Photos of the Novodevichy cemetery. Who are the saints buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery? Act four, final and eternal

The history of the capital's cemeteries has hundreds of secrets and legends. Reburials in which the heads of the dead, encrypted inscriptions on monuments, Scandinavian marks and bulletproof caps for tombstones disappeared...

Online publication m24.ru launches new project, where you will learn about history, legends and current state capital cemeteries. In the first material we will talk about the Novodevichy cemetery, where 57 tombstones famous figures arts, science and technology.

Gogol and Chekhov, Stanislavsky and Vakhtangov, Shostakovich and Prokofiev found their final refuge at the Novodevichy cemetery. Yeltsin, Khrushchev, Stalin's wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva and even the head of the Chinese Communist Party Wang Ming are buried here.

Burials on the territory of the Novodevichy Convent appeared in the 16th century. By the beginning of the 20th century, there was practically no free space left in the monastery necropolis, and graves began to appear along the southern wall of the monastery.

The territory of the Novodevichy cemetery has been expanded several times. The total area of all sites is now more than 7.5 hectares. About 26 thousand people are buried in the cemetery, the territory of which is divided into old, new and new. On the monastery territory, the burials of mainly Decembrists and heroes of the War of 1812, as well as famous professors and public figures, survived.

Chekhov's mark

The body of Anton Chekhov, who died in Germany from tuberculosis, was transported to Moscow in a carriage designed for transporting oysters. The writer is buried next to the grave of his own father. At the foot of the monument a Scandinavian mark has been preserved - ancient graphic image Christian cross.

Stone "Golgotha"

The tombstone on the grave of Mikhail Bulgakov is the “Golgotha” stone (it was named so due to its shape resembling the mountain where Jesus Christ was crucified) from the former burial place of Nikolai Gogol in the Danilov Monastery. This spongy Black Sea granite, according to legend, was brought by Konstantin Aksakov from Crimea. Bulgakov's widow Elena Sergeevna discovered "Calvary", according to one version, in the workshops of the Novodevichy cemetery, according to another - in a pit where craftsmen dumped production waste.

Since Bulgakov considered Gogol his teacher and even sought inspiration from his monument in Moscow, there was no doubt about the fate of the stone: it was bought and installed on the grave of the author of “The Master and Margarita.”

Photo: m24.ru/Alexander Avilov

Four notes

The tombstone of composer Dmitry Shostakovich depicts four notes: D, E-flat, C and B. If you write them in Latin notation, you get DSCH - the composer's initials. The theme of these four notes is considered his calling card.

Photo: m24.ru/Alexander Avilov

Buried twice

It is believed that Maria Ermolova has two graves. Initially, the actress was buried on the territory of the temple in the former village of Vladykino. Shortly before the war, Ermolova’s ashes were transferred to the Novodevichy cemetery, but no documents confirming this were preserved.

Photo: m24.ru/Alexander Avilov

Posthumous dialogue

The author of "The Worker and the Collective Farm Woman" Vera Mukhina and her husband, the surgeon Zamkov, are buried in the old territory of the cemetery. On the monument to Zamkov there is an inscription: “I gave everything to people,” and on the monument to Mukhina, who died 11 years after the death of her husband, “...And me too.”

Photo: m24.ru/Alexander Avilov

By the way, Mukhina considered her best creation not “Worker and Collective Farm Woman,” but a memorial sculpture in the form of a dying swan, made for the grave opera singer Leonida Sobinov. He is also buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Photo: m24.ru/Alexander Avilov

Chinese communist leader

Novodevichy Cemetery is one of the most popular attractions among Chinese tourists. This is because one of the former leaders Communist Party of China, Wang Ming, who fell into disgrace after the formation of the PRC and spent last years life in the USSR.

Photo: m24.ru/Alexander Avilov

Gogol without a head

During the reburial of Nikolai Gogol, originally buried in the Danilov Monastery, experts discovered that the author's skull " Dead souls" is missing. In addition, the writer's head and body were turned to one side. After this, rumors spread that Gogol was buried alive during a lethargic sleep.

Photo: m24.ru/Alexander Avilov

Galina Ulanova

Galina Ulanova gave people the impression of an unprotected and touchingly weak woman, but she had an extremely persistent character. A fragile figure carved into rough white stone great ballerina reflects this contrast.

Yury Nikulin

Yuri Nikulin is depicted on the monument at the age of just over 40 - the way his fans remembered and loved him. The composition of the monument depicts Nikulin’s favorite dog, a Giant Schnauzer dog, which the artist brought from abroad.

Boris Yeltsin

Boris Yeltsin was buried in the central alley of the Novodevichy cemetery. The grave of the first Russian President located so that it is not adjacent to other burials.

Konstantin Stanislavsky

The monument to Konstantin Stanislavsky was created by the famous sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov. The tombstone is a monument with a snow-white cross, under which the legendary Moscow Art Theater "Seagull" and flowing curtains are depicted.

Evgeny Vakhtangov

Evgeny Vakhtangov died of stomach cancer at the age of 39. An abstract figure in a cloak without a face under the hood - this is how he introduced the famous theatrical figure sculptor Oleg Komov.

Nadezhda Alliluyeva

In the mid-70s, vandals threw a monument to Stalin's wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva from its pedestal, after which two cast-iron roses disappeared from it. The nose of the monument itself was broken off. After restoration, the bust was placed in a plastic cube, the “bulletproofness” of which was legendary.

Vladimir Mayakovsky

Initially, the ashes of Vladimir Mayakovsky, who died under mysterious circumstances, were located in the columbarium of the New Donskoye Cemetery. Later, as a result of the persistent actions of Lily Brik and older sister poet Lyudmila, the urn with Mayakovsky’s ashes was moved and buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Vasily Shukshin

The sculptors made the monument to Vasily Shukshin in the form of a cube and an arrow without a tip passing through it - a symbol of a life cut short. At first they wanted to bury the writer and film director in his homeland in Siberia, but a whole galaxy famous people insisted that Shukshin’s body should rest in the Novodevichy cemetery.

Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya

The ashes of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya were transferred to the Novodevichy cemetery in May 1942. The current monument, in contrast to its ideologically consistent Soviet “predecessor,” reflects the tragic fate of the first female hero Soviet Union the war years and the pain she had to endure.

Vladimir Vernadsky

Initially, it was planned to use his quote as an epitaph for the monument to academician Vladimir Vernadsky: “There is nothing stronger in the world than free scientific thought.” However, this statement was not approved Soviet censorship and was replaced by a more “politically correct” one.

Yuri Levitan

During the Great Patriotic War, Yuri Levitan voiced about 2 thousand Sovinformburo reports and over 120 emergency messages. On the monument, the main announcer of the USSR is depicted speaking, next to him is his constant companion - a microphone.

Vyacheslav Tikhonov

The long-awaited monument to Vyacheslav Tikhonov was opened accompanied by melody from the film “Seventeen Moments of Spring”. The bronze figure of "Stirlitz", cast in Italy, rises against the background of a bas-relief based on gospel story"Adoration of the Magi"

The author of the monument to Nikita Khrushchev is the sculptor Ernst Neizvestny, one of the participants in the exhibition of young Moscow artists “destroyed” by the General Secretary in 1962. With help black and white and broken lines, the sculptor wanted to emphasize the complexity and ambiguity of Khrushchev’s nature.

Andrey Tupolev

It is easy to recognize the monument to the outstanding Soviet aircraft designer Andrei Tupolev. It depicts the engineer's life's work - an airplane and three stars of the Hero of Socialist Labor. The machines created by Tupolev set 78 world records and carried out about 30 outstanding flights.

Raisa Gorbacheva

Mikhail Gorbachev insisted that his wife be buried on the site of the former flower garden opposite the columbarium. They say that at first the relatives of those buried in the wall were against the destruction of the flowerbed, but after seeing the work of the architect Friedrich Soghoyan, who depicted the “first lady” of the USSR as young and sad, they agreed.

The Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow is one of the most famous necropolises in Russia, which appeared in the 16th century and was officially rebuilt in 1898 at the Novodevichy Convent according to the designs of architects S.K. Rodionov, I.P. Mashkov. Today the pantheon occupies a significant territory of the Moscow Khamovniki district in the Central Administrative District (about 7.5 hectares) and is divided into the Old (1904-1949), New (1949-1970) and Newest (1970-2000) Novodevichy cemetery.


Playwright Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol 31.03.1809-4.03.1852	Writer Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov 15.05.1891-10.03.1940	Artist Isaac Ilyich Levitan 30.08.1860-4.08.1900

President Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin 1.02.1931-23.04.2007	Engineer Andrey Nikolaevich Tupolev 10.10.1888-23.12.1972	Singer Lyudmila Georgievna Zykina 10.07.1929-1.08.2009

More than 25 thousand people are buried on the territory of the cemetery. In the tombs of the Smolensk Cathedral at the monastery there are the graves of Anna Ioanovna (daughter of Tsar Ivan the Terrible), Princess Sophia Ioanovna and Tsarina Evdokia Lopukhina (sister of Tsar Peter I and his first wife), the Obolensky princes.

On the territory of the Old Novodevichy Cemetery there are graves of heroes of the war of 1812, including the poet Denis Davydov (1784-1839), the Decembrist princes S. Trubetskoy (1790-1860), A. N. Muravyov (1792-1863), M.I. Muravyov-Apostol (1793-1863), revolutionary A. N. Pleshcheev (1825-1893), historical writers and philosophers I. I. Lazhechnikov (1790-1869), A. F. Pisemsky (1821-1881), S. M. Solovyov (1820-1879), General A. A. Brusilov (1853-1926).

Here lie the ashes of writers N.V. Gogol, S.T. Aksakov, V.A. Gilyarovsky, A. P. Chekhov, A. N. Tolstoy, I. A. Ilf, M. A. Bulgakov, S. Ya. Marshak, V. M. Shukshin, poets D. V. Venevitinov and V. V. Mayakovsky , artist I. I. Levitan, creators of modern Russian theater K. S. Stanislavsky and V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, actors L. P. Orlov, M. N. Ermolova and V. P. Maretskaya, directors W. B. Vakhtangov, S.M. Eisenstein and V.I. Pudovkin, composers A.N. Scriabin, I.O. Dunaevsky, S.S. Prokofiev and D.D. Shostakovich, singers F.I. Chaliapin and L.V. Sobinov, scientists S.I. Vavilov, I.M. Sechenov, P.P. Kashchenko and V.I. Vernadsky, architects A.V. Shchusev and V.I. Mukhina.

On the new and “newest” territory of the Novodevichy Pantheon the first president of Russia B. N. Yeltsin, N. S. Khrushchev, aircraft designers S. V. Ilyushin and A. N. Tupolev, pilot A. Maresyev, cosmonauts G. Beregovoy and G. are buried. Titov, writers I. G. Erenburg, A. T. Tvardovsky, N. A. Zabolotsky, S. V. Mikhalkov, Yu. Nagibin and Yu. S. Semenov, directors I. A. Pyryev, M. I. Romm, S. Gerasimov, S. Bondarchuk, singers A. N. Vertinsky, L. Utesov, L. G. Zykina, L. A. Ruslanova, M. N. Bernes, K. Shulzhenko, composers O. B. Feltsman, S. T. Richter, M. L. Rostropovich, G. Sviridov, D. Kabalevsky, A. Schnittke, N. Bogoslovsky, J. Frenkel, ballerina G. S. Ulanova, artists Emil and Igor Kio, Yu. V Nikulin, Yu. V. Yakovlev, R. Plyatt, E. Leonov, A. Papanov, I. Ilyinsky, R. Bykov, N. Kryuchkov, I. Smoktunovsky, E. Matveev, E. Evstigneev, M. Ulyanov, O Yankovsky, announcer Yu. Levitan

Since 1922, the Novodevichy Convent has been turned into a museum under open air, although in the 30s more than two thousand burials were destroyed in its necropolis. In 2007, burials in the cemetery were officially stopped after the funeral of M. Rostropovich. Today the cemetery is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Moscow Novodevichy Cemetery is known far beyond the capital. The remains of great figures of science, culture and art, and prominent politicians rest in this shelter for the dead.

The territory of the cemetery is huge - as much as 7 and a half hectares. It continues to grow. It all started with a modest burial at, founded in the 16th century. Prince Vasily III. At first, the deceased nuns of the monastery were buried here. The monastery gave its name to the cemetery. The name of the most holy place, according to legend, comes from the Maiden Field, where the Tatars in ancient times selected Russian beauties for themselves.

Before October revolution and a decade after it, nuns and ordinary Muscovites were buried at Novodevichy. It became privileged in the late 20s. last century, when the government of the country decided that only people who occupied prominent positions would be buried here social status. On this land the writers V. Mayakovsky, V. Bryusov, A. Chekhov, A. Tvardovsky, B. Akhmadullina, V. Shukshin and many others found eternal peace; political figures - V. Chernomyrdin, A. Gromyko, B. Yeltsin, M. Gorbachev’s wife Raisa Maksimovna; artists - I. Levitan, V. Serov; actors and directors - S. Bondarchuk, E. Evstigneev. There is a special “Mkhatovskaya Alley” at the cemetery.

Territory of the place of eternal rest outstanding people Russia is divided into Old, New and Newest cemeteries. There is a special office where you can book an excursion. The "Cemetery Guide" will show you the most famous graves, will tell about interesting facts related to the life and death of our wonderful compatriots.

So, during the excursion you can find out that Vasily Shukshin was buried in a “privileged” cemetery against the will of his mother, who wanted the body to be delivered to her son’s homeland - Siberia.

An interesting and rather unexpected story is about Stalin’s wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva. It turns out that the unbending “leader of the peoples,” who accused her of treason at his wife’s grave (Nadezhda committed suicide for unknown reasons), often came here secretly at night and was sad at her grave.

The most misterious story Novodevichy is associated with the name of Gogol. When his grave was opened, it was discovered that the coffin was damaged on the inside, and the head of the corpse was missing. They say, great writer it was not in vain that he was afraid that he would be buried alive... Scientists have been disproving these legends and speculations for decades, but among the people they are still alive.

Novodevichy Cemetery became famous thanks to architectural monuments. Many tombstones are real works of art, creations of brilliant sculptors. This last refuge of many famous people of Russia is included in the List World Heritage UNESCO. Silence and tranquility reign everywhere here. In this land lie those who created our history, whose names are written in school textbooks. No matter how we treat them, their memory is worthy of our respect. Peace and rest to their ashes...

Located near the Sportivnaya metro station in Moscow, the Novodevichy Cemetery is known primarily for the fact that there are many graves of celebrities on its territory. It is because of this that the necropolis attracts the attention of tourists and people interested in the historical past of Russia and the personalities of prominent people.

History of the necropolis

WITH The cemetery received its name due to its proximity to Novodevichy Convent . Official documents about scheduled burials here date back to 1898, and its opening took place in 1904. The expansion of the capital and the increase in its population inevitably entailed an increase in the territory of the cemetery. Official decrees on the inclusion of nearby territories into the necropolis were issued twice:

in 1949, the so-called New Novodevichy cemetery was formed to the south of the ancestral territory;
at the end of the 70s. It was decided to create the Newest Novodevichy Cemetery.

As a result of these expansions to this moment The territory of the necropolis is approximately 7.5 hectares, and over 26 thousand people are buried here. About the importance of Novodevichy as cultural site evidenced by the UNESCO decree on its inclusion in the list of one hundred most important necropolises in the world.

Initially, its deceased novices were buried on the lands adjacent to the monastery by order of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III. Over time, graves of ordinary Muscovites began to appear. Since the middle of the 17th century, news appears in sources about the departure on the territory of the monastery cemetery funeral rite over the deceased daughters of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Before this, the necropolis of the ruling dynasty was the Kremlin Archangel Cathedral. The burials of representatives of the reigning dynasty far from the main necropolis are explained by two reasons:

The burials of members of the ruling dynasty at Novodevichy did not make this cemetery a place for the posthumous resting place of privileged persons. A certain tendency towards this has been observed since the second half of the 19th century century. There are more and more graves of intellectuals and successful merchants. Largely thanks to this, the decrees of 1898 and 1904 were passed, and the cemetery area was fenced off.

The revolution of 1917 stopped for some time the process of turning Novodevichy into

necropolis for the elite. Since then, funerals of ordinary Muscovites have been held here. But already in 1922, the territory of the cemetery was declared a museum. Conducted restoration work, and to increase the attractiveness of the place, a large square with picturesque alleys is being created. However, the latter led to the destruction and damage of old graves.

By decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of 1927, the territory of the cemetery was reserved for the burial of persons who occupied high position in society. At the same time, the necropolis was reorganized. The historical burial sites were divided into four sectors. Subsequently, four more were added to them: on their territory you can find graves only from the 20th century.

In connection with the increase in the number of deceased people associated with the growth of the population of Moscow, a columbarium that is still in operation was opened, where urns with the ashes of the deceased are located. Currently, the columbarium houses over seven thousand urns.

As already mentioned, the special status of the cemetery is associated with the abundance of graves of famous people here. Most of them are marked by monuments made by recognized sculptors. Among those celebrities who are buried at the Novodevichy cemetery, Several groups can be distinguished:

Monument to Yeltsin

Perhaps the most famous burial is the grave, a photo of which is attached below. This is the tomb of the first elected president Russian Federation- Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin (died April 23, 2007). At first, at the burial site there was a traditional small hill and a wooden Orthodox cross. Later, as an assessment of Yeltsin’s merits in the formation of a new Russian statehood, his grave was “covered” with a marble Russian tricolor.

Tombstone N.S. Khrushchev

The monument to Khrushchev at the Novodevichy cemetery was made by avant-garde sculptor Ernst Neizvestny. During the moves when Nikita Sergeevich headed the Soviet Union, he harshly criticized the exhibition of works contemporary art. In fact, this meant a ban on creating. However, after being removed from power, Khrushchev reconsidered his views. Therefore, his son Sergei personally turned to Neizvestny with a request to design a monument for his father.

In his work, the sculptor symbolically expressed the duality of the nature of the former Secretary General. The monument represents the golden head of Khrushchev, standing in a white marble niche against a background of black granite. This is exactly how Nikita Sergeevich is remembered by society: always wanting the good of his country, he made monstrous mistakes that cost dearly to the economy and foreign policy.

It should be noted that the Brezhnev authorities reacted coolly to the idea of the Unknown. Some saw in the black granite a hint of the stagnation that gripped the country in the 70s. With great difficulty, the family of the deceased managed to obtain permission to install a monument by Neizvestny.

Not all famous people wanted to be buried in a prestigious place. For example, Vasily Shukshin really wanted to be taken to Siberia, where he was born, after his death. His mother insisted on the same thing. But Shukshin’s significance for Soviet culture in the eyes of the authorities seemed to be a more important factor in comparison with the last will of the deceased and the wishes of his family.

For the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union, Andrei Gromyko, the grave at Novodevichy turned out to be a kind of demotion in status. The fact is that it was originally planned to bury his body near the Kremlin wall, as was done with the most prominent politicians Soviet era. But the situation changed, the USSR entered a period of severe crisis and was falling apart before our eyes. Burial on the territory of the Kremlin has lost its relevance.

Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation in 1998-1999. Evgeny Maksimovich Primakov was also buried at Novodevichy against his will. He wanted to rest next to his wife at the Kuntsevskoye cemetery, but according to the instructions of the authorities, his wish was ignored. The only thing in which they kept it last will, was the poem engraved on the gray granite monument: “ I firmly decided: to be in the harness until the end, until I’m exhausted, until I fall. And if it becomes unbearably hard, then even then I will not leave the road.”It was written by Evgeniy Maksimovich himself.

Monument as a symbol

Most of the tombstones at Novodevichy reflect the professional side of the activities of the people buried there. For example, General Lebed is forever imprinted in his jacket, decorated with all the medals and insignia he received. The grave of TV presenter and traveler Yuri Senkevich is decorated with a sculptural wave with a reed vessel in memory of his sailing on the boats "Ra" and "Tigris" with Thor Heyerdahl.

The famous Russian clown and remembered for his role as the Goonie in the comedies of Leonid Gaidai, Yuri Nikulin, was also buried at Novodevichy. His monument is bronze sculpture sitting with a cigarette between her fingers next to the grave. Monument to another famous actor, Vyacheslav Tikhonov, is a sculptural image of Stirlitz - his character from the popular film series “Seventeen Moments of Spring”.

In recognition of the merits of famous writers, their monuments are supplemented artistic depiction characters in their works. The tombstone of Alexander Fadeev was created according to this principle: his monument is surrounded by sculptural images of characters from the novel “The Young Guard”. Popular with Soviet power After his death, Alexey Tolstoy is also in the company of the heroes of his novels: “Walking through Torment” and “Peter the Great”.

The poet Andrei Voznesensky personally developed the design of his tombstone. According to his plan, a split tombstone made of dark granite was installed on the grave, along which a massive ball was rolling down. Only a small crucifix keeps the ball from falling completely. At the request of the poet, there are no images or sculptures on his grave.

The history of the burial of N.V. Gogol

Every cemetery has dark legends associated with it.. For Novodevichy, such a legend arose thanks to his reburial in 1931 famous writer Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol. This happened at the height of anti-religious policies in the USSR. Then a decision was made to liquidate the Danilovsky Monastery and the cemetery belonging to it. While moving the ashes of the deceased, the coffin was opened and it was discovered that the inside of its lid was scratched. Hence the rumors that the writer was buried alive.

The old monument to Gogol (a black stone with an uneven surface symbolizing Golgotha) was given as a tombstone to another Russian writer - Mikhail Bulgakov. Instead, a sculptural image of Gogol was installed with a dedication on behalf of the Soviet government. Only in 2009 the writer’s tombstone acquired its original appearance..

Excursion programs

Even this cursory review allows us to form a certain idea about the significance of the necropolis in the complex cultural heritage countries. Excursions are constantly held here for both domestic and foreign tourists, and special guides and maps or diagrams by section are compiled. Throughout the week, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the entire Novodevichy Cemetery is open to the public. The address is easy to remember: Moscow, Luzhitsky proezd, 2.

For those who do not have the opportunity to personally join the excursion group, we offer virtual tours, which also costs much less than standard ones. But people who believe that such a service cannot be compared with the magical feeling that arises when entering the territory where people like Vishnevsky or Chernyakhovsky are buried should, of course, go there in person. Exist different kinds transport to the Novodevichy Cemetery: you can get to it by metro, and get there by trolleybus or taxi.

Cemetery Vagankovsky, probably the most famous necropolis of modern times. The history of this place began almost three hundred years ago and continues to this day. It is unlikely that it will ever be possible to establish an exact list of everyone who was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery at least in the last hundred years, not to mention its entire long history. The list of the deceased who found their final refuge here, according to the most conservative estimates, should have numbered about half a million names. However, many burials remain unnamed.

and the foundation of the cemetery

One of the last outbreaks of the plague in Russia in 1770-1772 was marked not only by mass death of the population, but also by significant popular unrest in Moscow and its surroundings. The unrest was suppressed, however, by decree of Empress Catherine II, dead citizens were prohibited from being buried within the city.

The preventive sanitary measure had an effect, the disease receded, and a necropolis grew up near Moscow in the village of Novoye Vagankovo, where ordinary Muscovites were buried.

Who is buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery? Of course, no one kept a list of burials in those distant times. In the 18th and 19th centuries they found last refuge those who died from epidemics, soldiers who fell in the Battle of Borodino, those who died on the Khodynka Field and many other victims of wars and historical tragedies.

Great Patriotic War added to the Vagankovsky cemetery mass graves and monuments to the defenders of the city.

Do they remember everyone? Who is buried at the Vagankovsky cemetery among celebrities

Today, the biggest thing we associate with the graves of everyone’s favorite actors, cultural and artistic figures, politicians - our contemporaries. Meanwhile, many people forget that, in fact, this place became a necropolis of celebrities more than a hundred years ago. If at the very beginning of its history the Vagankovskoe cemetery could only “boast” of nameless mass graves and modest graves of ordinary people, then half a century later it turned into a resting place greatest people of his era.

Among those buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery, famous names 19th century. These are politicians, military men, cultural figures, writers and artists. Next to the magnificent graves of famous historical figures modest burials are now adjacent to almost forgotten people, whose names are known only to specialists.

Memory of the Decembrist uprising

The list of those buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery can begin with the names of the Decembrists. Currently, only seven of their graves have survived. In one fence there are the tombstones of Alexander Filippovich Frolov and Pavel Sergeevich Bobrishchev-Pushkin, next to them is a pink marble stele of Ivan Nikolaevich Khotyaintsev.

On the main alley is the grave of Mikhail Alexandrovich Bestuzhev. His daughters and sister Elena are also buried here. great woman, whose name is undeservedly forgotten by descendants. It was she who preserved for history the most valuable archival artifact - the famous Bestuzhev gallery of portraits of the Decembrists, taking it out of Siberia after the death of her brother.

A monument made of black granite crowns the grave of the Decembrist Alexander Petrovich Belyaev, and the grave of Nikolai Alexandrovich Zagoretsky is nearby.

Friends of A. S. Pushkin

Few people remember where the burial place of the great poet himself is. No, of course, he does not rest in the Vagankovskoye cemetery. The grave of the classic of Russian literature is located in the Svyatogorsk Monastery, in the Pskov region. Nevertheless, of those of his contemporaries who are buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery, many were closely connected with A.S. Pushkin and his family.

Thus, near the church ensemble there are the graves of the poet’s close friends: Count Fyodor Ivanovich Tolstoy and the famous theater figure and composer Alexei Nikolaevich Verestovsky.

Masters of the Brush

Famous people buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery did not always, after ending their lives, come to this place in glory and honor. Especially if we were talking about creative people who devoted all their strength to art and thought little about worldly affairs.

Host outstanding artists, painters and graphic artists who are buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery are impressive. Vasily Andreevich Tropinin is buried in a modest grave - great painter era of romanticism and the founder of realistic portraits in Russian painting. He left more three thousand portraits of his contemporaries and precisely his talent and skill of the brush Russian art owes to the development of realism and the emergence of the type portrait.

V. A. Tropinin was the first famous artist, buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery. Following him, this Moscow necropolis became the last refuge for such masters of the brush as Vasily Ivanovich Surikov, Vasily Vladimirovich Pukirev, Nikolai Alexandrovich Klodt, Aristarkh Vasilyevich Lentulov and many others. The Peredvizhniki and avant-garde artists, illustrators, decorators, graphic artists and painters who worked in the 19th and 20th centuries are buried here.

People who were buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery and left an indelible mark on history are today mostly forgotten by their contemporaries. Many graves are dilapidated, some do not even have memorial plaques. Nevertheless, their names are gradually being returned.

The grave of the author of “The Rooks...”

At the Vagankovskoe cemetery there is the grave of the creator of the cult, or, as they say, “archetypal” work of Russian painting. Famous work“The rooks have arrived” has been known to everyone since school. However, few people know tragic fate its creator.

Alexey Kondratievich Savrasov is one of the founders of the Association of Traveling Exhibitions, a brilliant painter and teacher. Alas, he spent the last years of his life in poverty. Personal tragedies that the artist could not cope with, alcoholism and constant need led to the fact that he found himself in all alone, forgotten and sick. He died in a Moscow hospital for the poor.

Initially, his grave was crowned with the cheapest wooden cross and a modest inscription on it read: “Academician Alexey Kondratievich Savrasov. Born May 12, 1830, died September 26, 1897.” The boards on the cross rotted and collapsed, eventually it disappeared, and the burial place of the great painter was abandoned and forgotten for many years.

However, the words of Isaac Levitan about Savrasov turned out to be prophetic: “One of the most profound Russian artists has passed away... From Savrasov appeared lyricism in landscape painting and boundless love for his native land... and this undoubted merit of his in the field of Russian art will never be forgotten.”

Today, his grave at the Vagankovskoye cemetery is decorated with a granite obelisk with a laconic inscription: “Outstanding Russian artist Alexey Kondratyevich Savrasov, 1830-1897.”

The last journey of Melpomene's servants

The list of celebrities buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery is impressive. Paradoxically, the necropolis that emerged as a result greatest tragedies in the history of the state, it became a favorite burial place for theater and film actors, directors, musicians and composers.

According to legend, the tradition of burying people of the acting profession here came from one of the Moscow mayors, by whose decree it was instructed to bury acting people at Vagankovsky. Perhaps because this cemetery was the largest and it was quick and convenient to get to, which reduced the cost of funerals, which were often carried out at public expense. However, there is one more thing mystical coincidence: It was on the site of the future necropolis that jesters and buffoons settled in the 17th century.

Today, the number of beloved actors, musicians and singers buried here is difficult to accurately determine. The actors buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery were the idols of their time, and the glory of many has not been forgotten to this day.

At the entrance stands a snow-white iceberg monument in the constructivist style on the grave of Alexander Abdulov. The original monument-memorial in the form of film frames reminds of everyone’s beloved Mikhail Pugovkin. Nearby is the grave of “the best Watson in the world,” Vitaly Solomin. Actors Andrei Mironov, Oleg Dal, Leonid Filatov, directors and playwright, playwright and satirist Grigory Gorin. It’s impossible to count all the celebrities who are buried at the Vagankovskoye Cemetery who enriched the Russian and world culture. Below is a list (far from complete, of course, of celebrities not mentioned in the text):

Two graves of one genius

There is also a monument to Vsevolod Meyerhold. Tragic, like the life of the director himself, the fate of his grave. For a long time the circumstances and place of Meyerhold's death were kept secret. Only in 1987 did his real burial place in the cemetery near the Donskoy Monastery become known. A black stone stele with Meyerhold's name was installed on the grave of his tragically deceased wife Zinaida Reich 20 years before the discovery of the real burial place of the theater directing reformer.

"Faithful Galya"

The poet Sergei Yesenin is buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery. Rebellious life and tragic death The young genius of poetry attracted the attention of fans and admirers to his resting place. Alas, the grave of Sergei Yesenin is notorious. Neither a bust carved in a block of white marble, nor a granite plinth buried in flowers can erase sad facts history of this burial. One of the cemetery legends says that at night the ghost of a young woman appears near the grave.

“I committed suicide here, although I know that after this more dogs They will hang it on Yesenin. But he and I don’t care. Everything that is most precious to me is in this grave...”

Perhaps this legend was based on the sad fate of his friend and assistant. A year after the poet’s death, she shot herself at his grave, leaving the famous suicide note. She rests here, next to her idol. The first inscription on the modest grave: “Faithful Galya” very accurately reflected the essence of her feelings for Yesenin and their difficult, drama-filled relationship. However, now the snow-white slab is decorated with long lines from the poet’s letter to her: “Galya, dear! I repeat to you that you are very, very dear to me. And you yourself know that without your participation in my fate there would be a lot of deplorable things.”

The series of suicides that followed at the grave of the “Moscow reveler” shrouded the place in an ominous veil of fatalism and misfortune. In total, 12 people committed suicide here - all women.

Idols of millions

It is difficult to count which celebrities are buried at the Vagankovskoe cemetery and what stories and legends shroud their deaths and resting places. The grave of Vladimir Semenovich Vysotsky was no exception. The slightly pretentious monument depicts everyone’s favorite singer and artist, as expressive and eager as he was during his lifetime. On one side there is a portrait, on the other there is an allegory monument, the leitmotif of which is the lines of the artist’s prophetic song “Fasicky Horses.” Pathetic, strange monument. Eyewitnesses to Vysotsky's funeral claimed that his widow Marina Vladi cried when she saw the tombstone and called it an ugly example of socialist realism.

Vysotsky should not have found his last refuge on the main alley. The authorities assigned him a place in the far corner. However, fate intervened in the person of the director of the Vagankovsky cemetery, a great admirer of the work of Vladimir Semyonovich. It was he who allocated an empty place for the funeral at the very entrance, where the singer rests to this day.

The tombstone of another great bard is distinguished by its modesty and brevity. Bulat Okudzhava is also buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery. The tombstone is in the form of a large boulder with an intricately executed inscription - the name of the singer and composer. This tombstone can rightfully be considered the most magnificent example of artistic minimalism.

One of the few graves still littered with flowers belongs to Igor Talkov. Another idol of millions, who died tragically at a young age. And his death is shrouded in secrets, rumors and legends, like many of his predecessors who were buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery. A photo of the singer in a frame with a carved wooden pediment, reminiscent of a Russian hut, is almost always framed with garlands of carnations and roses. The tombstone itself is decorated in neo-pagan Slavic style. On a black pedestal stands a huge cross made of bronze, the surface of which is decorated with Cyrillic script, and at the base of the pedestal the famous lines “And defeated in battle, I will rise again and sing...” are inscribed in gold.

At the grave of Igor Talkov, as well as at the grave of Sergei Yesenin, there were suicide attempts. Fortunately, in this case, suicide was prevented and the restless fans were saved.

Who are the saints buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery?

There are special graves in this huge necropolis. There are always crowds of people around them; people come here from afar with prayers and requests for help. One of these graves belongs to Father Valentin. Although he was never officially canonized, people sincerely believe in his intercession and consider the grave miraculous.

During his lifetime, Father Valentin was known for his kind disposition and open, generous heart. The poor and orphans, widows and homeless people turned to him for help. The priest took a sincere part in the fate of everyone who sought his protection and support.

It is noteworthy that the exact burial place of Father Valentin is unknown. The priest died in 1908, and in the roaring 20s they wanted to destroy his grave in order to stop the pilgrimage. In 1941, after digging up the supposed burial site, no remains were found. It is believed that, fulfilling the will of Father Valentin, he was buried two meters deeper than it was customary to bury the dead.

Today, at the supposed resting place of the holy father, there are two crosses, literally a meter from each other. The white one, stone, was erected by the great-granddaughter of a clergyman, the second, wooden, was erected by pilgrims. From somewhere there came a belief that it was here, away from the official grave, that the ashes of Father Valentin rested. Both crosses have flowers, candles, and there is always a line of people begging for help and thanking them for their intercession.