The exact plan with the alleys of Vagankovo. Moscow necropolis: Vagankovskoe cemetery, graves of celebrities

Cemetery Vagankovsky(Sergeya Makeev St., 15) - one of the largest Moscow cemeteries, the second largest after Zaostryakovsky within the city - officially founded in 1771 during the plague epidemic by decree of Catherine II. But according to legend, even before this, Vasily Shuisky’s brother Dmitry was buried here, and the graveyard itself arose on the site of a rural cemetery in the ancient village of Novye Vaganki to the west of the Presnenskaya outpost. More than 100 thousand graves have survived to this day.

At first it was not privileged; the poor urban population was buried here, and during the Patriotic War of 1812 - Russian soldiers (mass grave).

Only from the middle of the 19th century. The burials of more eminent people who left their mark on Russian history and culture began here. Then, in 1819-1824, on the territory of the cemetery, on the site of the old church, the Church of the Resurrection of the Word was built, with the inclusion in the architectural ensemble of a refectory (the thrones of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and the martyr Aquilina), a high three-tier bell tower and two wings at the entrance (1823), in one of which there is the Church of St. Andrew the First-Called (1916).

There were also group burials at the Vagankovskoye cemetery: victims of the Khodynka disaster (1896), dead participants in the December armed uprising of 1905, and in the 20-30s. XX century - secret burials of victims of mass political repressions; mass grave of those who fell on the outskirts of Moscow in 1941-1942; a monument to the child actors of the notorious musical “Nord-Ost” who died in the terrorist attack.

This cemetery became the final resting place for many prominent people in various fields of art, science and social activities. Today, the cemetery occupies about 50 hectares and is closed to new mass burials. Burial is carried out in exceptional cases by decision of the city authorities for persons with special merits; and burials of relatives are also allowed in a limited number (up to two thousand per year). The burial of urns with ashes in both old and new graves has become a widespread phenomenon.

PLAN SCHEME of the Vagankovskoe cemetery (Armenian section)

Armenian cemetery(Armenian section of the Vagankovsky cemetery) is located in the Presnensky district of Moscow on the street. Sergeya Makeev, 12, opposite the Vagankovsky cemetery. It has the shape of a regular rhombus, divided into seven parts, surrounded by a brick wall with towers, and is a complex of protected architectural monuments: tombstones, the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, a memorial house, a fence and towers, family crypts. Most of the graves date from the late 19th - early 20th centuries, although the earliest of these monuments is the obelisk of 1844 over the grave of A. A. Loris-Melikov. Three tomb-chapels are made according to the medieval Armenian canon; there are also cross-stone tombstones and sculptures of the Art Nouveau era (mostly destroyed).

The Armenian cemetery was founded in 1805 at the request of Minas Lazarev, an elder of the Armenian community in Moscow, and in 1808-1815. was built

Church of the Resurrection of Christ - a rotunda without a bell tower, because until the 1860s, the ringing of bells in Armenian churches in Moscow and St. Petersburg was prohibited, with a khachkar - a carved keystone above the main entrance, without an iconostasis inside; the altar, as expected in Armenian churches, is installed on a raised platform. Under the entire church building there is a crypt with the graves of the Lazarevs (in our time it is walled up). At the end of the 1850s. the cemetery was planned and surrounded by a wall with towers. Today, the area of ​​the Armenian cemetery is 2 hectares.

Vagankovskoe cemetery is one of the largest in Moscow. It was built in 1771 by order of Count Orlov.

This happened at a time when the plague was raging in the Russian Empire. The territory of the Vagankovsky cemetery was allocated for the burial of those who were killed by this disease.

It was only in the 19th century that prominent personalities began to be buried in the cemetery - about 100 thousand burials reflect the history of our state.

Participants of the Battle of Borodino, victims of Stalin's repressions, participants of the Second World War (1941-1942), children who died in the terrorist attack on Dubrovka, various famous personalities are buried in the cemetery - in total more than 500 thousand Muscovites, while only 100 thousand of all burials have been preserved .

Where is the Vagankovskoe cemetery in Moscow?

The facility is located at the address: Sergeya Makeev Street, building 15.

The cemetery area is almost 48 hectares. This article will serve as a kind of guide between the sites where the graves of famous people are located.

Diagram showing graves

The Vagankovskoe cemetery is very extensive, without any plan or diagram, it is impossible to get your bearings. The diagram presented in the photo shows the location of 60 burial sites, each of which has its own number.

Two mass graves and an Orthodox Church are indicated. The paths between the sections also have their own names. Also, opposite the Vagankovsky cemetery, there is the Armenian cemetery, which is its branch.

Where can I get a complete list of burials?

A complete list of burials can be found at the cemetery administration or on special. resources. For example, here https://nekropole.info/ru/person/list?cemetery_id=3433 provides a list of all persons buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery in Moscow.

Another interesting resource offers an interactive map http://vagankovo.net/interaktivnaya-karta/. By clicking on any plot number, you follow the link and open a list of people buried here.

Which celebrities are buried

At the Vagankovsky cemetery there are excursions for those interested, during which tourists will see the graves of famous personalities of our country - poets Bulat Okudzhava, Vladimir Vysotsky, Sergei Yesenin, artist Alexei Savrasov, actors Alexander Abdulov, Andrei Mironov, TV presenters Vladimir Voroshilov and Vladislav Listyev, and many others .

Grave of Vladimir Vysotsky

Vladimir Semyonovich was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery in 1980. His grave is located next to the entrance to the cemetery, on the right side.

Its site, number 1, still remains one of the most visited. His mother, Nina Maksimovna Vysotskaya, is buried next to Vysotsky.

The grave of Alexander Abdulov

A. A. Abdulov was born on May 29, 1953. The artist died on January 3, 2008. A few months before his death, he was diagnosed with lung cancer.

Alexander Gavrilovich was a famous theater and film actor. Worked at the Lenkom Theater. We have lost count of the number of films in which Abdulov has starred. The quantity varies from 100 to 150 paintings. He was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery in plot number 2.

Grave of Georgy Vitsin

G. M. Vitsin was born on April 5, 1917. Due to chronic liver and heart diseases, Vitsin passed away on October 22, 2001. Georgy Mikhailovich was a theater and film actor. He worked at the Ermolova Theater. Was involved in more than 300 works.

People know him from such films as “Prisoner of the Caucasus” and “Gentlemen of Fortune”. Unfortunately, in the last years of his life his work was no longer in demand. He was buried on October 25, 2001 at the Vagankovskoye cemetery on plot 12A.

Igor Talkov's grave

I.V. Talkov was born on November 4, 1956. He was a singer, actor, poet. Took part in 18 projects. During a concert at the Yubileiny Sports Complex in St. Petersburg, Talkov was shot. It was as if he had a presentiment of his death and knew how he would be killed.

He said that they would shoot at him in front of a large number of people, but the shooter would never be found. And so it happened. The killer of Igor Vladimirovich hid in Israel for a long time. The singer’s funeral took place on October 9; he was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery, plot number 25.

Sergei Yesenin's grave

How to find the grave of a famous poet? In order for everyone to honor the memory of Sergei Yesenin, guide signs have been installed at the Vagankovskoye cemetery near the entrance. Near the poet’s grave is the grave of Galina Benislavskaya, a girl in love with the poet.

S. A. Yesenin was born on September 21, 1895. On December 28, 1925, Yesenin was found hanged in his room at the Angeleter Hotel in St. Petersburg. He was an outstanding poet of the Silver Age. His poems have always been in demand and loved. His poems are still read and taught in schools.

The grave of Sergei Alexandrovich is the most visited at the Vagankovskoye cemetery. There are always fresh flowers on it. Yesenin's grave is constantly visited by fans of his work.

Grave of Vladislav Listyev

V. N. Listyev was born on May 10, 1956. He was a TV presenter and TV journalist. He was also the first general director of ORT. Before that, he was the host of numerous popular TV shows, such as “Field of Miracles,” “Guess the Melody,” and “Rush Hour.”

On March 1, 1995, Listyev was shot dead in the front door of his house. He served as director of ORT for a little over a month. The investigation into Listyev's murder is still ongoing. His grave and tombstone are located on plot number 1.

Grave of Vyacheslav Ivankov (Yaponchik)

V.K. Ivankov was born on January 2, 1940. He was a crime boss and thief in law. He created his own criminal group. Groups, under the guise of a police search, entered the apartments of those who, in their opinion, earned money through unclean labor. Some were taken to the forest and tortured. Gangs operated throughout the USSR.

On July 28, 2009, Yaponchik was attacked. He received several gunshot wounds and was taken to the hospital, where he was put into an induced coma. From September 13 to 14, Ivankov experienced clinical death, and on October 9 he died in the oncology center from peritonitis.

Yaponchik's grave arouses great interest, so excursions are conducted to it from time to time. Vyacheslav Ivankov is buried in plot number 55.

Grave of Andrei Mironov

A. A. Mironov was born on March 7, 1941. He was an Honored Artist of the RSFSR. Was involved in more than 80 projects. His work is admired to this day. He gave all of himself to the theater. As they say, he spent his entire life on stage. Death also found him on stage.

At the play “The Marriage of Figaro,” where he played the main role, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. Later, the actor was diagnosed with a congenital aneurysm. Andrei Aleksandrovich Mironov is buried in plot number 40.

Conclusion

The most famous attraction of the Vagankovsky cemetery is the Church of the Resurrection of the Word, built in the period 1819 - 1831. Previously, there was a small wooden church in the cemetery (1773), on the site of which there is currently a rotunda.

In the existing stone church, divine services are regularly held, memorial services are held, a lot of missionary and educational work is carried out, and a Sunday school for children operates.

All information, schedule, opening hours, news and much more can be seen on the official website http://vagankovo.net/.

The Vagankovskoe cemetery, a necropolis with a two-century history, hundreds of thousands of graves and half a million buried, was founded in the 18th century, after the plague in Moscow. Previously, in the 15th-16th centuries, the settlement of Vagankovo ​​was located here - the royal amusing courtyard, where jesters, buffoons and the sovereign's amusing people played pranks to their heart's content. This name was assigned to the cemetery, which, following the victims of the epidemic, received the graves of ordinary people - townspeople, artisans, and minor officials. In the 19th century, famous compatriots from the world of culture began to be buried here - first, artists of the Imperial Theater, artists, writers, people of art, and after almost two centuries this tradition was finally consolidated. Now the graves of celebrities at the Vagankovskoye cemetery are numerous, overgrown with legends and have become a place of “pilgrimage” for thousands of visitors every year.

Great Russian painters - merchant, serf and Cossack

Under the restrained dark granite tombstones with the indispensable Orthodox crosses at the Vagankovskoye cemetery lie the textbook artists of Russia.

Alexey Savrasov, a landscape painter of the merchant class, teacher of Isaac Levitan, was among the founders of the Society of Itinerants. His most recognizable painting, “The Rooks Have Arrived,” depicts the Church of the Ascension in the village of Susanino, Kostroma province.

The outstanding portrait painter Vasily Tropinin is the son of a serf peasant. His artistic gift was noticed by notable patrons of the arts. Tropinin received an academic education, painted romantic, then increasingly realistic type portraits, full of soft charm.

Vasily Surikov on his maternal and paternal lines came from glorious Cossack families. This artist is best known for his large-scale historical paintings “The Morning of the Streltsy Execution”, “Menshikov in Berezovo”, “Boyaryna Morozova”, “Suvorov’s Crossing of the Alps”.

The tombstones of the great Russian painters - merchant, serf and Cossack - are installed above iconic burials in a long row, which is formed by the graves of celebrities at the Vagankovskoye cemetery.

Mass graves as milestones in history

The Vagankovskoe cemetery, founded during the epidemic, was initially a place of mass burials. Later the following were buried here:

• those who fell in the turning point and bloody Battle of Borodino in 1812;
• those who died in a mass stampede on Khodynka Field during celebrations of the coronation of Nicholas II in 1896;
• victims of mass repressions of the 1930s;
• defenders of Moscow who stopped Hitler's blitzkrieg with a counteroffensive in 1941-1942.

These mass graves at the Vagankovskoye cemetery remind us of the tragic death of many of our compatriots.

Bronze sculptural portraits on high corrugated columns are installed on a common podium made of brown granite, which covers the graves of Dmitry Komar, Vladimir Usov and Ilya Krichevsky. During the August 1991 coup, they died while trying to stop an infantry fighting vehicle in a tunnel under New Arbat. Historically, the last Heroes of the Soviet Union received the state's highest award posthumously.

Yesenin's grave.

Under the monument of dark and light gray granite lies a great poet with a unique lyrical gift. In the past are the marvelous blue eyes, the “gold and copper” of the hair, the enchanting scandals with which Yesenin tormented Isadora Duncan in Europe and America, the gloomy suicide in the Petrograd Angleterre and the last poem written in his own blood. Immortal, heartfelt, strikingly imaginative lyrics are published, read, and sung again.

Next to the pedestal with gilded letters and a block of light gray marble with a half-length sculptural portrait of Sergei Yesenin there is a low tombstone of his mother, and Galina Benislavskaya, who during her life was called the poet’s “good angel,” is buried behind. The very next winter after his death, in December 1926, she came to Yesenin’s grave and committed suicide with a shot in the head - after all, in this piece of land, as she wrote before her death, there was everything dear to her. Here, next to the ashes of the great poet, who embodied the lyrical spirit of Russia in his poems, several more suicides of his fans occurred over the years.

Stars of the stage

The galaxy of famous theater people buried at the Vagankovsky cemetery is opened by Pavel Mochalov, an outstanding romantic actor of the 19th century. His uneven performance made a deep impression: the audience came to performances because of the famous “Mochalov minutes,” when, against the background of an ordinary, unremarkable performance, several incredibly effective lines suddenly appeared, followed by a flurry of enthusiastic applause.

Director-reformer, symbolist, futurist, master of the grotesque Vsevolod Meyerhold was repressed in 1939, shot in 1940, cremated and buried among the unclaimed ashes at the Donskoy Monastery. However, the tombstone over the empty grave is located at the Vagankovskoye cemetery - the monument was erected shortly after Meyerhold’s posthumous rehabilitation, when the location of his remains was not yet known.

The burial of the incredibly popular People's Artist of the RSFSR Andrei Mironov, who died on stage during the play “The Marriage of Figaro,” is marked by a black marble monument - a triple row of wings framing a dark background stele with a narrow slot-cross. From time to time it is necessary to restore the bronze chain enclosing the burial: rumor attributes to it the ability to bring wealth and love power.

The tombstones of the original Oleg Dal, the unique Georgy Vitsin, and the famous Bulat Okudzhava are extremely restrained.

Above the grave of Igor Talkov, a rock musician with a strong political and civic position, a large bronze crucifix in the Old Church Slavonic style is installed on a base of polished black granite. The death of the artist, shot at a concert, is marked by prophetic coincidences: shortly before his death, Igor Talkov brought home a large cross he had found, and in a private conversation he predicted his own murder in front of a large crowd of people, and that the killer would not be found.

Very young stage stars, 13-year-old Arseny Kurylenko and 14-year-old Kristina Kurbatova, performed their last roles in 2002, in the musical “Nord-Ost”. They died in the terrorist attack on Dubrovka and are buried nearby, under light steles with oval bas-relief portraits.

Vladislav Listyev

The famous TV presenter, journalist, and entrepreneur was shot dead in 1995 in the entrance of his own house. The investigation into this case is still not closed, and the masterminds and perpetrators of the murder have not been found.

At the time of his death, Vladislav Listyev, the creator of the iconic television program “Vzglyad”, the first presenter of “Field of Miracles,” had served exactly 34 days as general director of the ORT channel. He planned the concept of television without commercials, conceived new projects... but now on his grave, on a black marble slab, sits a sharp-winged bronze angel, light, graceful and inconsolably mourning.

Alexander Abdulov

The most popular theater and film artist, an idol who won many hearts, did without doubles during risky filming. The last film with the participation of Alexander Abdulov was called “From Nowhere with Love or Merry Funeral.” It was released in 2007, and in 2008 the actor died at the age of 54 from a serious illness that left no hope.

Above the grave there is a block of grayish-white marble, on which the inscription “Alexander Abdulov” goes in ascending steps of letters. At the top, on a sanded area, there is a black and white portrait of the actor in the image of Lancelot from the parable film “Kill the Dragon.” A relief cross is carved on the side of the monolith.

Not only fans come to Abdulov’s grave, but also those who dream of a brilliant stage career. Rumor has it that the success envisioned here may indeed come, but the price of acting success will be a short life.

Grave of Vladimir Vysotsky

The grave of Vladimir Vysotsky is marked by a sculptural monument by Alexander Rukavishnikov. It was this option that the relatives chose, noting the extraordinary resemblance of the sculpture, right down to the mole on the left cheek, to the person they remembered alive. Vysotsky's widow, Marina Vladi, and fellow artists from the Taganka Theater believed that something abstract or completely alien - for example, a meteorite - should stand over the grave. However, the associative series that accompanies Rukavishnikov’s realistic sculpture is close and understandable to everyone who listens to Vysotsky’s songs. Here is the bard’s unchanging guitar, here is the rebellious “Fasicky Horses,” and the creator of countless songs, as if breaking out of a restrictive or, perhaps, funeral shroud, confirms: “I couldn’t do it, as I wished - all right. I, on the contrary, publicly left the granite.”

They say that a visit to this grave gives inspiration to poets, professional success to musicians, but the life of creators, like Vysotsky’s, becomes short-lived.

Undying candles at the grave of Father Valentin

Archpriest Valentin Amfitheatrov, rector of the Kremlin Archangel Cathedral from 1892 to 1902, is revered as a miracle worker. A memorial cross was erected at his burial site. Fresh flowers and unquenchable candles are left at the grave of Father Valentin by those who go to the “Moscow comforter” in search of a miracle, for healing and help from above.

Sincere believers see here a “disembodied old man” and notice the face of a kind-hearted priest on a memorial plaque. Such phenomena are considered a good sign, evidence that the request will be fulfilled.

Sonka the Goldhand

The grave of the famous adventuress of the past, Sonya the Golden Hand (Sofia Bluvshtein) at the Vagankovskoye cemetery is a legendary place and actively visited. There are different opinions about who is actually buried under the gilded sculpture of a female figure in antique drapery, devoid of arms and head. Nevertheless, the criminal public regularly covers the monument with memorable notes from the Solntsevo gang, requests to teach them how to live, to give happiness to the Zhigan and to pacify the “cops.” People go to this grave, hoping to get lucky in a card game, to save themselves from a knife and a bullet.

Here, at the Vagankovskoe cemetery, under luxurious sculptural tombstones, crime bosses Vyacheslav Ivankovich (“Yaponchik”) and Otari Kvantrishvili are buried.

Mystical stories of the Vagankovsky cemetery

The ancient necropolis, densely filled with graves from different eras, cannot do without mysterious visions and inexplicable phenomena. Sensitive people at the right time notice on the local paths a ghostly soldier in the uniform of the Napoleonic army. He tries to say something, opens his mouth wide, but utters completely silent speeches. Those who like to walk around the cemetery at dusk, no, no, and they encounter an unmarked wandering grave with a luminous cross and a hospitably open fence, which no one has yet dared to enter.

The mystical stories of the Vagankovsky cemetery also have a more precise address. The grave of Aglasia Tenkova, who died at a young age, is decorated with a bas-relief of a mourning angel, placed by her inconsolable father. According to lovers of the paranormal, anyone who lingers too long on this bas-relief falls into a trance and finds himself at a completely different grave, and sometimes far beyond the cemetery grounds.

The Vagankovsky necropolis is imbued with deep historical memory, the echo of artistic achievements, the sorrow of sudden deaths and the aura of posthumous glory, hope for an unprecedented miracle and a long-awaited meeting with him.

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The cost of a place in cemeteries in Moscow and the region depends on their location and status. At the Khovanskoye cemetery, a standard place with an area of ​​1.8 by 2 square meters costs about 120-150 thousand rubles. A landscaped place next to the temple at the Khimki cemetery will cost 1.5 million rubles. Funerals at one of the oldest cemeteries in Moscow are held quite rarely due to lack of space. However, they are possible on the site of old graves. So, if a grave is declared ownerless, then the remains of the person buried in it are transferred to a general burial, and a new burial may appear in its place. At the Vagankovskoye cemetery, a plot will cost an amount equal to the cost of a one- or two-room apartment in Moscow. And few people already remember that this cemetery was founded at the end of the 17th century as a graveyard for the poor.

Vysotsky's grave at the Vagankovskoye cemetery

Vagankovskoye Cemetery is one of the most extensive and famous cemeteries in Moscow. Let's find out the history, watch a film about its secrets and finally wander there among the majestic tombstones.

Churchyard for the poor

The VAGANKOVSKY necropolis appeared in 1771, when a plague epidemic was rampant in Moscow. From this year, by decree of the Senate, it was forbidden to bury deceased patients in city churchyards and it was ordered to “set aside special cemeteries for them outside the city... and build at least small wooden churches on them for the first time.” A new cemetery was formed to the west of the Krasnopresnenskaya outpost near the village of Vagankovo. For almost a century and a half, poor people - the peasant and bourgeois class, and less often - petty officials and retired military men found their last refuge here. In the middle of the 19th century, burial places of famous people appeared who left their mark on Russian history, science and culture, and in the last third of the 20th century, the Vagankovskoye cemetery became the third most prestigious after the Kremlin and Novodevichy.

The most famous grave is that of Vladimir Vysotsky. According to unconfirmed rumors, Joseph Kobzon bought the burial place for the great artist for several thousand dollars in 1980, since the authorities were afraid of Vysotsky’s nationwide popularity and did not give permission for his burial in an elite cemetery.

There are always a lot of people at the graves of Andrei Mironov (with a monument in the form of curtains) and Vlad Listyev.

The latter is decorated with a white marble figure of a mourning female angel with a fallen wing. Several years ago, Andrei Mironov’s mother, actress Maria Vladimirovna Mironova, who survived her son by almost ten years, was also buried in Andrei Mironov’s grave.

Until the last day, Maria Vladimirovna came to visit her son (the cemetery gates were opened especially for her and a car with an elderly woman was allowed directly into the territory, which is basically prohibited). Mironov was not buried at the prestigious Novodevichy only because he did not have the title “People’s Artist of the USSR.”

In order not to destroy the tombstone of the great artist, the grave for his mother, according to cemetery regulars, was dug by specialists invited from Novodevichy. Alas, in addition to fans of the Mironovs, vandals also visit, having once stolen a bronze fence from the grave. It was recently restored...

On the grave of Igor Talkov there is a huge cross, a wooden prototype of which was found by the singer shortly before his death and brought into the house, which was always considered a bad omen. Each of the graves has its own guide, from whom you can learn, for example, how a Talkov fan once decided to bury herself next to him. She dug a hole, lay down in it, and even came up with a way to be covered with earth at once. Fortunately, her head did not fall asleep, and local diggers managed to save the girl. Or how a tree that fell during a hurricane completely destroyed the grave of actor Burkov...

Among those buried at the Vagankovsky cemetery is an actress known to many from the films “Wedding in Malinovka”, “Give me a book of complaints”, Zoya Fedorova, who was killed in her apartment on Kutuzovsky Prospekt under unclear circumstances, the king from “Cinderella” Erast Garin and those who did not need performance Oleg Dal, Vitaly Solomin, Marina Levtova, Andrey Rostotsky, Mikhail Gluzsky, Maris Liepa, Yuri Bogatyrev, Anatoly Romashin, as well as the “thinking clown” and pantomime master Leonid Engibarov.

On the day of his death, July 25, 1972, there was unprecedented heat and drought in Moscow. Peat bogs have been burning in the Moscow region for a week now, and on some days the air was such that it was impossible to see a person a few meters away. Engibarov felt bad. The doctor diagnosed poisoning. The artist was suffering from pain and during one of the attacks he suddenly asked his mother: “Give me some cold champagne, I will feel better!” Apparently, he did not know that champagne constricts blood vessels, drank half a glass and soon died of a broken heart. He was only 37 years old... When Engibarov was buried, heavy rain began in Moscow. It seemed that the sky itself was mourning the loss of a wonderful artist.

Young poets still come today to venerate the ashes of the great Russian poet Sergei Yesenin, who committed suicide at the Angleterre Hotel in St. Petersburg.

Many of whom, by the way, firmly believe that Yesenin was actually killed by security officers. They always readily tell their version to anyone interested. And they add that his admirer Galina Benislavskaya, with whom the poet at one time had a closer relationship, committed suicide at Yesenin’s grave. Benislavskaya left a posthumous note written on a piece of a packet of Belomor. The woman shot herself with a revolver that had a single bullet, writing in a note that if she regretted what she had done, the revolver would be next to her body. If not, she will throw him behind the grave of her beloved Sergei. When Benislavskaya was discovered, the revolver was a few meters from the body of the suicide. The woman was buried, as she asked, next to Yesenin. Many years later, his mother was buried in the son’s grave.

Not far from the grave of Sergei Alesandrovich is the “spiritual” grave of the great director Vsevolod Meyerhold. The fact is that Meyerhold, who was the second husband of Yesenin’s wife, actress Zinaida Reich, who was brutally murdered in her apartment, was shot in prison. And since the location of his ashes is unknown, the Vagankovskoye cemetery is considered to be Meyerhold’s final resting place. Another famous theater director Yuri Zavadsky, who for many years directed the capital’s Theater named after. The Moscow City Council, according to the norms that existed during the Soviet years (Zavadsky was a laureate of all possible prizes and awards, including the Golden Star of the Hero of Socialist Labor), should have been buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery. However, a will was found in the director’s desk, in which he asked to be buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery next to his mother’s grave. No matter how much the party bureaucrats resisted, the will of the deceased was satisfied.

Many athletes are also buried here: pre-war runners, the Znamensky brothers (George died of a serious illness, and Seraphim shot himself in front of his wife), speed skater Inga Artamonova, European, world and Olympic champion in ice dancing Lyudmila Pakhomova, football player Eduard Streltsov, football player goalkeeper Lev Yashin, figure skating coach Stanislav Zhuk.

Mass graves

Victims of the Khodynka disaster, crushed in the crowd during the celebrations on the occasion of the coronation of Nicholas II on May 18, 1896, are buried in ONE of the mass graves. During the solemn ceremony, then someone said that carriages with expensive gifts appeared and their distribution began - as a result, in a stampede in a matter of hours, according to unofficial data, 1,500 people died, and another four to five thousand received various injuries. In another mass grave lie the remains of soldiers who took part in the Great Patriotic War.

But the victims of the recent terrorist attack on Dubrovka, spectators and participants of the musical "Nord-Ost", are buried in separate graves, sometimes even in different sections of the cemetery. Only two of them - actors of the musical 13-year-old Arseny Kurylenko and his 12-year-old girlfriend Kristina Kurbatova are buried nearby.

Cemetery horror stories

The "STROKE" of local guides is horror stories and stories about vandals. One day, a woman visiting the grave of her relative decided to take a shortcut to the exit and began to climb over the fence of one of the graves. She fell awkwardly, and her leg was pierced and firmly pinned with a metal rod. Her cries for help were heard by random passers-by - visitors to the cemetery. They called an ambulance, but the doctors who arrived could not remove the woman from the fence - they were afraid of damaging the artery. The capital's rescuers came to the rescue and freed the unfortunate woman by cutting out a piece of the fence.

Vandals at the Vagankovskoye cemetery are mainly clients of precious metals collection points. Several years ago, a bronze easel was stolen from the grave of the artist N. M. Romadin, and copper strings disappeared from the monument to harpist Maria Gorelova... Photographs of beloved idols have also repeatedly disappeared from graves.

In the first section of the Vagankovskoye cemetery there is an amazing monument - a headless female figure made of white marble under black palm trees. The pedestal of the monument is covered with inscriptions like: “Sonya, teach us to live,” “Solntsevskaya lads will not forget you,” “Mother, give happiness to Zhigan.”

The tombstone was ordered with money from Odessa, Neapolitan, London, St. Petersburg and other scammers, and under it, according to legend, lies the unforgettable Sonya Zolotaya Ruchka (in the world Sofia Bluvshtein) - once a famous thief, and now a local saint of the underworld. Still would! After all, Sonya could not only hide diamonds in the folds of her dress or under her long nails, but she was also a “noble” thief: she returned 5,000 rubles to the widow she had robbed, who had two daughters, in a fit of emotion she sent a gold watch to the actor of the Maly Theater, taken from a neighbor in the hall, and she saved a sleeping young man, near whom lay a revolver and a letter to his mother about embezzling 300 rubles, from suicide by placing a 500-ruble note under his arm.

The monument suffered damage several years ago, when dashing guys from the Urals, having gotten drunk, went to kiss it and accidentally tore the head off the statue. However, this cannot be called blasphemy either - after all, the grave, according to the guides, was built for fun. In fact, it is empty. According to legend, somewhere nearby there is the grave of a thief in law, the leader of the “Black Cat” gang, whose story formed the basis of Stanislav Govorukhin’s film “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed.” After the release of the film, the “brothers” began to gather more often at their graves, paying tribute to their famous predecessors.

Secrets of the Vagankovsky cemetery. Secrets of the century.

Vagankovo ​​is an alternative cemetery. There are the graves of those who, for various reasons, could not be buried at Novodevichy - Talkov, Mironov, Yashin, Vysotsky, Engibarov, Dal, Shchelokov. Our country had two histories and two lives - official and unofficial. Those who made official history ended their lives at Novodevichy, and Vagankovo ​​is a graveyard for those who were surrounded by human rumor, love and fame, but for one reason or another “did not reach” Novodevichy. The heroes of the program are “outstanding” deceased and living workers of Vagankovo. Living and Dead. The Vagankovskoe cemetery is a model of society, an alternative to the pompous and bravura political “officialdom”.

And in conclusion, a photo tour of the cemetery:

One of the oldest burial places is the Vagankovskoye cemetery in Moscow. It covers an area of ​​more than 48 hectares and is located in the Presnensky district of the Central District (northwest) of the capital.

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According to the ancient Christian tradition, necropolises in Rus' arose around churches and were usually located within the city limits. During epidemics, burying in such cemeteries was dangerous due to the risk of repeated outbreaks of the disease. Therefore, victims of epidemics were buried outside the city limits. The history of the Vagankovsky cemetery is connected with the plague epidemic in Moscow in 1771, which claimed thousands of lives. Panic reigned in the city, people were afraid to leave their houses, plague-ridden corpses were thrown directly into the street. They were collected with sticks with hooks by prisoners brought in for this purpose, dressed in solid waxed robes with slits for the eyes.

Empress Catherine II sent Count G. Orlov to Moscow to combat the consequences of the epidemic. By his order, more than ten cemeteries outside the city were organized. One of them appeared in the village of Novoye Vagankovo. On its territory, the dead were buried in deep common graves. New Vagankovo ​​was formed at the beginning of the 17th century in connection with the movement of the sovereign's Kennel Yard outside the city limits. Before that, it was located in the village of Vagankovo ​​along with the Poteshny Dvor. Since the 14th century, “amusing people” have lived there: buffoons, jesters, actors. They were distinguished by noisy behavior, revelry, fist fights, and drunkenness flourished.

By the 17th century, Moscow had expanded, and Vagankovo ​​ended up next to the boyars' chambers not far from the Kremlin. It was located on the site of the current Library. Lenin. Since the Kennel Yard, consisting of 300 hounds, falconers and other servants, in whose care there were falcons and huge packs of dogs, could not be located within the city limits, they were moved to a nearby suburb west of Presnenskaya Zastava (5 km from Vagankovo). So in 1636 New Vagankovo ​​appeared. It existed until 1695, until the Psarny Yard moved. Now in its place is the Vagankovskoye cemetery, which borrowed its name from the village. The official date of formation is considered to be 1771.

Until the 19th century, ordinary people were buried in the cemetery: townspeople, peasants, vagabonds, and minor officials. The construction of the majestic Church of the Resurrection of the Word in 1831 marked the beginning of the burial of nobles and celebrities. By this time, many Moscow churchyards were closed or moved outside the city due to overcrowding, and the Vagankovskoye cemetery from the outskirts moved into the city limits and was active. Over the 247 years of its existence, about 500 thousand people were buried there. Now there are 100 thousand graves in the memorial complex.

origin of name

There is no clear version about the origin of the name. There are several of them. The most common hypothesis is related to the word “vaganit”, which, according to Dahl’s dictionary, means: to make laugh, joke, play around. Since “amusing people” lived in Vagankovo, this version is completely justified. Historians associate the name with the collection of a monetary duty for weighing goods on scales (wags).

It is assumed that at this place there was an intersection of important trade roads and a ford across the Moscow River. Nearby there was a customs outpost called “Vaganets”, and the tax itself was called “Vaganny”. According to another version, the name comes from the word “vagan”, which was used to describe simple “uncouth” men.

Celebrity graves

The Vagankovsky necropolis is known as the burial place of famous people of Russia. The first famous burials appeared in the middle of the 19th century. Here you can see the graves:

• Decembrists, including: M.A. Bestuzheva, P.S. Bobrishcheva-Pushkina, I.N. Khotyaintseva.
• Composer A.N. Verestovsky, author of the immortal opera “Askold’s Grave”.
• Compiler of the explanatory dictionary V.I. Dahl

19th century artists found their eternal resting place:

• Outstanding portrait painter V. A. Tropinin, author of more than 3 thousand paintings, incl. famous portrait of A.S. Pushkin.
• V. I. Surikov, famous for his historical paintings: “Boyaryna Morozova”, “Morning of the Streltsy Execution”, “Suvorov’s Crossing of the Alps”.
• V.V Pukirev, who painted the immortal painting “Unequal Marriage”.
• A.K. Savrasov, author of the works “The Rooks Have Arrived” and “Barge Haulers on the Volga” and many others.

Since the 20th century, actors, directors, writers, artists, politicians and artists have traditionally been buried at Vagankovo. Many outstanding personalities found eternal rest here, including:

• Poets – S. Yesenin, V. Vysotsky, B. Okudzhava, M. Tanich
• Writers – V. Aksenov, G. Gorin, V. Dragunsky, V. Kaverin, V. Rozov
• Directors – V. Pluchek, S. Rostotsky, G. Chukhrai, A. Alov, P. Fomenko
• Actors - A. Abdulov, G. Burkov, Yu. Bogatyrev, G. Vitsin, E. Garin, V. Glagoleva, M. Gluzsky, O. Dal, M. Liepa, A. Mironov, S. Mishulin, T. Nosova, M. Pugovkin, Z. Reich (wife of S. Yesenin), N. Rumyantseva, V. Solomin, L. Sukharevskaya, Z. Fedorova, L. Filatov, M. Tsarev, G. Yumatov.
• Other famous figures are natural scientist K. Timiryazev, academician A. Speransky, journalist and TV presenter V. Listyev, singer I. Talkov, football goalkeeper L. Yashin, figure skater L. Pakhomova.

Military and historical burials

There are many mass graves and mass graves at the Vagankovsky memorial complex. The heroes of the War of 1812, who fell in the Battle of Borodino, the defenders of Moscow in the Great Patriotic War, who did not allow the Nazis to enter the capital, who died in battles and air raids in 1941-1942, are buried here. Not far from the cemetery in May 1896, the Khodynka tragedy occurred, when almost one and a half thousand people were crushed during the distribution of souvenirs in honor of the coronation of Nicholas II. The mutilated corpses were taken to Vagankovo ​​and piled in the meadow. Those who could be recognized were buried by relatives in coffins.

According to the publisher A. Suvorin, “all of this was inflated, black, and the stench was such that it was done badly,” so most remained unrecognized and were buried in common graves at site 6. Here is also the so-called “execution”: those buried according to the “execution lists” received by the cemetery commandant from the OGPU during the years of Stalin’s repressions from 1926 to 1936. The exact number of “enemies of the people” is not known. Burials were made secretly at night in a remote area in a ravine near a stream. Monuments have been erected to the victims of political repression and the Khodynka disaster.

Our contemporaries who died during the 1991 coup and the tragedy that occurred in October 2002 as a result of gas poisoning during the terrorist capture in the theater center on Dubrovka found eternal rest in the cemetery. The graves are located in different areas, only two young actors from the musical rest nearby.

Saints buried in the cemetery

Orthodox Muscovites preserve the memory of the saints buried in the cemetery, although their graves were wiped off the face of the earth during the persecution of the Church. Despite this, many people come here for help. Especially revered among believers is Valentin Amfitheatrov, rector of the Kremlin Archangel Church, who died in 1908. He does not have a separate burial place; his body rests in a mass grave among WWII soldiers. During the construction of the memorial, the godless authorities ordered the bulldozer to demolish the revered grave. But people remember and honor Father Valentin, they go to him for healing, help and receive it.

Thanks to the efforts of grateful pilgrims, two crosses were erected at the site of the supposed burial. It is known that a Moscow saint, Blessed Schema-Nun Martha of Moscow from the St. John the Baptist Monastery, who died in 1638, was buried at Vagankovo ​​in 1927. To avoid desecration of the incorruptible relics by the Bolsheviks, believers reburied them. However, the exact location is not known.

In unknown graves lie glorified saints: Bishop Vasily (Zelentsov) of Priluki, who went through the horror of the Solovetsky camps and was shot in 1930; priest John Inyushin, venerable martyr Macarius (Morzhov), bishop Maxim (Zhizhilenko), executed in June 1931.

Scheme of plots

The memorial complex is divided into 60 sections, the location of which can be seen on the diagram hanging at the entrance. In order not to get lost and quickly find the desired grave, you need to know in which area it is located.