In past times, city residents were buried near parish churches and within monasteries. This is how monastery cemeteries arose. However, throughout the 20s and 30s of the last century, Moscow expanded, the outskirts were built up and most of the cemeteries in the capital were destroyed. In their place, residential buildings were built and public gardens were laid out. This fate befell the cemeteries that were located near the walls of Novospasskaya, Pokrovskaya, Simonova and many other monasteries. The necropolises located on the territory of the Novodevichy and Donskoy monasteries were somewhat more fortunate. This is due to the fact that during the Soviet period they were decided to open to the public as museums.
Old Don Cemetery
The old part, founded in the 18th-19th centuries, is occupied mainly by noble graves and columbariums. Plots for rich people were priced accordingly: in the middle of the 19th century the price reached 3 thousand rubles.
Monuments of nobles from destroyed and liquidated cemeteries in the post-revolutionary years were also brought here. Therefore, in this necropolis you can observe real works of posthumous art from famous sculptors of the country.
Several burial sites were subsequently named cultural heritage sites of federal and regional significance.
Historical significance of the Donskaya Monastery necropolis
The foundation of the Donskoy Monastery dates back to the end of the 16th century. They founded it on the site of a walk-city, that is, a movable field fortification. As was common in those days, burials gradually began to appear near the monastery walls.
As for the Donskoye Cemetery, Russian nobles, prominent dignitaries, and representatives of rich merchant families were buried here. It is enough to mention such famous noble families as the Vyazemskys, Trubetskoys, and Dolgorukies. The Golitsyn princes own a family tomb, for which they built a temple, consecrated in the name of St. Michael the Archangel. Famous writers and scientists found their last refuge in the Donskoy Pogost: P. Chaadaev, V. Odoevsky, V. Klyuchevsky, V. Maikov and many, many others.
The Don Necropolis today is a kind of museum of collected tombstones and sculptures. During the Soviet period, it was here that ancient grave monuments and slabs were brought from other Moscow cemeteries that were destroyed. Many of them are the creations of outstanding sculptors of the 18th – 20th centuries. There are sculptural tombstones here made by the Russian monumentalists I. Vitali, I. Martos, the representative of the Russian Empire style V. Demut-Malinovsky and the French sculptor Jean Houdon. Memorial sculptures of particular value are placed for viewing in St. Michael's Church.
Of great interest are the marble high reliefs that previously belonged to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, which was destroyed in the 30s; they are now mounted in the wall structure of the Donskoy Monastery.
Who is buried in the new necropolis
Staff officers, officials, and professors are buried here. In the 1st wave, the famous artist - the author of the painting “Girl with Peaches” - Valentin Serov, was brought here to bury, as well as the prototype of the heroine of the novel “Anna Karenina” and the daughter of A.S. Pushkin - Maria Hartung. You can also visit the ashes of Vladimir Mayakovsky at the cemetery.
The first mass crematorium in the USSR operates on the territory, where party workers were cremated until 1973. Their ashes were then buried inside the Kremlin wall. In the depths of a mass grave from the Second World War, near the eternal flame, the ashes of soldiers who died after being wounded are buried.
The end of dynasties and a joke of fate: what secrets does the Don Cemetery keep?
Photo: m24.ru/Alexander Avilov
The history of the capital's cemeteries has hundreds of secrets and legends. Reburials in which the heads of the dead, encrypted inscriptions on monuments, Scandinavian marks and bulletproof caps for tombstones disappeared...
The online publication m24.ru has launched a project in which you will learn about the history, legends and current state of the capital's cemeteries. In the first material we talked about the Novodevichy cemetery, in the second - about Vagankovsky, in the third - about Vvedensky. Now we will talk about Donskoy.
The Don Cemetery is usually divided into Old and New. The old one was founded in 1591 at the Donskoy Monastery, but then the place ran out, and at the beginning of the 20th century the New one appeared.
In the mid-18th century, the Donskoy Pogost was the burial place of the Moscow nobility; it is the largest noble necropolis preserved in the capital. At one time, the Donskoy Monastery was located outside the city, and people could be buried there - there was no place for the dead in the capital by decree of Catherine II.
Among the famous people buried at the Donskoye Cemetery are playwright Alexander Sumarokov, historian Vasily Klyuchevsky, writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn and landowner Daria Saltykova, known for her cruelty towards serfs.
Old Don Cemetery
Since the churchyard at the Donskoy Monastery was mainly for aristocrats, then their graves are worth paying attention to. For example, there are several burial places of representatives of the Gorchakov family (a street in the capital is named after one of them, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire), princes Obolensky and Naryshkin (the latter included the mother of Peter I). Also at the Donskoye Cemetery you can see the graves of Georgian princes, members of the princely Golitsyn family and relatives of Alexander Pushkin.
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Speaking of nobles: at the Donskoye Cemetery there are tombstones in the form of a tree with chopped branches. They are called “Mount Golgotha”; they were placed on the grave of the last representative of the family, symbolizing the end of the dynasty.
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During a missile test, the Indian military destroyed a space satellite that was in low Earth orbit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in an address to the nation.1 of 2
Separately, it is worth mentioning the famous cultural figures buried at the Donskoye Cemetery: philosophers Ivan Ilyin and Pyotr Chaadaev, writers Vladimir Odoevsky and Alexander Sumarokov, poet Mikhail Kheraskov and historian Vasily Klyuchevsky.
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In addition, in the cemetery you can see the grave of the “father of Russian aviation” Nikolai Zhukovsky, the architect Osip Bove, who reconstructed Moscow after the fire of 1812 (Arc de Triomphe, Bolshoi Theater, Alexander Garden), Patriarch of Moscow Tikhon, doctor Fyodor Inozemtsev (for the first time in Russian history empire, performed an operation using ether anesthesia), the Decembrist Pyotr Svistunov and the writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
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During a missile test, the Indian military destroyed a space satellite that was in low Earth orbit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in an address to the nation.1 of 4
One of the myths associated with the Don Cemetery is the grave of Saltychikha. There is a tombstone that is considered official - you can read the surname of the deceased there, but there is another unnamed and relatively new grave, which is called the “people's” grave. There is no exact information about where Saltychikha is buried. It is worth noting that the official tombstone and her son's gravestone, which lies nearby, are partially damaged.
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During a missile test, the Indian military destroyed a space satellite that was in low Earth orbit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in an address to the nation.1 of 3
General Anton Denikin, Alexander Kolchak’s successor as acting ruler of Russia, is also buried near the Donskoy Monastery. His ashes were transferred there from Detroit to Moscow in 2005 in accordance with his will. The grave of Denikin, his wife, one of the leaders of the White movement in Siberia, General Vladimir Kappel and the philosopher Ivan Ilyin and his wife stand nearby. This complex is called “Memorial to White Warriors”.
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During a missile test, the Indian military destroyed a space satellite that was in low Earth orbit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in an address to the nation.1 of 3
However, at the Old Donskoy Cemetery there was a place not only for graves: there are high reliefs from the old building of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, blown up in 1931.
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During a missile test, the Indian military destroyed a space satellite that was in low Earth orbit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in an address to the nation.1 of 3
New Don Cemetery
In 1927, the country's first mass crematorium and columbarium was equipped in the cemetery church at the New Donskoy Cemetery. It is also known for the fact that there is a mass grave of soldiers who died in 1941 - 1945 and died of wounds in Moscow hospitals. On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Victory, a necropolis of those killed in the Second World War appeared at the New Donskoy Cemetery, surrounded by steles with the names of soldiers.
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Not far from the steles there is a mass grave of “unclaimed ashes” - there, in particular, the writer Isaac Babel, director Vsevolod Meyerhold, marshals Mikhail Tukhachevsky and Vasily Blyukher, Pavel Postyshev are buried. The latter is considered one of the organizers of the Holodomor in Ukraine and became famous for searching for enemies of the people.
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By a strange irony of fate, the grave of the commandant of the NKVD of the USSR Vasily Blokhin (“the main executioner of the NKVD”), who personally shot more than 10 thousand people, is also located at the New Donskoy Cemetery.
M24.ru wrote more about those executed on the day of remembrance of the victims of political repression, you can read it here.
Sergey Blokhin
How to organize a funeral at the Donskoye Cemetery
Call the Mosgupritual agent right now so that he can promptly agree on preparing a place in a family burial place or purchasing a columbarium cell. Our specialist will ease the burden of your worries associated with the funeral of a loved one. He will help you collect the necessary documents, clothes for the morgue and ritual supplies, arrange transport and a menu in a cafe. The agent will take on all the difficulties of communicating with ritual workers. All you have to do is give yourself over to grief and honorably accompany the deceased on his final journey.
call an agent
How to get to the Donskoy Monastery.
Our journey begins at the Shabolovskaya metro stop, upon exiting which I immediately encountered an unpleasant situation. An elderly man held the hand of a resident of the southern part of our country until recently and shouted loudly. The southern resident had in his hands a pack of some kind of leaflets, the distribution of which apparently caused such a violent reaction in the man. After taking a photo of the station entrance, I quickly retreated.
Shukhov Tower, Moscow.
Moreover, there was where. Directly opposite the metro entrance is the address that sounded on Sundays from our TVs throughout our childhood: “Dear guys, we are waiting for your drawings and stories at Moscow, Shabolovka 37, Visiting a fairy tale.” The radio and television center of our country is located here. Before the opening of the Ostankino Tower in 1967, the Shabolovsky television center was the main one in the country.
As befits a television center, there is a television tower nearby. The Shukhov Tower was built according to the design of Academician Shukhov in the 20s of the 20th century, the height is 160 meters. Initially, it was planned to be as much as 350 meters, but due to a shortage of materials, the height was reduced. International experts recognized the Shukhov Tower as one of the highest achievements of engineering art. The tower is one of the seven masterpieces of the Russian avant-garde, and Shukhov’s technologies are still popular in our time. The largest tower built on the basis of Shukhov's inventions is a 600-meter tower in Guangzhou in China (by the way, the second tallest in the world).
Cost of funeral. Turnkey packages
Economy class cremation cost
From 5 to 11 thousand rubles.
More details Order
- Coffin silk-smooth 3500 RUR
- Cotton bed RUR 700
- Silk pillow500 RUR
- Cotton bedspread560r
- Cotton slippers100r
- Delivery1250rub
- Transport5500rub
- Total: 11000 RUR
Cost of funeral “Economy class”
From 7 to 20 thousand rubles.
More details Order
- Coffin silk corrugated 4700 RUR
- Silk bed RUR 1800
- Silk bedspread900 RUR
- Silk pillow700 RUR
- Slippers300 RUR
- Cross on the coffin600 RUR
- Sign800 RUR
- Wreath 110 cm2000 RUR
- Tape200r
- Delivery2500 RUR
- Transport5500rub
- Total: 20,000 rub.
Cost of a “standard” funeral
From 12 to 32 thousand rubles.
More details Order
- Combined coffin13900 RUR
- Composition on the coffin1900 RUR
- Silk bed RUR 1800
- Silk bedspread980r
- Silk pillow700 RUR
- Slippers300 RUR
- Cross on the coffin700 RUR
- Sign800 RUR
- Wreath 100 cm2500 RUR
- Tape200r
- Delivery2500 RUR
- Transport7200rub
- Total: RUR 31,480
Business class funeral
From 80 thousand rubles.
More details Order
- Coffin-Rurik 6-sided42500 RUR
- Elite jacquart bed 5500 RUR
- Quilted bedspread with sewing3500 RUR
- Satin pillow with gold frill1500 RUR
- 4 pens “gold”2000 RUR
- Cross on the coffin lid - elite brass 3500 RUR
- Sign on the cross900 RUR
- Wreath of fresh flowers aa2729900r
- Wreath of fresh flowers aa2423000r
- 2 custom satin ribbons 3000 RUR
- Delivery of accessories2500 RUR
- Transport Mercedes Sprinter for the whole day12500 RUR
- Total: 142800 RUR
Your application for a full package of funeral services.
We do not share contact information with third parties
Cemetery address: Moscow, Donskaya Square, 1
How to get there by public transport: walk from the Leninsky Prospekt metro station Opening hours: Summer (from May 1 to September 30): daily from 9 to 19. Winter (from October 1 to April 30): daily from 9 to 17. For burials daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Driving directions:
To free the family of the deceased from difficult worries, it is enough to call a funeral agent to your home.
We do not share contact information with third parties
Availability of free plots, cost of services provided for burial in the ground - can be found by calling: +7(495)7766584
Regarding the acquisition of FREE and COMMERCIAL plots in cemeteries
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+7(495)7766584 Check the cost of the plot by phone
Story
When did the first burials appear at the Donskoy Monastery cemetery, who was buried there?
One of the first to be buried here were the soldiers of Boris Godunov, who died in a battle with Kazy-Girey in 1591. That time was very turbulent. Tsarevich Dimitri was killed in Uglich; according to rumors, the army of Kazy-Girey was approaching Moscow. Boris Godunov was preparing for a battle with him and stood with the army not far from the Kaluga outpost, in the most vulnerable direction. Kazy-Girey sent forward a small detachment of horsemen, but the Russians killed them. The Crimean Khan became cowardly and fled, leaving his people to the mercy of fate.
The dead Russian soldiers were buried near a small camp church (tent). A small one-domed church of the Don Icon of the Mother of God was subsequently built on this site, and a large one was erected in 1698. The fence around it was made in the same style. Early burials are still preserved in the large cathedral. These are the graves of the Georgian princes David, Matvey and Alexander. (1711). Since the 18th century, nobility and aristocracy were buried in the cemetery.
At the southern wall of the monastery there is the New Don Cemetery. It opened at the beginning of the twentieth century and also became a prestigious necropolis. In 1927, the first crematorium with columbarium was opened here. In 1934, a museum of architecture was located on this territory, where fragments of destroyed monuments were preserved. In the wall of the monastery there are still elements of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. They were going to be placed in a new temple, but they did not do so. The platbands of the Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God on Pokrovka and the Sukharev Tower are also located there.
Saltychikha
Not far from Chaadaev’s grave there is supposedly the grave of Daria Nikolaevna Saltykova, a follower of Baron de Sade. In our time, this monster would be called a serial killer. Widowed at age 26, she inherited estates and about 600 peasants. When she was abandoned by her lover Nikolai Tyutchev (grandfather of Fyodor Tyutchev, the Russian poet), Saltykova began to take out her anger on her serfs.
Mostly beautiful young girls were subjected to her bullying. Modern psychiatrists characterize this condition as epileptoid psychopathy. Unmotivated aggression, sadistic tendencies, a constantly gloomy mood and irritation are signs of this pathology.
Saltychikha “harassed 139 serfs, killed three of their souls, and the rest were women” (at that time women were not “souls”). The trial of Saltychikha began immediately after the accession of Catherine II. It lasted 6 years. The sadist was sentenced to pillory and imprisonment in a dungeon in a monastery. She died in 1801 and was buried at the Old Donskoy Cemetery.
It is not known exactly where her grave is. Different researchers point to several places. According to one version, it lies under a nameless stone pyramid. There is a belief that this pyramid remains cold even under the sun on hot days.
Prices for cemetery services (funeral costs)
In the Don Necropolis, a place for military burial is allocated free of charge. Therefore, the cost of a funeral is calculated according to the price list of the funeral service. Current prices are presented on a separate tariffs page.
According to government decree, the costs of military funerals in Moscow are subject to compensation. Its amount is indexed annually and currently amounts to:
- 40,551 rubles in the event of the death of a disabled person or participant in the Great Patriotic War;
- 28,178 rubles if a funeral is held for a combat serviceman, a veteran or participant in combat operations, or a military pensioner.
Petr Chaadaev
At the Old Donskoy Cemetery there is the grave of Pyotr Yakovlevich Chaadaev, an interesting Russian philosopher who was not appreciated by his contemporaries. Pushkin wrote about him:
He would be Brutus in Rome, Pericles in Athens...
Some literary scholars believe that Chaadaev was the prototype of Chatsky in Griboyedov’s comedy “Woe from Wit.” Chaadaev’s “philosophical letters” displeased the authorities, and he was declared insane and sent to the estate under medical supervision. There he wrote "Apology for a Madman."
Several generations of philosophers and publicists developed ideas from Chaadaev’s works. On his surviving tombstone there is a laconic inscription: “He died on April 14, 1856.”
Shabolovka street.
Then we will take a walk along the beautiful Shabolovka street,
Let's turn onto Ordzhonikidze Street.
Then onto Donskaya Street and we will find ourselves at the gates of the Donskoye Cemetery.
