Ingush: Exile test

The end of February 1944 became the tragic and turning point for the Ingush people. As a result of the Operation “lentils”, thousands of families went on a shameful expulsion to Kazakh and Kyrgyz steppes. The causes of repressions were declared mass desertion, evasion of draft in wartime and preparing an armed uprising in the Soviet rear. According to the Memorial International Society, 485 thousand people were taken out of Chechnya and Ingushetia during the deportation.

- 50,660 Ingush children, women and men of all ages were destroyed by the Stalinist terror during transportation from the North Caucasus to North Kazakhstan and Central Asia by the brutal circulation of the escort, military commandants, all kinds of supervisors, hunger, epidemics, inhuman life conditions and hard labor labor labor of the first years of deportation, the researcher and public labor and public labor, the researcher and public labor and public work The leader Maryam Yandieva.

After 1956, the victims of the Ingush began to return to the generic nests, to the usual way of life, but the scars from the experienced in their souls and families still remained. And even if there are fewer deportation witnesses to the survivor now, this injury is just not to survive.

In September, the Gulag Museum of History was opened by the photo exhibition “Test. 70 years later ”, dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the deportation of the Ingush people. It presents portraits of 44 Ingush, made by the Moscow photographer Dmitry Belyakov. In addition to unique photo portraits, reflecting all the charm and subtle charm of Ingush life, the exhibition shows a video interview with participants in the tragic events of those years. This is both the quintessence of life experience, and documentary evidence of the tragedy experienced, and, if you like, the imprint of a fragment of that terrible reality that should not be repeated.

The deputy director for the scientific work of the memorial complex to the victims of the repressions of Ingushetia Zarif Sautiev told about her vision of this problem:

- The deportation of 1944 is the main direction of our work. “Test” is an exhibition that we made along with our museum precisely on the 70th anniversary of the tragedy. To date, there are fewer fewer people who have seen it with their own eyes.

And unfortunately, this problem has not been solved and has not yet been meaningful. We can say that no one took the blame. We still feel somewhat infringed. “Test” is the exhibition that shows not only portraits, but also memories. Perhaps some period will pass, and not a single person who saw it with his own eyes will remain on Earth. And these faces, these memories - they will help those who remained, comprehend everything to the end.

- Did all the Ingush returned to their place of residence after response ?

- No, not all. Not even because they did not want, but because a focused policy was conducted: to populate the desert in order to keep people there. After all, many people from all over the Soviet Union drove there. Many people were kept to stay there to live there ... This is one reason. Another reason is that part of Ingushetia remained as part of another republic - Ossetia. At home, the Ingush was not returned. And the people who lived before the eviction there are now very difficult! In addition, in 1992, the so-called Ossetian-Ingush conflict occurred when many people were kicked out of their houses ...

Exhibition "Test . 70 years later , the mock " was opened until October 26 .

Thank the Gulag History Museum for permission to publish photos of Dmitry Belyakova