The Vagankovskoe cemetery is probably the most famous necropolis of our time. 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 accurate 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, 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 found their final refuge there.
The Great Patriotic War added mass graves and monuments to the defenders of the city to the Vagankovsky cemetery.
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 after half a century it turned into the resting place of the greatest people of its era.
Among those buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery are the most famous names of the 19th century. These are politicians, military men, cultural figures, writers and artists. Next to the magnificent graves of famous historical figures, there are modest burials of now 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. A great woman whose name is undeservedly forgotten by her 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.
The host of outstanding artists, painters and graphic artists who are buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery is impressive. Vasily Andreevich Tropinin, the great painter of the Romantic era and the founder of realistic portraiture in Russian painting, is buried in a modest grave. He left more than three thousand portraits of his contemporaries, and it is to his talent and mastery of the brush that Russian art owes 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. Everyone still knows the famous work “The Rooks Have Arrived” from school. However, few people know the tragic fate of 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 completely 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 has never will 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, which appeared as a result of the greatest tragedies in the history of the state, 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 another 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 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 is impossible to count all the celebrities buried at the Vagankovskoye Cemetery who enriched domestic and world culture. Below is a list (far from complete, of course, of celebrities not mentioned in the text):
- - writer.
- Alov Alexander - director.
- Bogatyrev Yuri - actor.
- Braginsky Emil - playwright.
- Burkov Georgy - actor.
- Balter Alla - actress.
- Vitsin Georgy - actor.
- Voroshilov Vladimir - presenter.
- Spiridonov Vadim - actor.
- Garin Erast is an actor.
- Glebov Peter - actor.
- Gluzsky Mikhail - actor.
- Dvorzhetsky Evgeniy - actor.
- Kaverin Veniamin - writer.
- Kononov Mikhail - actor.
- Levtova Marina - actress.
- Liepa Maris - dancer.
- Vlad Listyev is a journalist.
- Migulya Vladimir - composer.
- Rozov Victor - playwright.
- Rostotsky Andrey - actor.
- Sazonova Nina - actress.
- Samoilov Vladimir - actor.
- - actor.
- Streltsov Eduard is an athlete.
- Tanich Mikhail - poet.
- Seraphim Tulikov - composer.
- Fedorova Zoya - actress.
- Leonid Kharitonov - actor.
- Chekan Stanislav - actor.
- Chukhrai Grigory is a film director.
- Yumatov Georgy - actor.
- Yashin Lev is an athlete.
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. The rebellious life and tragic death of 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 the sad facts of the 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 even more dogs will be blamed 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 Vagankovskoye 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.
In the last episode, we took a sightseeing tour of Père Lachaise cemetery. In this part, I propose to look at the graves of some famous people who found peace on its territory.
Monument of the Dead (Monument aux morts), next to which he was buried Adolphe Thiers (Adolphe Thiers), multiple Prime Minister of France, as well as the country's President from 1871 to 1873.
Monument Alfred de Musset (Alfred de Musset), French poet and playwright, who wrote “Lorenzaccio”, “Caprice”, “No joke with love”. His epitaph reads:
My friends! When I die
Grow the willow above me;
I love her sad look
With drooping, pale foliage;
And, quietly dozing over the grave,
With its thin shadow
She will not burden that land,
Where eternal peace awaits me.
(translated by S. A. Andreevsky)
Monument to one of the “bisons” of French literature - Honore de Balzac (Honoré de Balzac), known for such works as “Shagreen Skin”, “Père Goriot”, “Colonel Chabert”, “Eugenie Grande”...
The spine of The Human Comedy, a multi-volume work that combined many of Balzac's novels and short stories in order to create a picture of the morals of the French people.
Sarcophagus of a French painter Eugene Delacroix (Eugene Delacroix). His most famous paintings are “Liberty Leading the People”, “The Death of Sardanapalus”, “The Massacre at Chios”. By the way, Balzac is still visible in the background.
Tombstone Marcel Proust (Marcel Proust), one of the most significant French writers of the 20th century. His main work, the series of novels “In Search of Lost Time,” is distinguished by its incredible size. In addition, long and ornate phrases in France are sometimes called “Proustian”, since the writer loved to use them and always successfully brought them to the end, without losing the thread of the story at all, although from time to time the reader simply had to stop halfway to find at least some sense in the literary jungle, and sometimes returned to the beginning of the paragraph, mentally cursing the author, who... In general, I think you understand.
grave Guillaume Apollinaire (Guillaume Apollinaire), a French poet of Polish origin, who worked in the style of avant-garde and surrealism. At the front, he was wounded in the head, and two years later he died from the Spanish flu epidemic.
The grave of the film actor and pop singer Willow Montana (Yves Montand) and his wife Simone Signoret. During the filming of his last film, "IP-5", Montand swam in a cold lake and suffered a heart attack. He was 70 years old. It's amazing that the character he played in the film was supposed to die of a heart attack according to the script. Just like Moliere, who felt ill at a performance of The Imaginary Invalid and subsequently died.
Speaking of Moliere. The most famous French playwright (Molière) is also buried in Père Lachaise. His real name is Jean Baptiste Poquelin ( Jean Baptiste Poquelin). Moliere is the creator of the classic comedy: "Tartuffe", "The Miser", "The Misanthrope", etc.
Moliere's neighbor in the cemetery is Jean de Lafontaine (Jean de La Fontaine), famous fabulist, contemporary of Moliere. Ivan Andreevich Krylov began his journey as a fabulist with translations of La Fontaine's fables.
Some celebrity graves can be easily found if you follow the crowds. That's how it was with the grave Edith Piaf.
The famous French singer was born in Paris, her real name is Edith Giovanna Gassion ( Edith Giovanna Gassion). Probably the whole world knows the songs of Edith Piaf - “My Lord”, “Hymn of Love”, “No, I don’t regret anything”, “La Vie En Rose”, etc.
Edith Piaf's neighbor in the cemetery, Henri Salvador (Henri Salvador) is a singer originally from French Guiana. Over the course of his 70-year career, Henri performed a huge number of songs that were well known to several generations. He died quite recently, in 2008, and until his death he appeared on stage.
Let's take a break from celebrities for a moment to look at the Russian presence at the Père Lachaise cemetery. The Cyrillic alphabet appears here and there: for example, on a monument honoring the joint efforts of Russian and French partisans in World War II.
In the columbarium you can find traces of Russian immigrants.
The ashes of the Russian princess in one of the niches of the columbarium. The plaque looks ancient, although the dates are quite modern.
After this short pause, let's return to the two main celebrities of Père Lachaise. The first one is Jim Morrison (Jim Morrison), vocalist and band leader The Doors. This legendary frontman died in Paris in 1971, either from a drug overdose or something else. One way or another, the grave has become a place of pilgrimage for many of Jim's fans. His epitaph reads: "He was true to his demons."
The grave is located rather inconveniently - in the photo it is in the depths, in front of the person with the camera. You can only approach from the right or left. Apparently, the cemetery workers did not expect Morrison to be so popular.
The second celebrity of the cemetery - Oscar Wilde (Oscar Wilde), Irish writer and founder of aestheticism. In my account of Georgian Dublin, after visiting Wilde's birthplace, I promised that I would visit his grave. This led me to the Père Lachaise cemetery.
To be honest, I didn’t particularly like the monument, but judging by the numerous traces of kisses, I was left in the minority. Initially, Wilde was buried in the Bagneux cemetery (cimetière de Bagneux) near Paris, but 10 years later he was reburied in Père Lachaise.
Women consider it their duty to leave an imprint of their lips on the pink stone.
Men limit themselves to inscriptions. "You are one of the few reasons I am proud of my Irish heritage."
“Life imitates art much more than art imitates life.”
That's it this time!
Père Lachaise Cemetery:
Part two. Celebrity graves.
1. Academician Ostrovityanov Konstantin Vasilievich - Soviet economist and public figure.
2. Zykina Lyudmila Georgievna - Soviet and Russian singer, performer of Russian folk songs, Russian romances, pop songs.
3. Ulanova Galina Sergeevna - Soviet prima ballerina, choreographer and teacher. People's Artist of the USSR.
4. Ladynina Marina Alekseevna - Soviet theater and film actress. People's Artist of the USSR, winner of five Stalin Prizes.
5. Vladimir Leonidovich Govorov - Soviet military leader, army general, Hero of the Soviet Union.
6. Dovator Lev Mikhailovich - Soviet military leader, major general, Hero of the Soviet Union. Talalikhin Viktor Vasilyevich - military pilot, deputy squadron commander of the 177th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 6th Fighter Aviation Corps of the Air Defense Forces of the country, junior lieutenant, Hero of the Soviet Union. Panfilov Ivan Vasilievich - Soviet military leader, major general, Hero of the Soviet Union.
7. Nikulin Yuri Vladimirovich - Soviet and Russian actor and clown. People's Artist of the USSR (1973). Hero of Socialist Labor (1990). Participant of the Great Patriotic War. Member of the CPSU (b).
8. Gilyarovsky Vladimir Alekseevich - (December 8 (November 26) 1855, estate in the Vologda province - October 1, 1935, Moscow) - writer, journalist, writer of everyday life in Moscow.
9. Shukshin Vasily Makarovich - an outstanding Russian Soviet writer, film director, actor, screenwriter.
10. Fadeev Alexander Alexandrovich - Russian Soviet writer and public figure. Brigadier Commissar. Winner of the Stalin Prize, first degree. Member of the RCP(b) since 1918. (Novel Young Guard)
11. Durov Vladimir Leonidovich - Russian trainer and circus artist. Honored Artist of the Republic. Brother of Anatoly Leonidovich Durov.
12. Rybalko Pavel Semyonovich - an outstanding Soviet military leader, marshal of armored forces, commander of tank and combined arms armies, twice Hero of the Soviet Union.
13. Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov - Soviet physicist, founder of the scientific school of physical optics in the USSR, academician and president of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Winner of four Stalin Prizes. The younger brother of N.I. Vavilov, a Soviet geneticist.
January 1860, July 2, 1904) - Russian writer, playwright, and doctor by profession. Honorary Academician of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in the category of fine literature. He is a generally recognized classic of world literature. His plays, especially “The Cherry Orchard,” have been staged in many theaters around the world for a hundred years. One of the world's most famous playwrights.”]
14. Chekhov Anton Pavlovich (17)
