Outside the Sviyazhsky Uspensky Monastery, overlooking the dam, is a simple monument to the victims of political repression, in particular those who lost their lives in Sviyazhsk. It comprises a two metre high white marble stela with an engraving of an imprisoned man releasing a dove from behind the bars. The location is especially symbolic as in 1936 the Sviyazhsky Uspensky Monastery was turned into correctional-work colony No. 5, part of the Gulag system of camps. Thousands of prisoners passed through the prison camp until it was finally closed in 1953. Many of them died in the camp's harsh conditions and were buried in unmarked graves in the monastery's necropolis. When there was no more space in the necropolis they were buried outside the monastery's walls. Several sets of remains were discovered during the monastery's recent restoration work and when communication lines were laid.