http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/09/23/37060.html How many did Stalin murder?

St.Petersburg law enforcement officers discovered a very sensational find, which is most likely yet another mass burial situated near the Russia-s northern capital. Members of the Memorial searching group suppose that mass executions were held at the Rzhevsky artillery range during 1937-38. According to provisional and yet to be confirmed information, about 30,000 people are lying in the burial place. Several large common graves have been already discovered. Remains found prove that the people were shot. Experts say the shots in the back of the people-s heads were from 45 caliber guns, which were commonly used by the Soviet People-s Commissariat of Internal Affairs. As of now, several graves have been already inspected, and a more detailed investigation of the area is to start very soon. However, there is another problem: the mass burial is situated in the functioning Rzhevsky artillery range, which is covored by unexploded mines and shells. In addition, no official evidence has been found yet to confirm that mass shootings had been executed at the range during 1937-38. A special searching group consisting of forensic medical experts, geographers, ballisticians, and soil scientists has already been created. Most liely, the fact that mass shootings were held at the artillery range during 1937-38 will be soon be confirmed. Anna Radygina PRAVDA.Ru 17:06 2002-07-10

Mass grave found in Moscow-s Supreme Court

It was reported today that a mass grave of the 1930s v 1940s v 1950s was found in the basement of the building of the Russian Supreme Court in Moscow (Povarskaya Street, 15). This grave was discovered during repair works, when Turkish constructions workers found human skeletons, bones, and sculls. Specialists have already determined the appropriate age of the grave. The people were buried in the 1940s or 1950s; the experts' data were sent to the Office of the Public Prosecutor of Moscow, while the bones were sent to a morgue. The prosecuting bodies will investigate the whole matter and then decide if there is a need to institute criminal proceedings or not. The building of the Russian Supreme Court was built during theStalin era, when Moscow was undergoing the process of the general reconstruction. There are two versions to explain the origin of the grave. The first says that those bones were the remains of those people who were executed as a result of Stalin-s repression. The second version says that it might be a common graveyard, since there used to be a church on the site of the Supreme Court-s building. Five mass graves have been discovered in Moscow: a grave at the Yauza hospital, which is the result of on security bodies (executed people were buried in 1921-1926, and Vagankovskoye graveyard (1926-1935), the graveyard near the Moscow crematorium (1934-1950). There are also two grave sites of the Soviet People-s Commissariat for Internal Affairs (1936-1937).