Work begins to exhume Soviet soldiers’ remains in Vievis town centre

Work has begun in Vievis to exhume the remains of Soviet soldiers buried in the town centre, LRT reports.

Archaeologists have started their second day of work in the area, removing the topsoil to uncover burial pits. They have already found some remains, though the exact number is uncertain.

Historical records suggest 111 soldiers were buried there, but archaeologists doubt the site could hold that many. “The area is too small for 111 people to be buried here,” said Tadas Šimanauskas, an archaeologist from Cultural Heritage Search. Some local residents have also claimed the area was already excavated and nothing would be found.

The Soviet soldiers’ graves are located in the town centre, near the Church of St. Anne in Vievis. The site was previously marked by a monument with an eternal flame and steles listing the names and ranks of the soldiers.

A public survey two years ago showed strong support for relocating the remains to a cemetery. The decision was later approved by politicians in Elektrėnai, which administers Vievis. The municipality initially planned to fund the work but later accepted state funding of around €130,000.

Any remains found will undergo anthropological analysis at Vilnius University to determine cause of death and other details before reburial, possibly later this year.

The exhumation follows a similar case in Šiauliai, where 48 Soviet soldiers’ remains were exhumed after a desovietization commission ruled their burial site near the cathedral violated laws against promoting totalitarian regimes. Russia’s Foreign Ministry has protested the exhumations, while Lithuania has rejected the accusations as baseless.