Bogoroditse-Smolensky Monastery Novodevichy Convent
Sometimes translated as the New Maidens’ Monastery, devised to differ from an ancient maidens’ convent within the Moscow Kremlin. Unlike other Moscow cloisters, it has remained virtually intact since the 17th century. Founded in 1524 by Grand Prince Vasili III in commemoration of the conquest of Smolensk in 1514. Noteworthy, in 2004, Novodevichy Convent became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Also famous for its cemetery, Novodevichy convent was associated with noble women. In fact, the cemetery became the final resting place for nobility, both men and women. In addition, it is the Moscow’s third most popular tourist site. It has a park-like ambiance, dotted with small chapels and large sculpted monuments. The cemetery was built next to the Novodevichy Convent immediately upon the convent’s completion.

The cemetery became first used primarily as a burial place for Moscow’s feudal rulers and church officials. Later also used for Russia’s intellectuals and merchants. And in the 20th century, it was the burial place for many of the Soviet Union’s most well-known citizens. Today, the cemetery holds the tombs of Russian authors, playwrights, and poets, as well as famous actors, political leaders, and scientists. Novodevichy has more than 27,000 graves.

Some of the famous Russians buried there:

Nadezhda Alliluyeva-Stalin, (1902–1932), “First Lady” of the Soviet Union
Pavel Belyayev, (1925–1970), cosmonaut
Georgi Beregovoi, (1921–1995), cosmonaut
Sergei Bondarchuk, (1920–1994), actor/director
Boris Bruinov, (1922–1997), actor
Valery Bryusov, (1873–1924), writer
Mikhail Bulgakov, (1881–1940), playwright and author
Nikolai Bulganin, (1895–1975), statesman
Anton Chekhov, (1860–1904), writer
Georgi Chicherin (1872–1936), statesman
Fyodor Chaliapin, (1873–1938), opera singer
Ilya Ehrenburg, (1891–1967), writer
Alexander Fadeyev, (1901–1956), writer
Nikolai Gogol, (1809–1852), writer
Raisa Gorbachev, (1932–1999), “First Lady” of the Soviet Union
Nikita Khrushchev, (1894–1971), statesman
Peter Kropotkin, (1842–1921), Russia’s foremost anarchist
Alexander Lebed, (1950–2002), soldier and politician
Lev Davidovich Landau, (1908–1968), Nobel laureate in Physics
Isaac Levitan, (1860–1900), painter
Vladimir Mayakovsky, (1893–1930), poet
Vyacheslav Molotov, (1890–1986), politician
Nikolai Ogaryov, (1813–1877), writer/poet
David Oistrakh, (1908–1974), violin virtuoso
Aleksandr Oparin, (1894–1980), scientist
Boris Polevoy, (1908–1981), writer
Sergei Prokofiev, (1891–1953), composer
Valentin Serov, (1865–1911), writer and artist
Dmitri Shostakovitch, (1906–1975), composer
Vasily Shukshin, (1929–1974), writer, actor

Bogoroditse-Smolensky Monastery Novodevichy Convent

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