Karelia identifies soldiers killed in Great Patriotic War

The authorities of Karelia have identified seven Soviet soldiers that perished during the Great Patriotic War. The remains were discovered by an interregional search expedition that spent a whole month working in the woods near the village of Syandeba, Olonets district.

According to Yekaterina Yefimova of the search expedition, the remains were identified with the help of lockets that bore the names of their owners. Five of the soldiers had come from Leningrad and the Leningrad region, namely Vladimir Cherepov, Alexei Kundalyov, S.Alexeyev, A.Shcheglov, and I.Nezhurin. Two more lockets belonged to Nikolai Abramov from Pargolovo and Mikhail Suvorov from Rostov.

The age of the soldiers ranged between 17 and 79. All had been members of the 3rd Frunze Volunteer Corps, the one that had been formed in Leningrad and had been engaged in bloody battles in the summer of 1941.

According to Yefimova, soldiers' remains are found in almost every overgrown trench located in the area. In all, the search expedition came up with the remains of 80 warriors and more than 20 lockets. The majority of the lockets are practically unharmed, which Yefimova says is a rare occurrence.

Of personal belongings found in the area, one is a well-preserved soldiers' overcoat, which is likely to end up in the Karelian State Museum of Local Lore.

The soldiers' remains will be buried in a solemn ceremony scheduled for August 14. Among those attending will be the veterans of the Frunze Volunteer Corps and officials from the administration of St. Petersburg's Frunze district.

The search expedition will continue its work in the area next year.