June 02, 2004
Novedevichy/Новодевичии
I meant to post this piece along time ago, but I wanted to include the pictures. Unfortunately, I could only include two because the crappy computer I'm on couldn't resize the bigger images for lack of virtual memory.
Novedevichy or New Maiden Cemetery is adjacent to the magnificent convent of the same name. During Soviet times, of course, religion was highly frowned upon and church lands were closed and confiscated. The cemetery became the resting grounds of Moscow’s most eminent and famous communists.
It has always been a macabre passion of mine to wander through the cemeteries (if they have them) of the countries I visit, and Novedevichy proved to be a real treat as well as another demonstration of the stark contrasts that exist in Russia and in Moscow especially.
The difference between the pre and post-revolutionary tombstones is galling. Even famous people before the revolution had modest tombstones bearing the orthodox cross. The likes of Shostakovich and Gorky are buried in simple tombs, reminding us of the Christian belief in dust to dust. Simple and moving in the tree-lined aisles of Novedevichy, they seem to befit the atmosphere. The communist ones, however, demonstrate the power of, what during communism, was the new state religion and the immortality of the human world. The deification of military might was especially shocking.
Interesting, though, are the other smaller tombs to lesser heroes of the revolution and the Soviet realist art style that accompanies these them. The ballerina gets a full-sized statue of herself on her tomb, while the chess master receives a knight on his.
The fall of communism has not dampened wealthy Muscovites love of ostentatious tombstones and is a reminder of many Soviet traditions embedded in society.