabilitation process lasted from 1954 to the 1990s, and to date, almost all victims of political repression in Kyrgyzstan - about 40,000 people - have been rehabilitated.
To the left of the tuunduk, on a wide flattened arch, seemingly growing from the hill, there is an inscription in Kyrgyz: "You can try to break the truth, but you cannot kill it." On the walls of the opening under the arch are bronze images of scenes of terror. On the right side are images of children mourning the tattered bodies of their fathers; nearby are people in uniform observing as prisoners dig pits and carry heavy loads. On the bas-reliefs to the left is an image of a child hiding behind a mother, who is reaching out to a man being dragged away by people in military uniforms, and figures of guards watching as horse-drawn carts take away a group of arrested individuals. On the back side of the arch are steps leading up to a flat platform atop the arch. From here, there are expansive views of scorched fields and areas of steppe, amidst which Bishkek can be seen on clear days. Patches of various shades of yellow-brown are dotted with solitary green poplars. To the left and right, the rugged slopes of the hills rise undulatingly, transitioning into the foothills of the Tian Shan mountains, extending beyond Ata-Beyit. From this platform, the panorama of the complex is revealed - the tuunduk stands out more distinctly, and the rising square of the memorial with gently sloping sides is perceived more cohesively. On the opposite side of the complex, at the edge of a narrow gravel path, a twelve-meter metal bell tower is installed with a bronze bell.
A few steps to the right of the central square of the memorial is Aitmatov's grave. A black iron fence surrounds an area of about 4 square meters. On a simple obelisk made of black granite is the name and years of life (12.12.1928 – 10.06.2008), above the grave is a mound of earth covered with wreaths.
Here is also a memorial complex dedicated to the victims of the April events of 2010. However, only the bodies of 27 deceased are buried on the territory of "Ata-Beyit."
Attractions of Chuy Region
Memorial Museum "Ata-Beyit"