War casualties and convicted criminals intersect at Irkutsk cemetery
Over the past nine months, the cemetery for fallen soldiers near Irkutsk in Siberia has doubled. According to the local Ludiej Baikala service, a significant portion of the newly buried had prison sentences due to the establishment of a designated section for Wagner Group members.
For the past two and a half years, a war has been ongoing in Ukraine, where, according to official government data, approximately 3,000 residents of southern Siberia die daily. This is particularly well illustrated by the changing cemetery for fallen soldiers near Irkutsk, which has more than doubled over the past nine months.
Only a few relatives of prisoners recruited for the war knew about the graves of Wagner Group mercenaries at the Alexandrovsky Cemetery. When the Wagner Group began suffering heavy losses near Bakhmut, the company did not always inform the relatives where the deceased were buried. Some families later learned from Ludiej Baikala journalists that their loved ones were buried near Irkutsk — the article begins.
As it turns out, due to the extensive recruitment in penal colonies throughout Siberia, at the beginning of 2023, the Wagner Group chose the cemetery near Irkutsk to bury their fallen. Many more began arriving after the offensive on Bakhmut.
Cemetery in Irkutsk has doubled due to the war in Ukraine
Due to the Wagner Group's purchase of land next to the "Avenue of Heroes" at the cemetery, mercenary graves immediately began to appear. This way, the number of graves quickly grew from 66 to 140, most previously in a penal colony.
According to the Ludiej Baikala portal, nine of them were convicted of murder, and three additionally committed it against their parents. Among those buried, there were also thieves, drug dealers, and those who attempted to kill someone. The record holder was Alexander Browchenko, who was to serve 21 years in prison.
The longest sentence we discovered in the Avenue of Heroes was to be served by Alexander Browchenko. In 2013, he was sentenced to 21 years in prison for stabbing three people, including two women, and seriously injuring another during a drunken argument over jealousy - the portal notes.
Out of nearly 74 people buried in the last nine months, only 12 were recorded as official war casualties. For the rest, there is still a possibility that their families do not know about the death or the burial site.
