Cemetery

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Adjacent to the convent grounds, Novodevichy Cemetery is the burial ground for thousands of Russians. It is second in prestige only to burial in the Kremlin Walls. Many famous figures are buried here, along with many less well known people whose achievements were notable in their fields. The older section of the cemetery contains the graves of literary figures such as Chekhov and Gogol; the newer section holds the graves of many successful communists, as well as artists, doctors and a beloved clown.

Russian families are responsible for selecting a suitable memorial for a deceased family member. The result is a profusion of unique statues, each of which depicts the person memorialized in a highly individual way. Each visit to the cemetery results in a new discovery.

Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev succeeded Stalin as leader of the Soviet Union, and ruled for ten years until he was deposed in 1964. One of his first acts was to denounce the Stalin terror in a famous "secret speech" to the Communist party leadership. Domestically, the Khrushchev period was a period of "thaw" and living standards improved somewhat during the fifties and sixties.

This was a period of maximum cold war tension with the west and Khrushchev is famous for pounding his shoe on the table at the United Nations. He and U.S. President John F. Kennedy stepped back from nuclear war during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.

After he was deposed in 1964, Khrushchev lived quietly as a "personal pensioner" in Moscow, and his death in 1971 was marked by only a few lines in the newspapers. He was buried in Novodevichy Cemetery, and is the only leader of the Soviet Union not to be buried in the Kremlin Wall.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a celebrated author and playwright, and is well known in the west for plays such as The Seagull, The Cherry Orchard and Uncle Vanya.

Set in the late nineteenth century, in the waning days of the Russian Empire, his plays vividly depict the boredom of Russia's landed gentry, as they whiled away their time on remote country estates and longed for the excitement of Moscow.

The symbol of Moscow's Art Theatre, a seagull's feather, comes from Chekhov's The Seagull, and the graves of many of the actors and actresses who performed there display image of the seagull's feather.

Yuri Nikulin, the beloved clown of Moscow's Old Circus, brought joy and laughter to generations of Muscovites.

He was deeply mourned when he died in 1998, and fittingly, his funeral was held at the circus, which is now named for him.

His statue in Novodevichy is always surrounded by flowers. A statue of his dog lies at his feet.

One of the most haunting memorials in the cemetery is that of Stalin's second wife, Nadezhda Alliluyeva.

Nadezhda means "hope" in Russian. Alliluyeva's death was a suicide, although she may have been murdered.

Years later, Svetlana, Stalin's daughter by Alliluyeva, defected to the west, an event which greatly embarrassed the Soviet Union.

Larger than life, the famous singer Fyodor Shaliapin reclines in the memorial park.

He chose to live in exile during the Soviet period, and when he died, he was buried in Paris. His remains were returned to Russia and Novodevichy cemetery after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The poet Vladimir Mayakovsky was initially the darling of the Soviet regime. Eventually, he became disillusioned and his death, at age 36, remains a mystery. Many writers committed suicide during the Stalin era, when repression was at its peak.

The bust at his memorial reflects the soul of a tortured man.

The Mayakovsky museum, located not far from Lubyanka prison, is one of the most fascinating in Moscow, and is filled with symbols of this complex man's life.

Not all the statues in the cemetery memorialize famous people. One of the most engaging statues is of an obstetrician, in surgical scrubs, holding a newborn baby he has just delivered.

A memorial to a young schoolboy.

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	Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev succeeded Stalin as leader of the Soviet Union, and ruled for ten years until he was deposed in 1964. One of his first acts was to denounce the Stalin terror in a famous "secret speech" to the Communist party leadership. Domestically, the Khrushchev period was a period of "thaw" and living standards improved somewhat during the fifties and sixties. This was a period of maximum cold war tension with the west and Khrushchev is famous for pounding his shoe on the table at the United Nations. He and U.S. President John F. Kennedy stepped back from nuclear war during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. After he was deposed in 1964, Khrushchev lived quietly as a "personal pensioner" in Moscow, and his death in 1971 was marked by only a few lines in the newspapers. He was buried in Novodevichy Cemetery, and is the only leader of the Soviet Union not to be buried in the Kremlin Wall.
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a celebrated author and playwright, and is well known in the west for plays such as The Seagull, The Cherry Orchard and Uncle Vanya. Set in the late nineteenth century, in the waning days of the Russian Empire, his plays vividly depict the boredom of Russia's landed gentry, as they whiled away their time on remote country estates and longed for the excitement of Moscow. The symbol of Moscow's Art Theatre, a seagull's feather, comes from Chekhov's The Seagull, and the graves of many of the actors and actresses who performed there display image of the seagull's feather.
	Yuri Nikulin, the beloved clown of Moscow's Old Circus, brought joy and laughter to generations of Muscovites. He was deeply mourned when he died in 1998, and fittingly, his funeral was held at the circus, which is now named for him. His statue in Novodevichy is always surrounded by flowers. A statue of his dog lies at his feet.
One of the most haunting memorials in the cemetery is that of Stalin's second wife, Nadezhda Alliluyeva. Nadezhda means "hope" in Russian. Alliluyeva's death was a suicide, although she may have been murdered. Years later, Svetlana, Stalin's daughter by Alliluyeva, defected to the west, an event which greatly embarrassed the Soviet Union.
	Larger than life, the famous singer Fyodor Shaliapin reclines in the memorial park. He chose to live in exile during the Soviet period, and when he died, he was buried in Paris. His remains were returned to Russia and Novodevichy cemetery after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The poet Vladimir Mayakovsky was initially the darling of the Soviet regime. Eventually, he became disillusioned and his death, at age 36, remains a mystery. Many writers committed suicide during the Stalin era, when repression was at its peak. The bust at his memorial reflects the soul of a tortured man. The Mayakovsky museum, located not far from Lubyanka prison, is one of the most fascinating in Moscow, and is filled with symbols of this complex man's life.
	Not all the statues in the cemetery memorialize famous people. One of the most engaging statues is of an obstetrician, in surgical scrubs, holding a newborn baby he has just delivered.
A memorial to a young schoolboy.