The New Donskoy Cemetery (Новое Донское кладбище) is a 20th-century

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

sprawling to the south from the

Donskoy Monastery Donskoy Monastery () is a major monastery in Moscow, founded in 1591 in commemoration of Moscow's deliverance from the threat of an invasion by the Crimean Khan Kazy-Girey. Commanding a highway to the Crimea, the monastery was intended to def ...

in the south-west of Central

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. It has been closed for new burials since the 1980s.

History

The cemetery outside the monastery walls was established in 1910, when there was no more place for new burials inside the medieval monastery. The speaker of the first Russian parliament, Sergey Muromtsev, was among the first notables to be interred there. Maria Gartung, the daughter of

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

who served for

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

as a model for

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, Анна Каренина, p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Tolstoy called it his first true novel. It was initially released in serial in ...

, was buried in 1919. After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, scores of Soviet soldiers killed during the

Battle of Moscow The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II, between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated H ...

and people executed by

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

were secretly buried at the Donskoy Cemetery. It is believed that the

Mass graves A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may Unidentified decedent, not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of exec ...

from the era contain the remains of

Mikhail Tukhachevsky Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Тухачевский, Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevskiy, p=tʊxɐˈtɕefskʲɪj; – 12 June 1937), nicknamed the Red Napoleon, was a Soviet general who was prominen ...

Pyotr Krasnov Pyotr Nikolayevich Krasnov (; – 17 January 1947), also known as Peter Krasnov, was a Russian military leader, writer and later Nazi collaborator. Krasnov served as a lieutenant general in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and la ...

Vsevolod Meyerhold Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold (; born ; 2 February 1940) was a Russian and Soviet theatre director, actor and theatrical producer. His provocative experiments dealing with physical being and symbolism in an unconventional theatre setting m ...

Isaac Babel Isaac Emmanuilovich Babel ( – 27 January 1940) was a Soviet writer, journalist, playwright, and literary translator. He is best known as the author of ''Red Cavalry'' and ''Odessa Stories'', and has been acclaimed as "the greatest prose write ...

, and other victims of Stalin's regime. The remains of painter

Valentin Serov Valentin Alexandrovich Serov (; – 5 December 1911) was a Russian painter and one of the premier portrait artists of his era. Life and work Youth and education Serov was born in Saint Petersburg, son of the Russian composer and music crit ...

, composer

Sergei Taneyev Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev (, ; – ) was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of musical composition, composition, music theorist and author. Life Taneyev was born in Vladimir, Russia, Vladimir, Vladimir Governorate, Russian Empire, to a cultur ...

, and poet

Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky ( – 14 April 1930) was a Russian poet, playwright, artist, and actor. During his early, Russian Revolution, pre-Revolution period leading into 1917, Mayakovsky became renowned as a prominent figure of the Ru ...

were exhumed and transferred to the more prestigious

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

. In 1927 the former church of St. Seraphim was rebuilt to become the first

crematorium A crematorium, crematory or cremation center is a venue for the cremation of the Death, dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a ...

in Moscow. Most of the mortal remains buried at the New Donskoy Cemetery are therefore interred in urns. The church featured extended vaults which seemed suitable to accommodate the technical equipment for the cremation of bodies. The new crematorium was opened in October 1927 and most of the individuals buried in the

Kremlin Wall Necropolis The Kremlin Wall Necropolis is the former national cemetery of the Soviet Union, located in Red Square in Moscow beside the Moscow Kremlin Wall, Kremlin Wall. Burials there began in November 1917, when 240 pro-Bolsheviks who died during the Mosc ...

were cremated here. Until the mid-1970s the Donskoy crematorium remained the only one of its kind in Moscow.

"Common Grave Number 1"

In 1930,

Stalinist Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...

authorities dug a large pit in the east portion of the cemetery to act as a

Mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may Unidentified decedent, not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of exec ...

for the cremated ashes of executed political prisoners from

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

; the site was intentionally chosen for its isolation from normal burial sites due to its "shameful" history as Eastern Orthodox

consecrated ground In Christian countries, a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church (building), church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster S ...

during the Tsarist era, which the Soviets had revoked as part of

state atheism State atheism or atheist state is the incorporation of hard atheism or non-theism into Forms of government, political regimes. It is considered the opposite of theocracy and may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments ...

in the USSR. The ashes of numerous executed prisoners, both common and high-ranking—including notorious figures such as

Nikolai Yezhov Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov ( rus, Николай Иванович Ежов, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ (j)ɪˈʐof; 1 May 1895 – 4 February 1940), also spelt Ezhov, was a Soviet Chekism, secret police official under Joseph Stalin who ...

, Pavel Alexandrovich Alexandrov etc.were unceremoniously dumped here until the grave was filled and closed in 1942. The pit currently bears two markers, one erected during the Soviet era and simply reading "Common Grave Number One: Unclaimed Ashes from 1930–42." while the other was erected after 1989 and reads "Here lie the remains of the innocent victims of political repressions in 1930–42 who were

shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 ...

. To their eternal memory."Brooke, Caroline. ''Moscow: A Cultural History''. Oxford University Press, Sep 18, 2006. pp. 163–164.

Notable burials

Rudolf Abel Rudolf Ivanovich Abel () was the alias of William August Fisher (11 July 1903 – 15 November 1971), a Soviet intelligence officer, created to alert his Soviet KGB handlers when Fisher was arrested in the USA on charges of espionage by the FBI ...

(1903–1971) * Ilya Anisimov (1862–1928) *

Anton Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (, ; – 7 August 1947) was a Russian military leader who served as the Supreme Ruler of Russia, acting supreme ruler of the Russian State and the commander-in-chief of the White movement–aligned armed forces of Sout ...

(1872–1947) *

Vladimir Fogel Vladimir Pavlovich Fogel (; 19029 June 1929) was a Russians, Russian silent film actor. Biography Vladimir Fogel was born in Moscow. His family name comes from his Germans, German father, an immigrant who worked as an accountant despite hardly s ...

(1902–1929) * Ivan Ilyin (1883–1954) * Vladimir Pikalov (1924–2003) *

Vladimir Kappel Vladimir Oskarovich Kappel (; – January 26, 1920) was a Russian military leader and one of the leaders of the White movement. Early life Kappel was born into a Swedish-Russian family. He graduated from the Saint Petersburg Page Corps and the ...

(1883–1920) *

Lev Kopelev Lev Zalmanovich (Zinovyevich) Kopelev (, German: Lew Sinowjewitsch Kopelew, 9 April 1912 – 18 June 1997) was a Soviet author and dissident. Early life Kopelev was born in Kyiv, then Russian Empire, to a middle-class Jewish family. In 1926, ...

(1912–1997) *

Sergei Khudyakov Sergei Alexandrovich Khudyakov (; ); born Armenak Artemi Khanferiants (, – 18 April 1950), was a Soviet Armenian Marshal of the aviation. Russian Revolution Armenak Khanferiants (or Khanperiants) was born in 1902 in the village of Mets Taghe ...

(1902–1950) *

Solomon Mikhoels Solomon (Shloyme) Mikhoels ( lso spelled שלוימע מיכאעלס during the Soviet era , – 13 January 1948) was a Soviet actor and the artistic director of the Moscow State Jewish Theater. Mikhoels served as the chairman of the Jewish ...

(1890–1948) * Konon Molody (1922–1970) * Sergey Muromtsev (1850–1910) *

Faina Ranevskaya Faina Georgiyevna Ranevskaya (, born Faina Girschevna Feldman, — 19 July 1984) was a Soviet actress. She is recognized as one of the greatest Soviet actresses in both tragedy and comedy. She was also famous for her aphorisms. She acted in play ...

(1896–1984) *

Ivan Shmelyov Ivan Sergeyevich Shmelyov (, also spelled ''Shmelev'' and ''Chmelov''; – 24 June 1950) was a Russian writer best known for his idyllic recreations of a pre-Russian Revolution, Revolutionary past spent in the merchant district of Moscow. ...

(1873–1950) *

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Soviet and Russian author and Soviet dissidents, dissident who helped to raise global awareness of political repression in the Soviet Union, especially the Gulag pris ...

(1918–2008) *

Pavel Sudoplatov Pavel Anatolyevich Sudoplatov (; ; July 7, 1907 – September 24, 1996) was a senior Soviet official in the intelligence services of the former Soviet Union whose career spanned over 34 years in the different intelligence branches of the Soviet A ...

(1907–1996) *

Valeriya Novodvorskaya Valeriya Ilyinichna Novodvorskaya (; 17 May 1950 – 12 July 2014) was a Russian and Soviet dissident,

Supposed secret burials

* Anna Abrikosova (1882–1936) *

Isaak Babel Isaac Emmanuilovich Babel ( – 27 January 1940) was a Soviet writer, journalist, playwright, and literary translator. He is best known as the author of '' Red Cavalry'' and ''Odessa Stories'', and has been acclaimed as "the greatest prose writ ...

(1894–1940) *

Lavrentiy Beria Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria ka, ლავრენტი პავლეს ძე ბერია} ''Lavrenti Pavles dze Beria'' ( – 23 December 1953) was a Soviet politician and one of the longest-serving and most influential of Joseph ...

(1899-1953) *

Vasily Blyukher Vasily Konstantinovich Blyukher (; 1 December 1889 – 9 November 1938) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. In 1938, Blyukher was arrested during the period of military purges under Joseph Stalin. He was tortured an ...

(1889–1938) *

Milan Gorkić Milan Gorkić ( cyrl, Милан Горкић), born as Josef Čižinský ( sr-cyrl, Јосип Чижински, Josip Čižinski; 19 February 1904 – 1 November 1937), was a high-ranking and prominent Yugoslav communist politician and activis ...

(1904–1937) * Stanislav Kosior (1889–1939) *

(1874–1940) * Evgeny Miller (1867–1939) *

Oleg Penkovsky Oleg Vladimirovich Penkovsky (; 23 April 1919 – 16 May 1963), codenamed Hero (by the CIA) and Yoga (by MI6) was a Soviet military intelligence (GRU) colonel during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Penkovsky informed the United States and the U ...

(1919–1963) *

Faina Stavskaya Faina Efremovna Stavskaya ; ; 1890–1937) was a Belarusian revolutionary. Initially involved in the anarchist movement, she carried out propaganda throughout Belarus and attempted to assassinate the governor of Katerynoslav province. She was c ...

(1890–1937) *

(1893–1937) * Pavel Alexandrovich Alexandrov (1866–1940) *

Alexander Ilyich Yegorov Alexander Ilyich Yegorov or Egorov () ( – 23 February 1939) was a Soviet military leader and one of the original five Marshals of the Soviet Union. Yegorov was born in Samara to a middle-class family. He joined the Imperial Russian Army in 190 ...

(1883–1939) *

(1895–1940)

References

External links

* * {{Find a Grave cemetery 1910 establishments in the Russian Empire Cemeteries in Moscow * Mass graves in Russia