Chechnya dismantles bridge built from tombstones

The automobile bridge, built from the tombstones, removed from Chechen cemeteries after Stalin's deportation of 1944, was dismantled in the Shali District of Chechnya.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed at the ministry of motor roads of the republic that the bridge was built more than 60 years ago. "After the 1944 deportation, such things happened everywhere," said the ministry. "In Grozny and other towns there are a lot of houses and various buildings, where the churts (tombstones) from our cemeteries were used for basements. In the Soviet times it was forbidden to talk about it, but from late 1980s the topic became a subject of general debates; and the public expressed its outrage."

"The automobile bridge in the village of Germenchuk, Shali District, built from tombstones, was six meters long. It has been dismantled, and a new one was built instead. The churts were returned to the cemetery," said the ministry's spokesperson.

Villagers at Germenchuk express their satisfaction that the old bridge was replaced for a new one. "Even my grandfather said that walking over this bridge is a crime before the Lord and people. Now, the justice has finally triumphed," said Arbi, a Germenchuk resident.

See earlier report: "Memorial to 1944 deportation victims dismantled in Chechnya".