Fifteen Soviet-killed partisans and their supporters to be buried in Rokiškis district

The remains of 15 partisans and their supporters killed by Soviet repressive forces will be buried in Jūžintai, Rokiškis district, the local municipality announced on Tuesday, citing BNS.

This marks the first time in Lithuania that so many freedom fighters will be laid to rest simultaneously. The burial will take place on July 26 at the Jūžintai cemetery, with a farewell ceremony held at the local St. Archangel Michael Church.

According to the Lithuanian Genocide and Resistance Research Centre, 12 sets of remains were discovered last year near the old Jūžintai cemetery, close to the former NKVD (KGB) headquarters, in pits originally used for potato storage. Three more were found this year.

Nine of last year’s remains have been identified. Among them are four members of the Trano unit—35-year-old unit leader Edvardas Trano, his 22-year-old brother-in-law Vytautas Dičius, and two unidentified partisans, one possibly Jonas Tijūnėlis, though this could not be confirmed due to a lack of close relatives for DNA testing.

Another pit contained five remains: four partisans who died in a bunker near Vazajaus Lake on June 26, 1945—16-year-old Leonas Pajedas, his 23-year-old brother Bronius Pajedas, 19-year-old Napalis Kušlys, and 23-year-old Albinas Kilas—as well as 19-year-old Stanislovas Vanagas from Pūškoniai village.

A third pit held the remains of two students from Norkūnai village—18-year-old Jonas Matuzonis and 21-year-old Pranas Staškevičius—executed on July 10, 1945, for evading forced conscription into the occupying army. Four other remains from separate pits remain unidentified, with their DNA profiles stored in a database.

The search and exhumation in Jūžintai were organised by the Genocide and Resistance Research Centre, with archaeological work conducted by the Institute of History and Archaeology, assisted by the King Mindaugas Hussar Battalion. Anthropological and genetic analysis was performed by Vilnius University and the Forensic Medicine Laboratory. The municipality of Rokiškis district aided in locating relatives and organising the funeral.

The partisan war against Soviet occupation in Lithuania lasted from 1944 to 1953, involving at least 50,000 participants, with around 100,000 Lithuanians engaged in resistance organisations or as supporters. Over 20,000 partisans and their supporters were killed during the conflict.