The Grave of Pavel Vasilevich Avramov (1791-1836)

«1. Monument location: The cemetery is situated 65 meters southeast of St. Nicholas Church in a park area. 2. Complete burial (grave): The body (human remains) is buried. The tombstone is a 2-meter-tall, 1.15-meter-wide cast-iron cross set on a 131-by-90-by-40-cm concrete foundation. There is an inscription on the cross that is mostly on the horizontal branch and somewhat on the vertical branch. It reads: “ A  Decembrist, member of the Southern Society.  Pavel Vasilyevich Avramov passed away on November 5, 1836 at age 45.

The cross is painted black, while the base is limewashed. The gravestone is surrounded by a fence made up of eight 80-cm-tall metal posts connected by chains. Blue paint is used to tint the posts. The concrete field surrounding the gravestone measures 4.7 by 4.6 meters».

The grave of Pavel Vasilyevich Avramov (1791-1836) // Russian cultural heritage register. URL: https://opendata.mkrf.ru/opendata/7705851331-egrkn/63/417073 (September 28, 2025)

«The burial site is located 65 meters southeast of St. Nicholas Church, in a park area. According to Akshinsky local historian I.I. Ononsky, the original grave and tombstone existed until 1927. In September 1931, the slab and cross were taken for scrap metal, causing the grave’s location to be lost. Restoration attempts began in 1952, leading to the installation of a brick obelisk at the presumed site in 1953. In 1955, a cast-iron cross, similar to the original, was cast at the Darasun Mechanical Plant.

The reconstruction was based on 1902 photographs from the Chita Regional Museum of Local History. However, it did not restore the original pattern above the cross’s intersection—a skull with crossed bones and surrounding “rays.” The inscription on the cross reads: «Павелъ Васильевичъ Аврамовъ, скончался 1836 г. нояб. 5-го дня отъ роду 45 летъ» (Pavel Vasilyevich Avramov, died on November 5, 1836, at the age of 45). The cast-iron slab covering the burial mound was also recreated, but with an addition not present on the original: «Декабрист, член «Южного общества» (The Decembrist, member of the Southern Society).

The monument was installed in a new location, 50 meters east of the church, near a mass grave of seven Civil War partisans. In 1983, the Akshinsky Council of People’s Deputies authorized the opening of the presumed grave. The human remains found were reburied in the current rural park, and the cross and tombstone were relocated to the same site».

Zherebtsova T.I. The Decembrist grave: Avramov P.V. // Encyclopedia of Transbaikalia: Chita region: Vol. 2 / Chief editor R.F. Geniatulin. – p. 17.

1. The grave of Pavel Vasilyevich Avramov (1791–1836) // Russian cultural heritage register. URL: https://opendata.mkrf.ru/opendata/7705851331-egrkn/63/417073 (date of access: September 28, 2025 г.).

2. Zherebtsova T.I. The Decembrist grave: Avramov P.V. // Encyclopedia of Transbaikalia: Chita region: Vol. 2 / Chief editor R.F. Geniatulin. – p. 17. URL: https://ez.chita.ru/encycl/concepts/?id=1687 (date of access: September 28, 2025 г.).