Mass Grave Discovered In Russia's Far East

A researcher walks past remains and personal belongings of apparent victims of Stalin's purges.

A report from Russia says workers at a road construction site in the country's Far East have discovered a mass grave containing the remains of some 500 people believed to be victims of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s regime.

The Interfax news agency reported that bullet holes in the skulls indicate that the people were likely political prisoners who were executed in the 1930s.

The report quoted a spokesman for the administration in the city of Vladivostok as saying the remains will be buried following forensic examinations.

Historians estimate that millions of people fell victim to reprisals by Stalin, who ruled from the late 1920s until his death in 1953.

compiled from agency reports