Kuschevskaya villagers commemorate victims of massacre committed a year ago

On November 4, one year after the massacre in the village of Kuschevskaya, Krasnodar Territory, the villagers held a mourning rally and paid tribute to perished families.

Twelve bodies were found at fire extinguishing in a private house in Kuschevskaya on November 5, 2010. The house belonged to the family of the farmer Server Ametov. The casualties were his family members and their guests. Most of them died from stab wounds. The investigation revealed that the house was put on fire deliberately, with the aim to cover the traces of the mass murder.

From early morning, well before the rally, people began bringing flowers to Server Ametov's house in Zelyonaya Street, where the tragedy occurred. The rally that started at 11:00 a.m. at the fountain in Kuschevskiy Arbat Square was attended by 300-400 persons, including casualties' relatives, local authorities and deputies, groups from Kuschevskaya organizations, mothers with children, and elderly persons.

As stated at the rally by Vladimir Khanbekov, the head of the Kuschevskaya District, neither authorities nor residents of Kuschevskaya had forgotten and would not be able to forget the tragedy. "It would mean to betray not only the memory of those twelve perished, but the conscience of those alive," he said, noting that the tragedy had changed the consciousness of the villagers. Mr Khanbekov is sure that "there will be no return to the past."

According to his story, the village of Kuschevskaya has found the power to "recover from the blow." He treated the tragedy that happened a year ago as "a hard but important lesson" that changed everything and everybody. "Only we can't return the dead," he said. "Eternal memory to them."