Moscow Guide
Krasnaya Presnya, Fili and the southwest
Novodevichie Cemetery
Address: Beyond the Novodevichie Convent's south wall
Website: www.novodevichye.narod.ru
Opening time:
Price: Daily summer 9am–7pm, winter 9am–6pm
Beyond the Novodevichie Convent's south wall lies the fascinating Novodevichie Cemetery (Novodovicheskoe kladbische), where many famous writers, artists and politicians are buried – only burial in the Kremlin Wall is more prestigious. It seems fitting that Novodevichie was the site of Trotsky's last public speech in Russia, at the graveside of an Old Bolshevik who committed suicide in protest against Stalin's dictatorship. During the Brezhnev era, the disgraced former leader Khrushchev was buried here, after which the cemetery was closed to prevent any demonstrations at his grave. Now that visiting restrictions have been lifted, Russians of all ages come to grave-spot, laying flowers on the tombs of some, tutting or cursing over others.