Prisoners of the Sevzheldorlag camp outpost in Yosser were engaged first in building (1941-1942) and then maintaining the Northern Railroad. The outpost existed until the mid-1950s. Prisoners who died were interred in a separate burial ground on the edge of the settlement in both individual and common graves.
In 2001 the burial ground was studied by an expedition from the children’s club in Knyazhpogost (Yemva), led by R.I. Litus. A wooden commemorative cross was raised there in 2009, thanks to the efforts of L.N. Sestrovaya, a relative of a prisoner who died in Yosser.
Repentance: the Komi Republic Martyrology of the Victims of Mass Political Repression (11 vols. 1998-2016), includes biographical entries on 52,785 who were sent to the camps in Komi, of whom over 10,000 died there.
Drawing on that and other sources the Memorial online database (2025) lists 1,221 individuals who were held in Sevzheldorlag (848 sentenced in 1940) and names 94 who died in captivity but does not specify where they died or were buried.
| Date | Nature of ceremonies | Organiser or responsible person | Participants | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
nk
|
Commemorative Services
|
nk
|
nk
|
From time to time
|
| State of burials | Area | Boundaries |
|---|---|---|
|
grave mounds, some grave-markers
|
not determined
|
not delineated
|
“Report on the findings of the Yemva-Vozhael expedition, August 2009”, Department of education and youth policy, Knyazhpogost municipal district
