«Take the saw away from these inadequate people!» How deputies «put things in order» at a historical cemetery in Brest
A large-scale beautification effort at a historical cemetery in Brest ended in scandal and damage to gravestones. While city services reported on the improvements, residents saw a completely different picture: broken monuments and piles of felled trees directly on graves. Deputies of the city council and representatives of the Youth Council participated in the subbotnik (volunteer clean-up day) that left behind destruction.
On March 15, a resident of Brest visited the Tryshyn Cemetery and was shocked by what he saw: damaged monuments, a pile of uncleared branches and sawn trees, writes BGmedia.
However, on March 14, as part of a month-long beautification campaign, city deputies were tidying up this necropolis.
Sawn trees and damaged monuments left at Tryshyn Cemetery after clean-up
On March 15, a resident of Brest published photos from Tryshyn Cemetery on Threads. They show damaged monuments, uncleared branches, and sawn trees.
City residents in the comments did not hide their outrage:
«Take the saw away from these inadequate people! The cemetery belongs to the historical values of the city!»
«This is outrageous. They were sawing at the Catholic cemetery too, broke many monuments. Don't city authorities care!? (obviously, unfortunately, they don't)».
«Ancestors are not pleased with their descendants».
«Butterfingers».
«Brilliant leaders and talented performers. This is some kind of disgrace…»
As part of the month-long beautification campaign, Tryshyn Cemetery is being «tidied up»
KUP «Brest Special Enterprise» began tidying up the Tryshyn Cemetery in early March. For example, on March 5, the Brest City Housing and Communal Services reported that «as part of the month-long sanitary cleaning and tidying of Brest's territory, today at Tryshyn Cemetery, emergency trees and deadwood are being removed.»
They stated that «works for the maintenance and beautification of the ‘Tryshynsky’ cemetery are carried out by the KUP ‘Brest Special Enterprise’ in accordance with the requirements of the Rules for the Maintenance and Beautification of Burial Places, approved by the resolution of the Ministry of Housing and Communal Services.»
«Works are being carried out on the territory of the necropolis, which include pruning and shaping trees, removing emergency trees that are in an inappropriate condition, including invasive species. This type of work is carried out to prevent damage or destruction of monuments and gravestones of the necropolis,» wrote the Brest City Housing and Communal Services in their Telegram channel.
On March 7, a subbotnik was held in Brest. Deputies of the Brest City Council were «tidying up» the Tryshyn Cemetery.
On March 11, the Brest City Housing and Communal Services reported that «work on tidying up» was in full swing at the Tryshyn Cemetery. Employees of KUP «Brest Special Enterprise» were cutting shrubs and invasive plants, and sawing previously removed emergency trees.
«Tryshyn Cemetery is located along the main highway of Brest, so it is visible to all residents and guests of the city. The enterprise has committed significant resources to this responsible area to ensure exemplary order here. In total, about 40 workers are involved in the environmental campaign,» reported the Brest City Housing and Communal Services.
The next post about Tryshyn Cemetery appeared on the Telegram channel of the Brest City Housing and Communal Services on March 14. It reported that «deputies of the city council and the Youth Council are cleaning up garbage, cutting invasive plants and shrubs.»
It turns out that the damaged monuments, branches, and sawn trees were left behind by the city deputies and members of the Youth Council.
Photo: Brest City Housing and Communal Services
Tryshyn Necropolis — a unique «open-air archive» in the center of Brest
In the geographical center of Brest lies the oldest preserved necropolis of the city — Tryshyn Cemetery, where about 12 thousand people rest. The graveyard became city-wide in the 1830s when old Brest was demolished and moved east for the construction of the Brest Fortress. The oldest surviving gravestone here dates back to 1834. Officially, the cemetery was closed for burials in 1969.
Throughout its history, the cemetery has become the resting place for many prominent people. In addition, the remains of more than a hundred prisoners of the Brest Ghetto were reburied on the territory of the necropolis, and soldiers of the Tsarist and German armies also rest there.
Since August 2, 2016, the Tryshyn Necropolis has been granted the status of a historical and cultural heritage site of regional significance and is protected by the state.
Despite its high status, many unique pre-revolutionary gravestones are rapidly deteriorating. Serious damage has been caused by vandals and «black diggers» who for decades stole cast-iron elements, crosses, and fences for scrap metal. Currently, there are no budget funds for a full restoration of the monuments.
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