On National Unity Day in 2010 on the former Cathedral Square in Barnaul, a monument was unveiled “Farewell. Dedicated to the victims of political repression ”. Before the war, it was the central square of the city; until 1935, there was a cathedral here. On the initiative of public figures, in 1996, a foundation stone was installed in the memory of the repressed on Freedom Square.

The model of the sculpture "Farewell" - a son hangs on the figure of a father with his hands tied - was created by the Altai sculptor Prokopiy Shchetinin. Like many families of dispossessed people, the family of his parents went to Siberia from the Moscow region against their will. Two decades later, the artist Anatoly Shchetinin, with the help of patrons of the arts, was able to realize his father's plan.

The bronze monument 4.5 meters high was smelted at the ZiL plant in Moscow, red granite for the pedestal was delivered from Finland and polished in St. Petersburg. The project of the monument was prepared by architects Elena and Alexey Krylov. The improvement of the territory of the memorial was carried out by the city administration.

By the time a large monument to the victims of political repression was erected in Barnaul, there was no Moscow or Saint Petersburg, and in other cities, most of the memorial signs to the victims of terror were mainly crosses and embedded stones. A book about the history of political repression in the Altai Territory was published in 2005.

Photo by A. Agarkov and from the Altayturcenter archive.