page_title: Mass grave
section_title: The Soviet Union
hierarchical_section_title: Mass grave / Murder and genocide / The Soviet Union
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Zdjęcie z ekshumacji ciał polskich oficerów zamordowanych przez NKWD w Katyniu w 1940, Katyń 1943 Српски / srpski: Ексхумација тела пољских официра (1943) које је НКВД убио. English: One of mass graves at Katyn, 1943.
context_page_description: A mass grave is a grave where many bodies are buried together, without coffins. Mass graves are usually created when a large number of people die or are killed. For example, in the past, they have been used when many people die at once from disease, a natural disaster, or genocide.
context_section_description: In the Soviet Union, as many as 20 million people may have died or been murdered while Joseph Stalin ruled the government.  Most of them were Soviet civilians.  Many were buried in mass graves.
  The biggest include:
  Bykivnia (between 100,000 and 225,000 people are buried here)
  Kurapaty (between 30,000 and 250,000 people)
  Butovo (over 20,000 people)
  Communarka (about 10,000 people)
  Sandarmokh (over 9,000 people)
caption: A mass grave of Polish people killed by the Soviet Union in the 1940 Katyn massacre
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