Preobrazhenskoye Cemetery (russian: Преображенское кладбище, lit. Transfiguration Cemetery) is a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a bu ...

in the eastern part of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

long associated with

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow b ...

. It was inaugurated by a Fedoseevtsy merchant in 1777 as a

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

disguising the

Bespopovtsy Bespopovtsy ( rus, беспоповцы, p=bʲɪspɐˈpoft͡sɨ, "priestless ones") are Priestless Old Believers that reject Nikonite priests. They are one of the two major strains of Old Believers. Priestless Old Believers may have evolved into ...

monastery. At that time the territory of the cemetery was located outside Moscow, but near its border. The cemetery soon became the spiritual and administrative center of all the Fedoseevtsy in Russia (just like the

Rogozhskoe cemetery Rogozhskoe cemetery ( rus, Рогожское кладбище, p=rɐˈɡoʂskəjɪ ˈkladbʲɪɕːɪ) in Moscow, Russia, is the spiritual and administrative center of the largest Old Believers denomination, called the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Chu ...

became an administrative and cultural centre for most

Popovtsy The Popovtsy ( rus, поповцы, p=pɐˈpoft͡sɨ, "priested ones") or Popovschina (russian: поповщина) were from the 17th century one of the two main factions of Old Believers, along with the Bezpopovtsy ("priestless ones"). Historic ...

Old Believers). The cloister consisted of two equal square areas, a monastery for men and a nunnery for women, separated by a road to the cemetery. Construction work was in progress throughout the 1790s and the first decade of the 19th century. At that time, the monastery asylum was home to 1,500 people, while the chapels were attended by as many as 10,000 Old Believers. Every church within the monastery was styled a chapel; like other

, the Fedoseevtsy reject priesthood, and so even their largest temples are called chapels rather than

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

es, since they have no

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagan ...

. The area was surrounded by brick walls with decorative pseudo-gothic towers. In the mid-19th century the "male" part of the monastery was confiscated from the Fedoseevtsy by the imperial administration to be transformed into the monastery of the

Edinovertsy Edinoverie ( rus, единове́рие, p=jɪdʲɪnɐˈvʲerʲɪjɪ, literally “coreligionism”) is an arrangement between certain Russian Old Believer communities and the official Russian Orthodox Church, whereby such communities are treated a ...

, the only legal denomination of

in Imperial Russia. The cloister, which came to be known as the St Nicholas Monastery of the Edinovertsy, boasted the largest collection of Old Believer literature (the Khludov bequest) and as many as 1,300 ancient icons. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mom ...

the St. Nicholas Monastery was occupied by the Obnovlentsy, while the icons and the books were taken to the

State Historical Museum The State Historical Museum ( Russian: Государственный исторический музей, ''Gosudarstvenny istoricheskiy muzyey'') of Russia is a museum of Russian history The history of Russia begins with the histories of ...

and the

Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (russian: Государственная Третьяковская Галерея, ''Gosudarstvennaya Tretyâkovskaya Galereya''; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered th ...

. Later the monastery was divided between the

Pomortsy The Pomorian Old Orthodox Church ( rus, Древлеправославная поморская церковь, Drevlepravoslavnaya pomorskaya tserkov), also known as the Pomorian Church, Danilovtsy, Danilov's confession, or simply as Pomorians, i ...

Old Believers and the nearby parish of the official

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

. The orthodox parish took a church above the gates with surrounding quarters, a bell-tower and a western part of the temple. The eastern part of the temple and several utilities in the western part of the territory belong to Pomortsy. The two parts of a single temple are currently separated by a thick brick wall, and compartments are occupied by different denominations. The women's part of Preobrazhenka avoided such a dissension, and still belongs to the Fedoseevtsy. The cemetery is also noted as a place where the first

Eternal flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can ...

in Moscow was kindled in order to commemorate the World War II dead.

Notable people buried in the Preobrazhenskoye Cemetery

Vladimir Kuts Volodymyr Petrovych Kuts ( uk, Володимир Петрович Куц, russian: Владимир Петрович Куц, 7 February 1927 – 16 August 1975) was a Soviet long-distance runner. He won the 5000 and 10000 m races at the 1956 ...

Sergei Magnitsky Sergei Leonidovich Magnitsky (russian: Сергeй Леонидович Магнитский, ; 8 April 1972 – 16 November 2009) was a Ukrainian-born Russian tax advisor responsible for exposing corruption and misconduct by Russian gover ...

Aleksey Batalov Aleksey Vladimirovich Batalov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Влади́мирович Бата́лов; 20 November 1928 – 15 June 2017) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, film director, screenwriter and pedagogue acclaimed f ...

* Viktor Nikiforov *

Konstantin Loktev Konstantin Borisovich Loktev (April 16, 1933 – November 4, 1996) was a Soviet ice hockey player who played in the Soviet Hockey League. He played for HC CSKA Moscow. He was inducted into the Russian and Soviet Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964. ...

* Yevgeny Feofanov * Ivan Zimin

External links

Preobrazhenskoe cemetery. Gallery - Russian Necropolis Gallery

References

{{coord, 55, 47, 30, N, 37, 43, 03, E, display=title, region:RU_type:landmark_source:dewiki Cemeteries in Moscow Christianity in Moscow Eastern Orthodox cemeteries Monasteries in Moscow Old Believer communities in Russia Cultural heritage monuments in Moscow