Secrets of vampire graves. Unusual ancient burials

In the Krasnodar Territory, secret burials of people who at one time had conflicts with Legislative Assembly deputy from United Russia Sergei Zirinov were found

This photo was taken in the summer of 2011 on the Anapa beach “Golden Bay”. Deputy of the Kuban Legislative Assembly Sergei Zirinov (far left) was introduced to the President of the Russian Federation (now Prime Minister) by Anapa Mayor Tatyana Evsikova (second from right)

Now the deputy is in custody, although on a different matter. In Anapa, his guards and driver were detained, searches were carried out at the Anapa crime bosses. After the arrest of deputy Zirinov, one of the leaders of the local police went on the run. The flywheel of the investigation is just getting started, but it is already clear: in Anapa, as in the Kuban village of Kushchevskaya, a business empire has been created on the shoulders of a private security company, and its king has found access to the highest echelons of power.

Funeral truth

To see the graves, we drive from the village of Varvarovka towards Novorossiysk. At the wheel is disgraced police major Alexei Dymovsky, who once recorded a sensational video message to Putin. Exactly one kilometer after Varvarovka we turn left from the highway and move along the forest belt. The ground is dug up everywhere, and almost all of the forest belt has been cut down: more than a dozen years have passed since some of the murders, and the Investigative Committee, together with the FSB, had to work hard to find the burial places.

...At the bottom of a shallow hole is a compacted piece of earth. “The bodies lay here,” the former major concludes. Nearby is a large piece of polyethylene with traces of a brownish liquid. We dig out several buttons with the inscription “Levinson”. One of them is packed in a closed plastic bag, where material evidence is usually placed. About five meters later there is a similar hole, but much smaller in size: a child could be lying in it. After Kushchevka, as a resident of Kuban, I am not surprised at anything.

It is not yet known how many bodies have been found. But two have already been identified: Vitaly Sadovnichy and his common-law wife Olga Ivankina (traces of bullet wounds were found in the skulls). According to one version, this murder may be connected with the Anapa sanatorium "Malaya Bukhta". At the beginning of the 2000s, Sadovnichy served there as chief accountant. Then the “king” of Anapa Sergei Zirinov helped Sadovnichy become the general director of the sanatorium.

Later, Sergei Zirinov allegedly wanted to remove Vitaly Sadovnichy from his director’s position, but he refused to leave. In 2002, he filed a statement with the Anapa police, where he described in detail who was threatening him and how. Soon after this, Vitaly Sadovnichy and Olga Ivankina disappeared.

The police opened a search case. There was information that the couple allegedly had a lot of money with them, which allowed them to go abroad. Only now, 11 years later, the terrible truth has become known. However, the Malaya Bukhta sanatorium is a tiny part of the business empire that has been built in Anapa over the past decade with the help of Zirinov. Many tried to stop him...

Arrests without rules

Now law enforcement agencies are looking for burials throughout the Anapa region. The impetus for the start of a large-scale investigation was the assassination attempt on Nikolai Nesterenko, deputy ataman of the Anapa city Cossack society. On February 22, Nesterenko was wounded twice, and his driver Viktor Zhuk was killed. The deputy city ataman fought against the extraction of “Olympic” sand on the Anapa shelf, the development of dunes in the suburbs of Anapa, and the seizure of territories in the Utrish nature reserve. We should also recall the recent history of the Anapka River. The city administration leased part of the river bank to local businessman Ashot Aslanyan for the construction of a hotel. But Nesterenko did not allow the protected area to be fenced off. This was contrary to Zirinov’s interests, since Aslanyan, let’s say, knows him well.

Nesterenko heads the company “Na Krepostnoy”, which unites the Anapa Cossack Market, a security company and a number of other companies. Anapa Cossack society and the local Armenian diaspora are two economic clans that oppose each other. The Armenian group is considered more powerful, and MP Zirinov is behind it.

Soon after the attempt on Nesterenko’s life, Zirinov’s bodyguard Amar Suloev was detained. Now the investigation is checking whether the detainee was involved in the preparation of the killer and whether it was he who obtained the weapon for the assassination attempt. Zirinov’s driver, nicknamed Khimik, and the head of Zirinov’s security, former intelligence officer Andrei Miroshnikov, were also detained. It is unknown which of them shows the burial sites to the operatives: this person is carried around with a special forces mask placed on his head.

On April 6 and 7, searches took place in the house of Ambartsum Airiyan, nicknamed Ampar. In Anapa he is a very authoritative person. Presumably, through him, United Russia member Zirinov kept in touch with the main Russian authority, Aslan Usoyan, nicknamed Ded Khasan (shot dead in Moscow on January 16). According to some reports, Airiyan may now be hiding in the United Arab Emirates.

When the arrests began, Zirinov returned from the UAE, where he was allegedly on vacation. He was taken straight from the Krasnodar airport to the FSB pre-trial detention center. According to my information, during a search in Zirinov’s house, a laptop was seized, in which they found audio files - wiretapping of Nesterenko’s telephone conversations. In one of the conversations, he says that it’s time to put Zirinov in his place. Soon after this conversation, an attempt is made on Nesterenko’s life.

During the investigation, it turned out that the head of the criminal investigation department of Anapa, Igor Nekhaenko, at least knew about the wiretapping. Moreover, Nikolai Nesterenko was under professional surveillance. When the investigation began to closely investigate Zirinov, the head of the criminal investigation department, Nekhaenko, disappeared. “Now he is wanted, an orientation has been sent to Kuban police departments,” says Alexey Dymovsky. The information has not yet been officially confirmed. All we know is that Nekhaenko is absent from work.

Own President

It is noteworthy that Zirinov formally has no or almost no property. In some places (for example, in the Anapa television company “Channel 39”) Boris Makarovsky is among the founders. In Anapa he is considered a reliable assistant to Zirinov. On the day of the deputy’s arrest, “masked men” conducted a large-scale search at Channel 39. Boris Makarovsky is also associated with the Anapa 3D cinema “Mir Kino”. We will remain silent about the nominal owners of dozens of restaurants, cafes, and shops, as well as about the main Anapa department store and a number of water parks. But the five-star Valentina hotel is headed by a certain Svetlana Starostina. The Golden Bay Beach Hotel is run by Andronik Khachaturyan. All of Anapa is discussing rumors that the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, Vyacheslav Lebedev, is vacationing here in the summer. During his vacation, as locals say, the Golden Bay beach is taken under protection and closed.

However, these are just rumors, and I would not be surprised if they were spread at the instigation of Zirinov himself. But the meeting of the United Russia deputy with the former president and now prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, most likely, was fleeting and probably the only one documented, at least by a photograph that we publish. That day, Medvedev and his family flew by helicopter from Sochi to Anapa. He was met by the Kuban governor Tkachev and the former mayor of Anapa Evsikova with a full retinue. With their blessing, Zirinov was most likely brought to the president.

The power of the guard

Together with Dymovsky we go to the Anapa district of Vysoky Bereg, we find Tamanskaya Street and the house of deputy Zirinov. Not a house, but a fortress: behind a stone fence there are large square buildings with wide dark windows and narrow loopholes. At the entrance there is a stone security booth. I explain to the security guard in a black shirt: “We want to get a comment from Sergei Andreevich.” The guard is polite: “He’s not there.” An hour later I get a call from an unfamiliar number. The woman introduces herself as deputy Zirinov’s assistant and asks for a meeting in Anapa. They work quickly. Zirinov generally did everything quickly...

He started his career in the late 90s. His authoritative uncle Nikolai Ispiryan was widely known in Anapa. In 1997, my uncle and his family were shot by bandits. Five days later, his heir died in a car accident, and Sergei Zirinov inherited the “holy place”.

In 2002, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly Krasnodar region. By 2007, he was already a member of United Russia and became a deputy again, in 2012 - again. Now he is deputy chairman of the regional Committee on Culture and Information Policy. The other day, Zirinov received another invitation to a session of the regional parliament.

All these years, Sergei Zirinov was associated with the private security company “VAN”, which “well-wishers” decipher as “All of Anapa is ours.”

Anapa is a large all-Russian resort, the money and positions here are larger than in the Kuban village of Kushchevskaya. But Anapa and Kushchevka have a number of common features by which one can get an idea of ​​Kuban life. Firstly, behind the official authorities there is a shadow master who “settles” local problems: Sergei Tsapok in Kushchevskaya and Sergei Zirinov in Anapa. At the same time, the “owner” is also part of the scientific elite, so to speak: Tsapok was a candidate of sociological sciences, and Zirinov was a candidate of economic sciences. Like Tsapok in his time, Zirinov is a deputy from United Russia. And if Tsapok was photographed at Medvedev’s inauguration, then Zirinov was photographed directly with the ex-president.

Secondly, both here and there there are enterprises that provide financial resources for the activities of the shadow government. In Kushchevskaya it was the agricultural enterprise Artex-Agro, and in Anapa there were dozens of restaurants, shops, cafes, large hotels and water parks (resort specific). Thirdly, along with law enforcement agencies There is definitely a certain private security company that merges with them and in some cases simply replaces them: “Centurion” in Kushchevka and “VAN” in Anapa. And if in the Kushchevsky police Alexander Khodych covered the Tsapkov, then the head of the criminal investigation department Igor Nekhaenko can tell a lot about the affairs of the Anapa police. When they find him.

One of the most mystical personalities in Russian literature is N.V. Gogol. During his lifetime he was a secretive person and took with him many secrets. But he left behind brilliant works in which fantasy and reality, the beautiful and the repulsive, the funny and the tragic are intertwined.

Here witches fly on a broomstick, boys and ladies fall in love with each other, the imaginary auditor takes on a pompous appearance, Viy raises his leaden eyelids and runs away from And the writer unexpectedly bids us farewell, leaving us in admiration and bewilderment. Today we will talk about his last charade, left to his descendants - the secret of Gogol’s grave.

The writer's childhood

Gogol was born in the Poltava province on March 1, 1809. Before him, two dead boys had already been born in the family, so the parents prayed to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker for the birth of the third and named the first-born in his honor. Gogol was a sickly child, they fussed over him a lot and loved him more than other children.

From his mother he inherited religiosity and a penchant for premonitions. From my father - suspiciousness and love for the theater. The boy was attracted by secrets, horror stories, prophetic dreams.

At the age of 10, he and his younger brother Ivan were sent to the Poltava School. But the training did not last long. His brother died, which greatly shocked little Nikolai. He was transferred to the Nizhyn gymnasium. Among his peers, the boy was distinguished by his love of practical jokes and secrecy, for which he was called Mysterious Carlo. This is how the writer Gogol grew up. His creativity and personal life were largely determined by their first childhood impressions.

Is Gogol's artistic world the creation of a mad genius?

The writer’s works surprise with their phantasmagoric nature. On their pages, terrifying sorcerers come to life (“Terrible Vengeance”), and witches rise at night, led by the monster Viy. But along with evil spirits, caricatures of modern society. A new auditor comes to town, they are bought by Chichikov dead Souls, shows Russian life with utmost honesty. And next to it is the absurdity of Nevsky Prospekt and the famous Nose. How were these images born in the head of the writer Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol?

Creativity researchers are still at a loss. Many theories are connected with the writer's madness. It is known that he suffered from painful conditions, during which mood swings, extreme despair, and fainting were observed. Perhaps it was disturbed thinking that prompted Gogol to write such bright, unusual works? After all, after suffering, periods of creative inspiration followed.

However, psychiatrists who studied Gogol's work find no signs of insanity. In their opinion, the writer suffered from depression. Hopeless sadness and special sensitivity are characteristic of many brilliant individuals. This is what helps them to become more aware of the surrounding reality, to show it with unexpected sides, surprising the reader.

The writer was shy and a closed person. In addition, he had a good sense of humor and loved practical jokes. All this gave rise to many legends about him. Thus, excessive religiosity suggests that Gogol could be a member of a sect.

Even more controversial is the fact that the writer was not married. There is a legend that in the 1840s he proposed to Countess A.M. Vilegorskaya, but was refused. There was a rumor about platonic love Nikolai Vasilyevich to the married lady A. O. Smirnova-Rosset. But these are all rumors. As well as conversations about Gogol’s homosexual tendencies, which he allegedly tried to get rid of through austerities and prayers.

The death of the writer raises many questions. Gloomy thoughts and forebodings overcame him after the end of the second volume." Dead souls"in 1852. In those days he communicated with confessor Matvey Konstantinovsky. The latter convinced Gogol to renounce his sinful literary activity and devote more time to spiritual quests.

A week before Lent, the writer subjects himself to the most severe asceticism. He hardly eats or sleeps, which negatively affects his health. That night he burns papers in the fireplace (presumably the second volume of Dead Souls). Since February 18, Gogol has not gotten out of bed and is preparing for death. On February 20, doctors decide to begin compulsory treatment. On the morning of February 21, the writer dies.

Causes of death

People still wonder how the writer Gogol died. He was only 42 years old. Despite bad feeling Lately, no one expected such an outcome. Doctors were unable to make an accurate diagnosis. All this gave rise to many rumors. Let's look at some of them:

1. Suicide. Before his death, Gogol voluntarily refused to eat and prayed instead of sleeping. He consciously prepared for death, forbade himself to be treated, and did not listen to the admonitions of his friends. Perhaps he died of his own free will? However, for a religious person who fears hell and the devil, this is not possible.
2. Mental illness. Perhaps the reason for this behavior of Gogol was a clouding of his mind? Shortly before the tragic events, Ekaterina Khomyakova, the sister of the writer’s close friend, to whom he was attached, died. On February 8-9, Nikolai Vasilyevich dreamed own death. All this could have shaken his unstable psyche and led to excessively harsh asceticism, the consequences of which were terrifying.
3. Incorrect treatment. Gogol could not be diagnosed for a long time, suspecting either intestinal typhus or inflammation of the stomach. Finally, a council of doctors decided that the patient had meningitis and subjected him to bloodletting, warm baths, and cold douses that were unacceptable for such a diagnosis. All this undermined the body, which was already weakened by long abstinence from food. The writer died of heart failure.
4. Poisoning. According to other sources, doctors could provoke intoxication of the body by prescribing calomel to Gogol three times. This was due to the fact that various specialists were invited to the writer who did not know about other appointments. As a result, the patient died from an overdose.

Funeral

Be that as it may, the burial took place on February 24. It was public, although the writer's friends objected to this. Gogol's grave was originally located in Moscow on the territory of the St. Danilov Monastery. The coffin was brought here in their arms after the funeral service in the church of the martyr Titiana.

According to eyewitnesses, a black cat suddenly appeared at the place where Gogol’s grave is located. This caused a lot of talk. Suggestions began to spread that the writer’s soul had transmigrated into a mystical animal. After the burial, the cat disappeared without a trace.

Nikolai Vasilyevich forbade erecting a monument on his grave, so a cross was erected with a quote from the Bible: “I will laugh at my bitter word.” Its basis was granite stone brought from Crimea by K. Aksakov (“Golgotha”). In 1909, in honor of the centenary of the writer’s birth, the grave was restored. A cast iron fence was installed, as well as a sarcophagus.

Opening of Gogol's grave

In 1930, the Danilovsky Monastery was closed. In its place, it was decided to set up a reception center for juvenile delinquents. The cemetery was urgently reconstructed. In 1931, the graves of such outstanding people, like Gogol, Khomyakov, Yazykov and others, were opened and transferred to the Novodevichy cemetery.

This happened in the presence of representatives of the cultural intelligentsia. According to the memoirs of the writer V. Lidin, they arrived at the place where Gogol was buried on May 31. The work took the whole day, since the coffin was deep and inserted into the crypt through a special side hole. The remains were discovered after dusk, so no photographs were taken. The NKVD archives contain an autopsy report, which does not contain anything unusual.

However, according to rumors, this was done in order to not make a fuss. The picture that revealed itself to those present shocked everyone. A terrible rumor immediately spread across Moscow. What did the people who were present at the Danilovsky cemetery see that day?

Buried alive

In oral conversations, V. Lidin said that Gogol lay in the grave with his head turned. Moreover, the lining of the coffin was scratched from the inside. All this gave rise to terrible assumptions. What if the writer fell into a lethargic sleep and was buried alive? Perhaps, having woken up, he tried to get out of the grave?

Interest was fueled by the fact that Gogol suffered from tophephobia - the fear of being buried alive. In 1839, in Rome, he suffered severe malaria, which led to brain damage. Since then, the writer has experienced fainting spells, turning into prolonged sleep. He was very afraid that in this state he would be mistaken for dead and buried ahead of time. Therefore, I stopped sleeping in bed, preferring to doze half-sitting on the sofa or in a chair.

In his will, Gogol ordered not to bury him until obvious signs of death appeared. So is it possible that the writer’s will was not fulfilled? Is it true that Gogol turned over in his grave? Experts assure that this is impossible. As evidence, they point to the following facts:

• Gogol's death was recorded by the five best doctors of that time.
• Nikolai Ramazanov, who filmed the great namesake, knew about his fears. In his memoirs, he states: the writer, unfortunately, slept in an eternal sleep.
• The skull could have been rotated due to the displacement of the coffin lid, which often happens over time, or while being carried by hand to the burial site.
• It was impossible to see the scratches on the upholstery, which had decayed over 80 years. This is too long.
• V. Lidin's oral stories contradict his written memories. After all, according to the latter, Gogol’s body was found without a skull. In the coffin lay only a skeleton in a frock coat.

Legend of the Lost Skull

In addition to V. Lidin, the archaeologist A. Smirnov and V. Ivanov, who were present at the autopsy, mention Gogol’s headless body. But should we believe them? After all, the historian M. Baranovskaya, who stood next to them, saw not only the skull, but also the light brown hair preserved on it. And the writer S. Solovyov did not see either the coffin or the ashes, but he found ventilation pipes in the crypt in case the deceased was resurrected and needed something to breathe.

Nevertheless, the story about the missing skull was so “in the spirit” of the author Viy that it was developed. According to legend, in 1909, during the restoration of Gogol’s grave, collector A. Bakhrushin persuaded the monks of the Danilovsky Monastery to steal the writer’s head. For a good reward, they sawed off the skull, and it took its place in the theater museum of the new owner.

He kept it secretly, in the pathologist's bag, among the medical instruments. When he passed away in 1929, Bakhrushin took with him the secret of the whereabouts of Gogol’s skull. However, could the story of the great phantasmagorist who was Nikolai Vasilyevich end here? Of course, a sequel was invented for it, worthy of the pen of the master himself.

Ghost Train

One day, Gogol’s great-nephew, naval lieutenant Yanovsky, came to Bakhrushin. He heard about the stolen skull and, threatening with a loaded weapon, demanded that it be returned to his family. Bakhrushin gave away the relic. Yanovsky decided to bury the skull in Italy, which Gogol loved very much and considered his second home.

In 1911, ships from Rome arrived in Sevastopol. Their goal was to collect the remains of their compatriots who died during the Crimean campaign. Yanovsky persuaded the captain of one of the ships, Borgose, to take with him a casket with a skull and hand it over to the Russian ambassador in Italy. He had to bury him according to the Orthodox rite.

However, Borghose did not have time to meet with the ambassador and set off on another voyage, leaving the unusual casket in his house. The captain's younger brother, a student at the University of Rome, discovered the skull and decided to scare his friends. He had a trip to fun company through the longest tunnel of its time on the Rome Express. The young rake took the skull with him. Before the train entered the mountains, he opened the casket.

Immediately the train was enveloped in an unusual fog, and panic began among those present. Borghose Jr. and another passenger jumped off the train at full speed. The rest disappeared along with the Roman Express and Gogol's skull. The search for the train was unsuccessful, and they hastened to wall up the tunnel. But in subsequent years, the train was seen in different countries, including Poltava, the writer’s homeland, and Crimea.

Is it possible that where Gogol was buried, only his ashes are found? While the writer's spirit wanders around the world on a ghostly train, never finding peace?

Last refuge

Gogol himself wanted to rest in peace. Therefore, we will leave the legends to science fiction lovers and move to the Novodevichy cemetery, where the remains of the writer were reburied on June 1, 1931. It is known that before the next burial, admirers of Nikolai Vasilyevich’s talent stole pieces of the coat, shoes and even bones of the deceased “as souvenirs.” V. Lidin admitted that he personally took a piece of clothing and placed it in the binding of “Dead Souls” of the first edition. All this, of course, is terrible.

Along with the coffin, the fence and the Calvary stone, which served as the basis for the cross, were transported to the Novodevichy cemetery. The cross itself was not installed in the new place, since the Soviet government was far from religion. Where he is now is unknown. Moreover, in 1952, a bust of Gogol by N.V. Tomsky was erected on the site of the grave. This was done contrary to the will of the writer, who, as a believer, called not to honor his ashes, but to pray for his soul.

Golgotha ​​was sent to the lapidary workshop. The widow of Mikhail Bulgakov found the stone there. Her husband considered himself a student of Gogol. In difficult moments, he often went to his monument and repeated: “Teacher, cover me with your cast-iron overcoat.” The woman decided to install a stone on Bulgakov’s grave so that Gogol would invisibly protect him even after his death.

In 2009, for the 200th anniversary of Nikolai Vasilyevich, it was decided to return his burial place to its original appearance. The monument was dismantled and handed over to Historical Museum. A black stone with a bronze cross was again installed on Gogol’s grave at the Novodevichy cemetery. How to find this place to honor the memory of the great writer? The grave is located in the old part of the cemetery. From the central alley you should turn right and find the 12th row, section No. 2.

Gogol's grave, as well as his work, is fraught with many secrets. It is unlikely that it will be possible to solve them all, and is it necessary? The writer left a covenant with his loved ones: not to grieve for him, not to associate him with the ashes that worms gnaw, not to worry about the burial place. He wanted to immortalize himself not in a granite monument, but in his work.

Beyond the Yauza River, on the territory of the former German Settlement, there is the most unusual necropolis in Moscow - the Vvedenskoye Cemetery. The patina of neglect inherent in any churchyard is special here - natural, lively, filled with romance. Along the alleys and paths stretch plaster vases and marble crucifixes, tombstones with Gothic inscriptions and unusual chapels, mournful female figures and angels with lowered wings. There is a special charm in leisurely walks around the Vvedensky cemetery. Squeezing between the fences and deciphering the inscriptions on the tombstones, you experience not only grief and despondency, but also the need to reflect, open a book, and get acquainted with the life stories of departed people.

The cemetery received its official name from the Vvedenskaya Mountain, but among the people it was more often called Infidel, or German. An area of ​​20 hectares fenced with a brick fence has become a piece of Western Europe on Russian soil. Since the time of Peter I, non-Orthodox Christians - Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans - have been buried here. The cemetery land reconciled not only representatives of different faiths, but also those who fought each other on the battlefields. After passing through the southern gate, to the right of the central alley you will see a mass grave of soldiers of the Napoleonic army fenced with a chain. And to the left of the alley is an obelisk in memory of the Russian soldiers who died from wounds received on the Borodino field.

In the middle of the 19th century, enterprising Europeans flocked to the Mother See. The graves of foreign bankers, industrialists and merchants appear at the Vvedensky Cemetery. But during the First World War, foreigners left Russia en masse. Some of the graves are falling into disrepair, and names on some slabs are erased. In the first decades of Soviet power, Russian priests, scientists and military personnel were buried in the cemetery. After the Great Patriotic War people's graves appear creative professions. Whom you will meet here! Theater and film figures - Rina Zelenaya, Mikhail Kozakov, Lucyena Ovchinnikova, ballerina Olga Lepeshinskaya, pianist David Lerner, sports commentator Nikolai Ozerov, Opera singer Maria Maksakova, architects Melnikov brothers, historian Sigurd Schmidt, composer Eduard Kolmanovsky. On the main alley lies the actor Gennady Bortnikov, who was called the “Russian Gerard Philippe,” and buried near the southern wall People's Artist Tatyana Peltzer is a “happy old woman,” as she called herself.

The grave of ballerina Olga Lepeshinskaya. Photo: Igor Stomakhin/website

Fatal date

The silence of the Vvedensky cemetery is broken by the singing of nightingales and the rustling of centuries-old trees, the rustling of autumn leaves and the grinding of a street sweeper. To an impressionable person, these sounds seem like conversations of those who have passed on to another world. This is not surprising: Vvedenskoye Cemetery keeps many secrets and legends. One of the legends is connected with General Gordon, a native of Scotland, an ally of Peter I, who loved to drink and fool around. At the beginning of the 20th century, someone tore out sheets from the cemetery register indicating the place where the tombstone of a Scotsman who was in the royal service was located. Since then, the general has been wandering the alleys in search of the lost grave, clicking his heels and scaring visitors with shouts in guttural Gaelic.

Another legend says that under the cemetery Vvedensky Hill there is an entire city consisting of many dungeons and catacombs. You can enter the underground “Vvedenka” only through one of the ancient crypts. But no one knows what kind of crypt it is and in what part of the cemetery it is located. But the story of a priest is known, whose grave is decorated with a white marble cross and a mournful statue of an angel. According to contemporaries, the priest had a beautiful dramatic baritone. One day, as they say, he was misled by a demon. Pop got a job at the opera and began singing on stage. The success was incredible, but soon the maestro lost his voice, and then his legs lost power. The priest suffered for a long time, blaming himself for betraying the Lord, and died only when he begged forgiveness for himself.

The saddest legend is associated with the story of the spouses Leon and Sophia Plo, buried in the same grave. The husband was engaged in the supply of iron and cast iron to Russia, the stunningly beautiful wife ran a glove shop on Kuznetsky Most. One day it seemed to the husband that his missus was secretly meeting with her lover. Leon ordered a carver to make a stone figure in the form of a half-dressed woman sneaking out on a date. When the composition was ready, the husband came home and killed first his wife, and then himself. The sculpture was installed as a tombstone. An attractive lady in a negligee once clutched a stone rose in her hands, whose petals fell onto the slab. The rose was broken off by vandals, but now the statue always holds a living flower brought by one of the visitors.

Vampire

Engineer Maximilian Erlanger brought the first steam mill to Russia and built a plant in Sokolniki, which still produces rye and wheat bread. The tomb of the “flour king” was built according to the design of the architect Fyodor Shekhtel. Inside there is a fresco by artist Petrov-Vodkin illuminated by a lamp. Christ in colored robes scatters grain on a plowed field. The plot reminds people that they should sow good deeds. The icon is considered miraculous, and many believe that wishes written on the wall of the crypt will definitely come true. The walls of the chapel are covered with pencils and markers. People turn to Jesus with requests for a good job and the desire to earn big money, for healing from drunkenness and the return of a loved one.

The mausoleum of the manufacturer and “father of Russian chintz” Ludwig Knopp is made in the form of a dilapidated antique portico. One day, an adventurer climbed inside and came across a dead hand sticking out of the ground. Since then, the crypt has been popularly called “Vampire”. Until the 1940s, a statue of Christ by Italian sculptor Raffaello Romanelli was installed on the area in front of the portico. When pilgrims came here, they brought water with them and poured it on the hand of Jesus pointing down to the earth. It was believed that the drained water acquired miraculous healing properties.

Mausoleum of Ludwig Knopp. Photo: Igor Stomakhin/website

In recent years, “Vampire” has become a sacred place for representatives of the Goth subculture - guys and girls with eyeliner, wearing high lace-up boots. Goths talk about the special cemetery energy that gives them strength, about the aesthetics of death and alluring secrets afterlife. Judging by the mysterious anagrams, inscriptions with the word “Apocalypse” and scattered pigeon feathers, ritual orgies like “black masses” and “Satan’s balls” are held here. Several years ago, security at the Vvedenskoye Cemetery was strengthened and the plots were equipped with a video surveillance system. There are fewer ready-made ones, but they still appear, especially on the eve of November 1 - All Saints' Day and Halloween. By the way, on November 2, when All Souls' Day is celebrated, representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, led by the cardinal, hold a solemn mass and religious procession at the Vvedensky cemetery.

Door to the underworld

At the grave of Georg Lyon and Alexandra Rozhnova, there is a semicircular colonnade with a mosaic panel - a copy of the artist Arnold Böcklin’s painting “Island of the Dead”. A boat floats up to the cemetery gate, located among the hills, in which there are two people - a rower and a woman wrapped in white cloth. The symbolism is easy to decipher. The image of the mountains embodies the kingdom of the dead - Hades. The boatman Charon transports a shrouded soul across the River Styx.

Worth seeing and unusual monument on the grave of the railway figure Christian Meyen. The cross is welded from rail strips mounted on locomotive wheels; the tombstone is decorated with carriage buffers and coupling devices. An equally amazing tombstone on the grave of Apollinary Vasnetsov is made in the form of a swallowtail, reminiscent of the battlements of the Kremlin walls. Vasnetsov was the only artist who spoke out against the destruction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In his paintings, he restored the historical appearance of the Moscow Kremlin - from the era of Ivan Kalita to the era of Dmitry Donskoy. Not far from the “swallow’s tail,” the Sirin Bird sits with its wings spread. This work by sculptor Sergei Konenkov was installed on the grave of the writer Mikhail Prishvin. Throwing back its head, the fairy-tale bird sings along with the trees and animals that the “singer of Russian nature” wrote about.

The sculpture Bird Sirin is the work of Sergei Konenkov on the grave of the writer Mikhail Prishvin. Photo: Igor Stomakhin/website

On the tombstone of winemaker Philippe des Pres you can read a message expressed in the language of mysterious cemetery symbolism. The marble tombstone is an ancient Roman temple portal. On the left and right there are fern branches representing infinity. Six-pointed stars - hexagrams - remind of the six days of the creation of the world. One star is framed by a wreath of roses. Rose in funeral tradition means victory over death, the transience and frailty of life. They say that on the night of the full moon, rays shine between the stars, forming a bright Latin cross on the marble. The entire composition is nothing more than a door to enter afterworld and going out at the hour of resurrection.

Shackles on the grave

Ferdinand Theodor von Einem founded a confectionery factory, familiar to us as “Red October” on Bersenyevskaya Embankment, which now houses fashionable establishments - galleries, theaters, clubs. At his Moscow enterprise, a decent German established an eight-hour working day, opened a hostel and a mutual aid fund, and began paying pensions best employees. Einem was an honest industrialist and employer. Nowadays, people come to his grave who want to do honest business without bribes and kickbacks.

In 2008, during the inventory of ownerless graves and the re-registration of documents at the Vvedensky cemetery, the grave of Lucien Olivier, a French chef who ran the Hermitage restaurant in Moscow, was found. The inventor of the famous dish, without which not a single New Year's table is complete, lived only 45 years. The master kept the recipe for his miracle salad in deep secret and took it with him to the grave. Young men and women often appear at the monument erected at Olivier’s burial site. Students of culinary universities and technical schools come here before exams to enlist the support of the famous gastronome.

The most revered burial at the Vvedensky cemetery is the grave of the doctor Fyodor Gaaz. His motto was famous phrase: “Hurry to do good!”

Haaz refused to charge poor people for therapy and donated his own clothes to those in need. He achieved the opening of infirmaries for prisoners, the separation of convicts from suspects, and the abolition of haircuts for female defendants. Fyodor Gaaz invented a new type of shackles - lighter and trimmed with leather inside. The “holy doctor” spent all his money on alleviating the lot of the sick and prisoners. He was buried at the expense of the police. Tens of thousands of people followed the coffin. A tombstone in the form of Golgotha ​​was installed on the grave - a stone symbolizing a mountain, and on top - a cross. The monument is surrounded by chains with merciful “Haazovian” shackles. According to tradition, flowers are brought here by those who have been released from prison, as well as by citizens who suffered innocently.

There are historical names that invariably arouse interest in the fate of their bearer. This, undoubtedly, is the name of Queen Tamara, about whom many songs, legends and tales have been written. In the work of M.Yu. Lermontov portrays her as a Caucasian beauty who killed every young man who fell in love with her and spent the night with her. Perhaps this is just a fictitious legend, but in the real life of Queen Tamara there was a lot of mysterious and unusual things. And the very first secret is the date of her birth. And the last one is the time and place of her burial.

Tamara came from the famous Bagration family. The father of the future ruler of Georgia was King George III, and her mother was the daughter of the Ossetian king, Burdukhan. Tamara was raised by the girl’s aunt, Rusudan. Tsar George III experienced wars of unprecedented destructiveness and constant unrest. In this regard, he made a very difficult and wise decision - he crowned his daughter as king during his lifetime. He did this with the sole purpose of ridding the country of the strife of relatives who could plunge the state into chaos, trying to take the vacated throne after his death.

At the time of the coronation, Tamara was only 14 years old. Immediately after the death of her father, the young queen faced opposition from the highest Georgian nobility. And despite young age, she wisely made concessions. She had to send many of her faithful people away from the court, including her only relative from Bagration’s branch and her beloved person, Tsarevich David Soslani. The next blow for the ruler was the decision of the same nobility to marry her off. The Sultan of Aleppo, Russian Prince Yuri, Byzantine princes and even the Shah of Persia asked for her hand in marriage.

The Georgian nobility chose the Russian prince. Prince Yuri, after the death of his father, Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, left Russia and lived with his retinue in Byzantium. Ruler Tamara was against the proposed groom and considered him a “dark horse” from whom no one knew what could be expected. Soon Yuri arrived in Georgia. The nobility believed that Yuri, in gratitude for the throne, would fulfill all their demands. But the Russian prince did not live up to their hopes.

Contemporaries described Prince Yuri as a very dishonest person with a disgusting character, so the choice of him by the Georgian elite as the husband of Queen Tamara was unsuccessful. The young queen herself did not want to marry the proposed groom, but no one was interested in her opinion...

Their marriage did not last long. Yuri showed himself at his best bad side: rowdy, drank and went on drunken riots. The queen soon demanded a divorce. But Yuri could not leave the family kindly. Gathering an army, he made a campaign against Georgia in order to take the throne from his ex-wife, but was expelled in disgrace. Tamara, despite her first unsuccessful marriage, married her childhood friend, Prince David. They loved and cared for each other, lived together long years and were considered very good rulers. Tamara was a true queen, possessing everyone necessary qualities to govern Georgia. Thanks to her husband, Prince David, and the faithful military leader Zakhary, the Georgian troops won numerous victories. This tandem turned out to be the most successful.

In history, the era of Queen Tamara's reign was quite difficult. Bloody clouds were gathering over many countries at that time. In the steppes of Mongolia, Temujin (Genghis Khan) began to create a future empire. In the West, the crusaders entered cities with fire and sword, drawing almost all of Europe into the showdown. In the North, the Russian princes did their best to defend their borders from the attacks of the steppe inhabitants.

The queen managed to ensure the political dominance of her state in the region of Asia Minor. She expanded and secured the borders of Georgia, defeating all enemies. The weakening of Byzantium's positions allowed Georgia to reach the Black Sea coast, where there were many settlements with Georgian tribes. Georgian troops occupied the Black Sea cities. The created Tripizonian empire was headed by a protege of Georgia. In 1206, the queen’s husband, David Soslan, died. The queen decided to transfer part of the powers to govern the state to her son, George-Lash. In 2010, the Georgian army made a successful campaign deep into Iranian territory, returning with huge booty and demonstrating its military might.

Within the state, the ruler also resolved many issues. The queen abolished the death penalty by decree. It is worth noting that she cared not only about the spirituality of her people, but also took part in every possible way in the support and development of Georgian culture. She often communicated with artists, writers and poets. She showed special affection to the writer Shota Rustaveli, who dedicated his poem “The Knight in the Skin of a Tiger” to her. Until now, many legends about the poet’s love for the beautiful queen are told orally in Georgia. But whether Queen Tamara reciprocated the poet Shota is not known.

The Georgian queen confessed Orthodox faith and spread this religion throughout the country. For her services to the faith, the queen was canonized and now in front of her image in churches they pray for healing from all illnesses.

The queen was a participant in all significant events in Georgia, communicated with all layers of society, did not hesitate to talk with the poor and help them. She lived very modestly and was respected for her wisdom, beauty, kindness and humility. The inhabitants of the country called her king, not queen, and this was a tribute to her. There is evidence that Ivan the Terrible spoke of her as a wise ruler.

War trophies brought from the occupied territories enriched Georgia. The wise queen invested this wealth in the construction of monasteries, schools, bridges, fortresses and ships. Queen Tamara made every effort to improve the quality of education in the state. She believed that only with educated people Georgia will reach a high global level. Even today, the list of compulsory disciplines in schools under the reign of Queen Tamara is stunning: arithmetic, philosophy, history, theology, Hebrew and Greek, poetry, astrology, and the ability to conduct a conversation.

From historical sources it is known that Sultan Nucardin turned to Queen Tamara with a demand to convert to Islam and then marry him. The indignant queen responded to the Turkish Sultan with a daring letter. The insulted Nucardin gathered an army and went on a campaign against Georgia. The queen herself led her army and defeated the Sultan's army. There is a legend that the defeated failed “groom” vowed to get to her after death, since he could not get it during life...

Queen Tamara spent the last years of her life in a cave monastery. She prayed in a small cell.

It is officially believed that Queen Tamara is buried in the city of Gelati in the royal tomb, but her body is definitely not there. The Vatican claims that she is buried in Palestine, but this has not been confirmed by any evidence. It is strange that the place of her burial is unknown, because kings are usually buried with great honor, but not secretly, especially since we're talking about about such a great ruler. After all, her grave could become a place of saint worship and pilgrimage.

Perhaps this was due to the threat of Nucardin, and the queen was afraid that her tomb would be destroyed. They say that before her death she gave instructions to her bodyguards and they carried them out exactly. There were seven bodyguards and exactly seven coffins were made, only one of them contained the queen’s body, and the rest were empty. Each of the bodyguards himself buried one of the coffins, and only the one who lowered the coffin into the grave knew the place. Having carried out the queen’s last instructions, the bodyguards committed suicide in order to keep the burial place of Queen Tamara a secret.

After the death of the queen, it was over for Georgia Golden time. The state has lost political weight in its region. The enemies who were so afraid of the warrior queen rushed to the unprotected state: the Mongol-Tatars, the Turks...

Until now, the memory of Queen Tamara is carefully preserved by every resident of Georgia.

For eight centuries, researchers have been searching for the burial place of the Georgian queen. All possible places were studied: the slopes of Mount Kazbek, the royal cemetery in Mtskheta, caves in the Kara Gorge and many other places. Gradually, the search engines, tired of numerous failures, abandoned the search.

In the early 60s of the last century, an incident occurred that gave hope of finding the final resting place of the famous Georgian queen. They say that near the village of Kazbegi on the Georgian Military Road there was major accident. At a sharp turn, the driver could not hold the car, and it, along with its passengers, fell into the gorge. Guys from the mountain rescue team took part in the rescue operation. They had to use climbing equipment to descend into the gorge. Under one of the cornices, the rescuers saw the entrance to the cave, closed with a rusty metal grate. An attempt to approach her failed. The guys decided to return to this place later. But a year later, all participants in that rescue operation died in the mountains. Until now, this cave has not been explored, which means the chance to make a historical discovery of enormous significance has not been used.

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