Graves of Soviet soldiers
Graves of Soviet soldiers in the Johann`s Cemetery.
The number of fallen Soviet soldiers lying in the streets of Riga in the first days of German occupation was considerable. Risking their lives, Russians from Riga, both Orthodox and of the Old Belief, gave the soldiers a proper Christian burial, in which the Senior Priests of the Church of Johann, Nikolay Shalfeyev and of the All Saints Church Alexey Toropogritsky actively participated. In 1941 both priests died after interrogation by the Gestapo.