Who is buried in the Peter and Paul Fortress list. The first burials in the cathedral. A day or two before the funeral, the heralds in the main city squares announced the day and hour of the start of the funeral procession.
Peter and Paul Cathedral - the tomb of the representatives of the Romanov dynasty
Imperial burials of the 18th century are located in the south nave of the cathedral in front of the iconostasis, where the icon of the Apostle Peter is placed in an icon case. They are located in two rows. In the front row, in addition to Peter I and his second wife, Empress Catherine I, their daughter, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, rested. Empress Anna Ioannovna, Emperor Peter III and Empress Catherine II are buried in the second row. Thus, Peter the Great and his grandson Peter III are buried in front of the icon of their patron saint, the Apostle Peter.
Imperial burials in the northern nave of the Peter and Paul Cathedral
In the north nave, in the iconostasis, there is an icon depicting the Apostle Paul; Emperor Paul I, his wife Empress Maria Feodorovna, their eldest son Emperor Alexander I and his wife Empress Elizaveta Feodorovna are buried in front of it. There are three graves in the first row: Emperor Nicholas I, his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and eldest daughter Peter I Tsesarevna Anna Petrovna, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp - mother of Peter III. In the northern nave, in the same row with Emperor Alexander II and his wife, Empress Maria Alexandrovna, their son Emperor Alexander III rests. On September 28, 2006, the reburial of Empress Maria Feodorovna (born Maria Sophia-Frederiki-Dagmar of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, 11/14/1867–10/13/1928) was carried out in the Peter and Paul Cathedral next to her husband Emperor Alexander III. Maria Feodorovna died in Denmark and was buried in the Roskilsky Cathedral near Copenhagen.
All tombstones in the Peter and Paul Cathedral are made of white Carrara marble, except for two, created from semi-precious stones. The burial of Alexander II is decorated with a tombstone of green Altai jasper, its weight is about 5.5 tons. A tombstone of rhodonite, weighing about 6.5 tons, is installed above the grave of his wife, Empress Maria Alexandrovna. These magnificent monolithic tombstones were designed by A. L. Gun at the Peterhof Lapidary Factory near St. Petersburg and installed in 1906, when the 25th anniversary of the death of the Tsar-Liberator, who abolished serfdom, and the Tsar-Martyr, who died from a bomb of Narodnaya Volya after repeated assassination attempts, was celebrated.
In addition to emperors and empresses, family members were also buried in the cathedral: at the beginning of the 18th century. relatives of Peter I were buried here, since 1831 the graves of the grand dukes began to appear.
W. Reinhardt. Peter and Paul Cathedral. Northern nave. This is how the graves of Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna looked like before they were replaced in 1906.
In 1939, at the request of the Greek government, in the presence of representatives of the museum, both governments and the clergy, the grave of the born Greek princess Alexandra Georgievna, the wife of the son of Alexander II, Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich, was opened. Her remains were sent for reburial to her homeland. In 1994, the body of Tsarevich Georgy Alexandrovich was exhumed to identify the remains of his brother Nicholas II. After the necessary research, Georgy Alexandrovich was buried in the same coffin and crypt in the presence of the clergy, a memorial service was served.
In the course of restoration work in the cathedral after a fire in 1756, a wall was built that separated from the main hall of the temple three rooms located under the bell tower: a narthex through which parishioners enter the temple, a sacristy and a chapel consecrated in the name of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine. After that, the main building of the cathedral was often called the "Main Temple", and the Catherine's chapel - the "Small Temple". Separate worship services were held here.
On July 17, 1998, the remains of members of the family of Emperor Nicholas II, a servant and a doctor, who were shot in Yekaterinburg on July 17, 1918, were interred in the Catherine's chapel of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. The tombstone was made of three varieties of Italian marble, the tombstone was made of white Carrara marble. Below it is a two-tier crypt, on the lower tier of which are buried: Dr. E. S. Botkin, maid A. S. Demidova, footman A. E. Trupp, cook I. M. Kharitonov.
On the upper tier of the crypt there are coffins with the remains of Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and three daughters: Olga, Tatiana and Anastasia. Memorial plaques on the walls of the Small Church contain information about all family members, but for Grand Duchess Maria and Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, whose remains were not found, there is no indication of the burial place. Funeral attended: President Russian Federation B. N. Yeltsin, representatives of foreign states, a large number of invited. The delegation of the Romanov family, which consisted of 52 people, was headed by the great-great-grandson of Nicholas I, Nikolai Romanovich Romanov. More than 1,000 correspondents covered the event in the media. A memorial service was served by the clergy of the St. Petersburg diocese, headed by the rector of the cathedral, Archpriest Boris Glebov. During the burial, 19 shots were fired.
The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church believes that “... The decision to identify the remains as belonging to the family of Emperor Nicholas II caused serious doubts and even opposition in the Church and society. In this regard, the Holy Synod speaks in favor of the immediate burial of these remains in a symbolic memorial grave.
In August 2000, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized members of the family of Nicholas II, but did not change their attitude towards burial in the Catherine's chapel.
Since the consecration of the stone Peter and Paul Cathedral, church service life has been largely determined by its use as imperial tomb. Over time, funeral services for the persons of the royal house became the main activity of the clergy. The sacraments of baptism and weddings have never been performed here.
In May 1919, by order of the commandant of the fortress, the cathedral was closed. Since the early 1990s services have resumed here.
On the eve of the revolution, a large Romanov family numbered more than 60 people. 18 of them died during the years of revolutionary terror (four were shot in January 1919 in the Peter and Paul Fortress). The rest managed to leave their homeland. Their life in exile developed differently. Now the Romanovs live in many countries of the world, have different professions. During their visits to our country and St. Petersburg, the descendants of emperors visit the graves of their ancestors in the Peter and Paul Cathedral to bow to their memory.
Grand Duke's Tomb
To late XIX in. in the cathedral there was practically no room left for new burials, therefore, next to it, the building of the Grand Duke's burial vault was erected according to the project of the architect D. I. Grimm, with the participation of A. O. Tomishko and L. N. Benois.
Combining the features of various styles, the building fits well into the architectural ensemble of the Peter and Paul Fortress and forms a single ensemble with the Peter and Paul Cathedral, being its chapel, consecrated in 1908 in the name of the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky, one of the patrons of St. Petersburg.
The tomb is connected with the building of the Peter and Paul Cathedral by a gallery, where rooms were provided - the Tsar's rooms, intended for the rest of members of the ruling family when visiting the graves of loved ones.
Grand Duke's tomb. Photo of the beginning 20th century
In contrast to the cathedral, sixty concrete crypts 2.2 m deep were immediately prepared in the Grand Duke's tomb, located in rows from east to west. The grave was closed flush with the floor with a white marble slab, on which the title, name, places of birth and death, the date of the burial of the deceased were engraved. When they were buried in this building, the funeral service took place in the cathedral. By 1916, there were thirteen burials here, eight of which were transferred from the Peter and Paul Cathedral. After the revolution, the tomb, like the cathedral, was closed and sealed. Bronze decorations and lattices of the altar part were sent to be melted down. Subsequently, the building was used as a warehouse, while the tombstones were broken. In 1954, the tomb was transferred to the State Museum of the history of the city.
Funeral procession of Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Photo 1911
Funeral of Vladimir Kirillovich Romanov. Photo 1992
Funeral of Leonida Georgievna. Farewell to the body in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Photo 2010
There are currently seventeen graves here. The burial in 1992 of the great-grandson of Emperor Alexander II, Vladimir Kirillovich Romanov (August 30, 1917–April 21, 1992), whom supporters considered a contender for the Russian throne, served as a precedent for subsequent burials. In 1995, the remains of Vladimir Kirillovich's parents, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich (30.09.1876–12.10.1938) and Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna (13.11.1876–2.03.1936) were reburied in the Grand Ducal Burial Vault from Coburg (Germany). On June 3, 2010, next to Vladimir Kirillovich, his wife Leonida Georgievna (nee Princess Bagration-Mukhranskaya, 09/23/1914–05/23/2010, Madrid) was buried in the Grand Ducal Tomb.
Church and parish life of the Peter and Paul Cathedral
The first wooden church in the Peter and Paul Fortress was consecrated on April 1, 1704 in the name of the apostles Peter and Paul, little information has been preserved about the services in this church, but it is known that solemn services were held there in honor of the victories of Russian weapons, trophies obtained in the Northern War were kept . In 1712, when St. Petersburg became the capital of the state, the construction of a new stone church began around the wooden church, which lasted 21 years. During the construction period, the clergy was preserved and divine services were held. Already in the first wooden church, the daughter of Peter I Catherine was buried, the burials of the tsar's relatives continued during the construction of the stone church. When in 1731 the remains of Peter I and Catherine I were interred in the cathedral, the temple became the imperial tomb. Indications that the cathedral was made by the cathedral decree of Anna Ioannovna in June 1731 are in the annals of the Peter and Paul Fortress and near Bogdanov-Ruban, however, in the full assembly laws Russian Empire no such order has been found.
On June 29, 1733, this unique for that time and huge, "notoriously built church" was consecrated in the presence of Empress Anna Ioannovna. The cathedral was re-consecrated on June 23, 1757, after a fire had destroyed the bell tower a year earlier.
On July 6, 1737, Anna Ioannovna imposed a resolution on the report of the Synod on the state of the clergy and clergy of the St. Petersburg Peter and Paul Cathedral. The Synod drew the attention of the empress to the small number of priests and their inconsistency with the high status of the temple: they are “unlearned people”, while for such a “noble church” they rely on ministers “worthy, learned, skillful and benevolent” and “not a scarce number”. The staff was significantly expanded, and from that time regular hierarchal services began in the cathedral, which were managed in turn by the highest hierarchs of the Russian church.
Before the establishment in 1742 of the St. Petersburg diocese, the cathedral was considered synodal and subordinate to the Holy Synod. In the Peter and Paul Cathedral, as a cathedral, clergy were promoted to the rank of bishops and St. Petersburg metropolitans were ordained, and here the new metropolitan was to conduct his first service.
From the very first years of its existence, the Peter and Paul Cathedral was not the only place for hierarchal services. It was quite difficult to get to the Peter and Paul Fortress, especially in spring and autumn because of the “danger of the Neva”, so more and more such services began to be held in other churches, and the Peter and Paul Cathedral began to lose its significance as the main one. In addition to the territorial inconvenience, it was important that members of the imperial family were buried in the cathedral, it became a memorial place in which funeral services began to play a leading role.
In 1858, St. Isaac's Cathedral became the cathedral church of the St. Petersburg Metropolis, which is confirmed by the "Highly Approved Ceremonial of the Consecration of the St. Petersburg Cathedral in the Name of St. Isaac of Dalmatia on May 30, 1858."
In 1859, the Peter and Paul Cathedral was transferred from the jurisdiction of the diocese to the court construction office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in 1883, together with the clergy, it was included in the Court Spiritual Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the cathedral received the status of a court, which was quite consistent with the historical situation, and retained it until 1917 In 2007, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga Vladimir (Kotlyarov) called the Peter and Paul Cathedral the first cathedral St. Petersburg.
Due to the fact that the cathedral is the tomb of the Romanov dynasty, a special church and service life of the temple has developed: funerals and commemoration of the deceased members of the imperial family were held here, and such ordinary rites as baptism and weddings were not held. The cathedrals took part in all ceremonies of the funeral of monarchs and memorial services. Sometimes the commandants of the fortress were buried in the cathedral, who were buried at the Commandant's cemetery. By the end of the XIX century. the "List of church service activities of the Peter and Paul Cathedrals" was established with the designation of regular worship services. In connection with the location of the cathedral in the center of the Peter and Paul Fortress, the duties of the clergy included the administration of religious rites for those who made up the parish of the church: soldiers of the fortress garrison, prisoners held in the fortress, employees of the Mint. On the eve of holidays, Sundays and highly solemn days, all-night vigils were served, after each liturgy, all persons buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, starting with Peter I, were commemorated.
Another side of the activity of the clergy of the cathedral is the swearing in of employees of the Mint and young soldiers. The clergy of the cathedral taught the law of God to the young soldiers of the fortress bastion and observed the observance of the penance (punishment) imposed on the prisoners, soldiers and officers of the fortress garrison.
The temple holidays of the Peter and Paul Cathedral were: June 29 - the day of the patrons of the cathedral, the supreme apostles Peter and Paul; November 24 - the Holy Great Martyr Catherine in memory of the patron saint of the small church - Catherine's chapel; August 30 (transfer of relics to St. Petersburg) and November 23 (burial) are the days of the Right-believing Prince Alexander Nevsky, which began to be celebrated after the consecration of the Grand Duke’s tomb in honor of this saint in 1908. Holidays were also dedicated to temple shrines, religious processions were held.
After 1917, services continued for some time, but apparently stopped in 1919, when the temple was closed by order of the commandant of the fortress A.I.
In 1922, the Peter and Paul Cathedral and the Grand Duke's Tomb were assigned as museum objects to the Glavnauka, created under the People's Commissariat of Education. In 1924, the Prison of the Trubetskoy Bastion, and in 1926 the cathedral and the tomb were transferred to the Museum of the Revolution. A new page in history was opened for the Peter and Paul Cathedral in 1954, when it came under the jurisdiction of the State. Museum of the History of Leningrad (since 1991 - St. Petersburg).
One of the first and basic legal documents Initiating the transfer of religious values to believers in the post-Soviet period was the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of April 23, 1993, in which the Government of the Russian Federation was entrusted with the implementation of a phased transfer of religious property, which is in federal ownership, into the ownership or use of religious organizations. In 1997, Minister of Culture E. Yu. Sidorov determined the forms of contractual relations with the church regarding monuments: 1. Form of ownership (rarely used); 2. Free use (often used); 3. Sharing (rarely used). The third type of use includes such monuments as the Moscow Kremlin, the Peter and Paul Cathedral, etc.
In the early 1990s two parishes were registered: one - to the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the other - to the Grand Duke's burial vault with the rector, Archpriest Boris Glebov. In 2001, the current parish was registered, the chairman of the parish council (headman) of which is B. A. Almazov, and the treasurer is N. N. Valuysky. The rector of the cathedral is hegumen Alexander (Fedorov). There was no new consecration of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in the post-Soviet period, after the registration of the parish before the celebration of the temple feast on July 12, 2002, a new antimension was issued by Metropolitan Vladimir (Kotlyarov) of St. Petersburg and Ladoga.
1992 can be considered the beginning of the resumption of services, mainly of a commemorative nature, this became possible after the burial in the Grand Duke's tomb of Vladimir Kirillovich Romanov. In 1997, the first all-night liturgy after the revolution was held in the cathedral, a year later, on July 17, 1998, Father Boris Glebov held a divine service for the innocent, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the execution of the family of the last Russian emperor and the burial of Ekaterinburg remains in the Ekaterininsky aisle. On July 12, 1999, on the day of the Apostles Peter and Paul, the first all-night and metropolitan liturgy was held in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, which was conducted by Metropolitan Vladimir of St. Petersburg and Ladoga. Since then, services have become regular.
In 2007, the St. Petersburg diocesan administration of the Russian Orthodox Church turned to the Chairman of the Federation Council S. M. Mironov with a request to head the Board of Trustees of the Imperial Peter and Paul Cathedral, which resulted in the signing of an agreement between the diocese and the museum on the joint use of the cathedral and the organization of regular services from the beginning of 2008.
On the night of April 27, 2008, for the first time in the post-Soviet period, the rector of the cathedral, hegumen Alexander Fedorov, held an Easter service, and on July 12, 2009, Patriarch Kirill celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the cathedral, thus marking the name day of the city. It was the first patriarchal service in the entire history of the church. Previously, if the patriarchs attended the cathedral, but did not conduct divine services, it is not necessary to talk about the Russian Empire in this context due to the absence of the institution of the patriarchate in it. The patriarch presented the cathedral with a copy of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which is now kept in the central nave on the sole to the left of the Royal Doors. On behalf of the diocese, Vicar Bishop Ambrose presented Vladyka with an icon of the Apostles Peter and Paul. Patriarchal services have become a new tradition. On July 12, 2010, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church also celebrated the day of the Apostles Peter and Paul.
On September 30, 2009, a historic agreement on services was reached between the Metropolia and the museum, in accordance with which there are no excursions during the services. Divine services are held on Saturdays - All-Night Vigil and on Sundays - Liturgy. All major feasts of the Twelve and Pascha are marked with services, memorial services are held for the deceased emperors, some empresses and members of the imperial family, temple holidays are traditionally celebrated: the days of the apostles Peter and Paul, the great martyr Catherine and the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky.
In the general list of churches of the St. Petersburg Metropolis, the cathedral is listed as the "Imperial Memorial Cathedral in the Name of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul" under No. 126.
In November 2010, President D. Medvedev signed the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the transfer of state or municipal property for religious purposes to church organizations. How this law will affect the fate of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the future will show.
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Russian Emperor Peter the Great died in the Winter Palace in January 1725 at the age of 52. The cause of death was called inflammation of the bladder, which turned into gangrene. The emperor's body was exhibited in the funeral hall of the Winter Palace so that everyone could say goodbye to him. The period of farewell continued for more than a month. Peter lay in a coffin in a brocade jacket with lace, in boots with spurs, with a sword and the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called on his chest. As a result, the corpse began to decompose, an unpleasant smell began to spread throughout the palace. The emperor's body was embalmed and transferred to Petropavlovsky. However, only 6 years later the body of the emperor was buried in the Royal tomb of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, before that the coffin with the embalmed body simply stood in the temporary chapel of the cathedral still under construction.
The wife of Peter I Catherine survived her husband by only 2 years. Balls, entertainment and revelry, which the Dowager Empress indulged in day and night, greatly undermined her health. Catherine died in May 1725 at the age of 43. If Peter I, by birthright, was to rest in the Tsar's tomb, then his wife could not boast of a noble origin. Catherine I, born Marta Skavronskaya, was born into a Baltic peasant family. She was captured by the Russian army during Northern war. Peter was so fascinated by the captive peasant woman that he even married her and crowned her. The body of the empress, like that of her husband, was betrayed only in 1731 by order of Anna Ioannovna.
Royal tombs
In the pre-Petrine era, all members of the ruling dynasty in Russia were buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. All Moscow princes and tsars are buried there, starting with Ivan Kalita. During the reign of Peter I, there was no specific burial place for royalty. Members of the imperial family were buried in the Annunciation Alexander Nevsky Lavra. She died in 1715 youngest daughter Peter and Catherine Natalia. The emperor ordered her to be buried in the Cathedral of Peter and Paul, which at that time had not yet been completed. Since that year, the Peter and Paul Cathedral has become the new royal tomb.
All Russian tsars rest within the walls of the Peter and Paul Cathedral: from Peter I to Alexander III. The graves of Peter and his wife Catherine are located near the southern entrance to the cathedral. Their graves are small crypts, which are located under the stone floor. In these crypts there are metal arks with coffins. Above the graves are marble slabs, decorated with inscriptions and golden crosses.
History of the Peter and Paul Cathedral
The construction of the Peter and Paul Cathedral began in 1712, Emperor Peter personally laid the first stone in its foundation. The work was led by the Italian architect Domenico Trezzini. The interior of the temple was striking in its luxury and splendor. The vaults were decorated with 18 paintings depicting scenes from the New Testament. The cathedral had a special royal place under a canopy, which was occupied by the monarch during divine services. With the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, the cathedral and the tomb were closed and sealed. All church valuables were confiscated to help the starving. In 1998, the remains of Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra and their daughters Tatyana, Olga and Anastasia were buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
The custom of burial of rulers and high dignitaries in the church came to Russia from Byzantium, it formed the basis of the tradition of erecting grand ducal temples-tombs for representatives of one dynasty. The Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin is such an ancestral necropolis. Here were buried representatives of Moscow ruling dynasties— Rurikovich and Romanov.
The Archangel Cathedral of Ivan Kalita became the first grand ducal tomb. By the beginning of the 16th century, Ivan III decided to disassemble the great-grandfather's tomb and build a new, more spacious one. Four years later, the stone tombs of the ancestors were returned to the newly built tomb. But first, its founder, Ivan III, who died on October 27, 1505, was laid in the cathedral.
The burial places of the Rurik princes are located along the walls of the cathedral in a certain order. Along the southern wall are buried mainly the great Moscow princes; along the western - specific, close relatives of the grand dukes; along the north - the princes who fell into disfavor and died a violent death. At the northwestern and southwestern pillars, representatives of the Tatar nobility who converted to Orthodoxy and were at the Russian court were buried.
Under Ivan the Terrible, a royal tomb was built in the deacon's room - the southern part of the altar room of the cathedral. The creation of a special tomb was dictated by the adoption of the royal title by Ivan IV. In addition to the tomb of Grozny himself, there are the burial places of his sons - Ivan Ivanovich, who suffered from his father's anger, and Fedor Ivanovich, who ruled after his father's death. The youngest son of Ivan IV, Tsarevich Dmitry, who died in Uglich in 1591 at the age of less than nine, also rests in the Archangel Cathedral. Since 1606, the shrine with the holy relics of Tsarevich Dimitry has been located at the southeastern pillar of the cathedral.
The tombs of the royal Romanov dynasty are located near the pillars in the central part of the cathedral. The founder of the dynasty, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, as well as tsars Alexei Mikhailovich, Fedor Alekseevich and Ivan Alekseevich found peace here. Russian emperors, starting with Peter I, were buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Only Emperor Peter II, the grandson of Peter I, who died in Moscow in 1730 from smallpox, rests in the Archangel Cathedral.
Burials were made in white-stone sarcophagi, they were lowered under the floor into the ground. Brick tombstones with white stone slabs, decorated with fine carved floral ornaments and epitaphs made in Slavic script, were erected over the graves. At the beginning of the 20th century, the tombstones were placed in glazed brass cases with superimposed crosses and inscriptions. In total, there are fifty-four graves in the cathedral under forty-four tombstones and two commemorative plates.
More fromWhere are the remains of the emperors?
There is a suspicion that the graves of Russian tsars in St. Petersburg are empty today / Version
A heated discussion of the issue of the reburial of Tsarevich Alexei and Grand Duchess Maria, whose remains were recently found near Yekaterinburg, again drew public attention to the royal burials in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. They remembered that immediately after the revolution, these graves were looted.
Tomb of Emperor Peter I
Moreover, this fact was carefully concealed not only in Soviet times, but somehow hushed up even today. So, in many guidebooks to the Peter and Paul Cathedral, they still write that “for many years no one disturbed the peace of these graves.”
Actually it is not. Graves began to be robbed immediately after the revolution.
By 1917, there were more than a thousand wreaths, including gold and silver ones, on the walls of the cathedral, columns and at the graves of emperors. Practically on every grave and near it there were ancient icons and precious lamps.
So, above the tomb of Anna Ioannovna were two icons - the Mother of God of Jerusalem and St. Anna the Prophetess - in gold salaries, with pearls and precious stones. The diamond crown of the Order of Malta was fixed on the tombstone of Paul I. On the tombstones of Peter I, Alexander I, Nicholas I and Alexander II lay gold, silver and bronze medals, stamped on the occasion of various anniversaries. A silver bas-relief depicting a monument to the tsar in Taganrog was mounted on the wall near the tombstone of Peter, and an icon with the face of the Apostle Peter hung in a gold frame nearby, notable for the fact that its size corresponded to the growth of Peter I at birth.
At the command of Peter
Peter I decided to turn the Peter and Paul Cathedral into a tomb, following the example of the first Christian emperor Constantine, who built the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople in the 4th century with the intention of turning it into his mausoleum. For two centuries, almost everyone was buried in the cathedral. Russian emperors from Peter I to Alexander III (with the exception of only Peter II, who died in Moscow and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin, as well as John VI Antonovich, who was killed in the Shlisselburg fortress) and many members of the imperial family. Prior to that, all the great Moscow princes, starting with Yuri Daniilovich - the son of Grand Duke Daniel of Moscow and Russian tsars - from Ivan the Terrible to Alexei Mikhailovich - were buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin (with the exception of Boris Godunov, who was buried in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra).
During the XVIII - the first third of the XIX century. Peter and Paul Cathedral was the burial place, as a rule, only crowned persons. Since 1831, at the behest of Nicholas I, the grand dukes, princesses and princesses were also buried in the cathedral. In the XVIII - the first third of the XIX centuries, emperors and empresses were buried in a golden crown. Their bodies were embalmed, the heart (in a special silver vessel) and the rest of the insides (in a separate vessel) were buried at the bottom of the grave the day before the funeral ceremony.
In the first half of the 18th century, tombstones made of white alabaster stone were placed over the burial places. In the 1770s, during the restoration and reconstruction of the cathedral, they were replaced with new ones made of gray Karelian marble. Tombstones were covered with green or black cloth with coats of arms sewn on top, and on holidays - with golden brocade overlaid with ermine. In the middle of the 19th century, the first tombstones made of white Italian (Carrara) marble appeared. In 1865, by decree of Alexander II, it was necessary to make all tombstones, "which have fallen into disrepair or are not made of marble, made of white, following the model of the last ones." Fifteen tombstones were made from white Italian marble. In 1887, Alexander III ordered that the white marble tombstones on the graves of his parents Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna be replaced with richer and more elegant ones. For this, monoliths of green Altai jasper and pink Ural rhodonite were used.
By the end of the 19th century, there was practically no room for new burials in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Therefore, in 1896, next to the cathedral, with the permission of the emperor, the construction of the Grand Duke's tomb was started. From 1908 to 1915 13 members of the imperial family were buried in it.
Grave looting
The treasures of the imperial tomb have been coveted for a long time. Back in 1824, the Otechestvennye Zapiski magazine reported that while traveling in Russia, Madame de Stael wanted to have a souvenir from the tomb of Peter I. She tried to cut off a piece of the brocade coverlet, but the church watchman noticed this, and Madame had to hastily leave the cathedral.
Disaster erupted after the revolution. In September-October 1917, by order of the Provisional Government, all icons and lamps, gold, silver and bronze medals from the graves, gold, silver and porcelain wreaths were removed, put in boxes and sent to Moscow. The further fate of the exported cathedral valuables is unknown.
But all the looters were outdone, of course, by the Bolsheviks.
In 1921, under the pretext of the demands of "Pomgol", who came up with a project of confiscation in favor of the starving jewels, the imperial graves themselves were blasphemously opened and ruthlessly plundered. Documents about this monstrous action have not been preserved, but a number of memoirs have come down to us, testifying to this.
In the notes of the Russian emigrant Boris Nikolaevsky there is a dramatic story about the history of the looting of the royal graves, which was published: "Paris," Last news", July 20, 1933. Headline: "The tombs of Russian emperors and how the Bolsheviks opened them."
"In Warsaw, one of the members of the Russian colony has a letter from one of the prominent members of the St. Petersburg GPU with a story about the opening by the Bolsheviks of the tombs of Russian emperors in the tomb of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. The opening was carried out in 1921 at the request of Pomgol, who came up with a confiscation project in favor of starving jewelry, imprisoned in imperial coffins". The Krakow newspaper "Illustrated Courier Zodzienne" cites this historical letter.
“... I am writing to you,” this is how the letter begins, “under an unforgettable impression. open heavy doors tombs, and before our eyes appear the coffins of emperors, set in a semicircle. Before us is the whole history of Russia. The commissar of the GPU, who is the chairman of the commission, ordered to start with the youngest ... Mechanics open the tomb of Alexander III. The embalmed corpse of the king was well preserved. Alexander III lies in a general's uniform, richly decorated with orders. The ashes of the king are quickly removed from the silver coffin, the rings are removed from the fingers, the orders studded with diamonds are removed from the uniform, then the body of Alexander III is transferred to the oak coffin. The secretary of the commission draws up a protocol, which lists in detail the jewels confiscated from the deceased king. The coffin is closed, and seals are placed on it "...
The same procedure takes place with the coffins of Alexander II and Nicholas I. The members of the commission work quickly: the air in the tomb is heavy. The line behind the tomb of Alexander I. But here the Bolsheviks are in for a surprise.
The tomb of Alexander I is empty. This can obviously be seen as a confirmation of the legend, according to which the death of the emperor in Taganrog and the burial of his body was a fiction, invented and staged by him in order to end the rest of his life in Siberia as an old hermit.
The Bolshevik commission had to endure terrible moments during the opening of the tomb of Emperor Paul. The uniform, fitting the body of the late king, is perfectly preserved. But Pavel's head made a nightmarish impression. The wax mask that covered his face melted from time and temperature, and from under the remnants one could see the disfigured face of the murdered king. All those involved in the gloomy procedure of opening the tombs were in a hurry to finish their work as soon as possible. Silver coffins of Russian tsars, after transferring the bodies to oak, were installed one on top of the other. Longer than others, the commission was busy with the tomb of Empress Catherine I, in which there was a very large amount of jewelry.
“... Finally, we reached the last, or rather, the first tomb, where the remains of Peter the Great rested. The tomb was difficult to open. The mechanics stated that apparently there was another empty one between the outer coffin and the inner one, which made it difficult for them to work. They began to drill the tomb, and soon the lid of the coffin, placed vertically to facilitate work, opened and Peter the Great appeared in full growth before the eyes of the Bolsheviks. The members of the commission recoiled in surprise in fear. Peter the Great stood as if alive, his face was perfectly preserved. Great king, who during his lifetime aroused fear in people, once again tried the power of his formidable influence on the Chekists. But during the transfer, the corpse of the great king crumbled to dust. The terrible work of the security officers was completed, and the oak coffins with the remains of the kings were transported to St. Isaac's Cathedral, where they were placed in the basement ... ".
The terrible scale of the robbery
Where then did the jewels removed from the corpses disappear? They were probably sold abroad. The Bolsheviks put the robbery of national wealth on stream, ruined not only graves and churches, but also museums, former palaces of the nobility, and mansions of the bourgeoisie. The robbery has acquired absolutely incredible, downright terrible proportions. In 1917–1923, the following were sold: 3,000 carats of diamonds, 3 poods of gold and 300 poods of silver from the Winter Palace; from the Trinity Lavra - 500 diamonds, 150 pounds of silver; from the Solovetsky Monastery - 384 diamonds; from the Armory - 40 pounds of gold and silver scrap. This was done under the pretext of helping the starving, but the sale of Russian church valuables did not save anyone from hunger, the treasures were sold for next to nothing.
In 1925, a catalog of valuables of the imperial court (crowns, wedding crowns, a scepter, orb, tiaras, necklaces and other valuables, including the famous Faberge eggs) was sent to all foreign representatives in the USSR.
Part of the Diamond Fund was sold to the English antiquary Norman Weiss. In 1928, seven "low-value" Faberge eggs and 45 other items were seized from the Diamond Fund. All of them were sold in 1932 in Berlin. Out of almost 300 items, only 71 remained in the Diamond Fund.
By 1934, the Hermitage had lost about 100 masterpieces of painting by old masters. In fact, the museum was on the verge of collapse. Four paintings by French Impressionists were sold from the Museum of New Western Painting, and several dozen paintings from the Museum of Fine Arts. The Tretyakov Gallery lost some of its icons. Of the 18 crowns and diadems that once belonged to the Romanov dynasty, only four are now kept in the Diamond Fund.
What is in the graves now?
But if the jewels of the kings disappeared, what was left in their graves? Deacon Vladimir Vasilik, Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor of the Faculty of History of St. Petersburg University, made his research. In an article published the other day on the Pravoslavie.ru website, he cites the testimony of a number of people who had information about the opening of graves. Here, for example, are the words of Professor V.K. Krasusky: “While still a student, I came to Leningrad in 1925 to my aunt Anna Adamovna Krasuskaya, Honored Scientist, Professor of Anatomy scientific institute them. P.F. Lesgaft. In one of my conversations with A.A. Krasuskaya told me the following: “Not so long ago, the opening of the royal tombs was carried out. The opening of the tomb of Peter I made a particularly strong impression. Peter’s body is well preserved. He really looks very much like the Peter depicted in the drawings. , weighing a lot. Values were seized from the royal tombs. "
Here is what the doctor wrote technical sciences, Professor V.I. Angeleyko (Kharkov) L.D. Lyubimov: “I had a comrade Valentin Shmit in my gymnasium. His father F.I. Schmit headed the department of art history at Kharkov University, then moved to work at Leningrad University. In 1927, I visited my friend and learned from him that his father in 1921 participated in the commission for the seizure of church valuables, and in his presence the graves of the Peter and Paul Cathedral were opened. The commission did not find the body in the grave of Alexander I. He also told me that the body of Peter I was very well preserved.”
And here are the memoirs of D. Adamovich (Moscow): “According to the now deceased professor of history N.M. Korobov... I know the following.
A member of the Grabbe Academy of Arts, who was present at the opening of the royal graves in Petrograd in 1921, told him that Peter I was very well preserved and lay in the coffin as if alive. The Red Army soldier who had helped during the autopsy recoiled in horror.
The tomb of Alexander I turned out to be empty.”
It is strange, but then conversations on this topic were conducted only about the supposedly empty tomb of Alexander I. But even this fact is now refuted. So, when an Interfax correspondent asked this question to Alexander Kolyakin, the current director State Museum history of St. Petersburg (located in the Peter and Paul Fortress), he categorically stated: “Nonsense. There has been talk about it, but it's just a rumor." However, he did not cite any facts, adding only that the best reason to convince the doubters is the opening of the emperor's grave, but, in his opinion, there are no grounds for such a procedure.
Writer Mikhail Zadornov said in LiveJournal that at one time the mayor of St. Petersburg, Anatoly Sobchak, told him about this secret. According to Zadornov, while walking along the sea coast of Jurmala, he asked Sobchak, who was the mayor during the reburial of the family of Nicholas II in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in 1998: “I heard that other sarcophagi were being opened at that time. Tell me, I promise you that for ten years I will not tell anyone about our conversation, in the sarcophagus of Alexander I are his remains? After all comparative analysis spent at several Russian tsars. According to Zadornov, Sobchak paused and replied: "It's empty there ..."
Unanswered questions
In the 1990s, when the issue of identifying the royal remains of the family of Nicholas II, found near Yekaterinburg, was being decided, it was decided to open the tomb of the tsar's brother, Georgy Alexandrovich, in order to take a particle of the remains for examination. The exhumation was carried out with the participation of the clergy. When the marble sarcophagus was removed from above, they found a thick monolithic slab. Under it was a crypt, in which stood a copper ark, in it was a zinc coffin, and in it already - a wooden one. Despite the fact that the crypt was flooded with water, they still managed to find bones suitable for examination. Samples were seized in the presence of attesting witnesses. Two weeks later, the remains of the Grand Duke were buried in the same place. However, no one opened the tombs of the emperors themselves after 1921.
Meanwhile, archival searches by historians for an official act on the opening of the tombs in 1921 have not yet yielded anything. For many years, the historian N. Eidelman, who has been dealing with this issue, came to the conclusion that a separate document is very difficult, almost impossible to find.
The opening of the tombs in 1921 could have been the result of an energetic initiative of some Petrograd institutions, whose archives over the past decades, especially during the war, were subjected to various, sometimes disastrous, movements.
Deacon Vladimir Vasilik ends his study of the issue of royal burials and their looting by the Bolsheviks as follows: “It is not completely clear whether all the graves were opened, and most importantly, the problem arises: in what condition, after the looting of the 1920s, are the remains of Russian emperors in their graves ? For all its complexity and delicacy, this issue requires a calm and professional answer and solution.”
crematorium flame
And besides, we add, there is every reason to ask another, even more dramatic question: are not all these graves of Russian emperors, whose remains the Bolsheviks pulled out of the tombs and robbed, empty today? Why were they then taken out of the Peter and Paul Cathedral? It is known that a certain Boris Kaplun, the nephew of the powerful head of the Petrograd Cheka, M. Uritsky, also participated in the opening of the royal tombs. At that time, Kaplun was engaged in the creation of the first crematorium in Petrograd and in Russia in general, which was launched in 1920. According to the memoirs of Korney Chukovsky, Kaplun often invited familiar ladies to the crematorium to admire the rite of the “red fiery burial”.
So maybe this nephew of Uritsky came to the cathedral to open the tombs with a secret task to take out the remains of the emperors and destroy them later in the crematorium? Otherwise, what was he doing there? The confiscation of the jewels was clearly not the responsibility of the Kaplun in charge of the crematorium.
And the very fact of burning would look symbolic. After all, the Bolsheviks near Yekaterinburg tried to burn the corpses of the members of the royal family they killed ...
The first crematorium was built on the 14th line of Vasilyevsky Island in the premises of the former baths. The idea of its creation was generally attractive to representatives of the new government. Leon Trotsky appeared in the Bolshevik press with a series of articles in which he called on all leaders Soviet government bequeath to burn their bodies. But this crematorium did not last long in Petrograd. All his archives were later destroyed. So there is no way to check this incredible version today.
Another argument in favor of the version about the likelihood of the destruction of the remains of the emperors by the Bolsheviks is the decree of the Council of People's Commissars adopted on April 12, 1918 "On the removal of monuments erected in honor of the tsars and their servants, and the development of projects for monuments to the Russian socialist revolution". It was a deliberate destruction of historical memory, First stage desacralization of the past and the cult of the dead, in particular. Monuments began to be demolished first of all in former capital Russian Empire. It was at this time that the epic began with the construction of the crematorium, which can be considered as part of the monumental propaganda plan. As part of this plan, not only monuments were destroyed, but also graves, and then entire cemeteries began to be demolished.
Simple logic generally says: why was it necessary to start this fuss, to take out the coffins from the Peter and Paul Fortress, for some reason to store them in another place, etc.? After all, if the Bolsheviks wanted to preserve the remains of the emperors, it would be much easier to immediately return the remains to their original place in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. However, they took it out! But why? Did they return them back or not?.. Who will answer these questions today?
Parting
Peter I died on January 28, 1725. Like all Muscovite tsars, he did not accept monastic vows.
Peter's widow Catherine I declared annual mourning, during which ladies were supposed to wear mourning dresses, and gentlemen - mourning bandages on their sleeves. Before the burial, everyone was ordered to dress in black clothes, and the highest dignitaries (up to lieutenant general) were ordered to cover two rooms in black in their houses.
According to the old Moscow tradition, the burial was scheduled for the 40th day (beginning of March 1725), but not in Moscow, but in St. Petersburg. In the meantime, a "Sorrowful Commission" headed by Jacob Bruce was created to organize the funeral.
Bruce and his assistants did everything to turn the funeral of the king from a purely church rite into a state event. In this regard, much was borrowed in the West, and the funeral ceremony of Franz Lefort, developed by the tsar himself in 1699, became a direct model for them.
They say that Peter I did not want to be embalmed after death. Nevertheless, already on January 30, his body (previously opened and embalmed) was put up for parting in the "Smaller Palace Hall". On February 13, it was transferred to the “Sad Hall” prepared during these days, where it was located until the burial.
Decoration of the wall of the Sad Hall
The design of the "Sad Hall" was predominantly imperial and military in its theme. The best architects and artists worked on it. However, in addition to the usual decorations used in such cases in the West (figures, coats of arms, symbols), pyramids with inscriptions were also placed in the hall. The walls of the hall were originally upholstered with tapestries depicting the "Miracles of Christ", but Catherine I, looking at them, ordered Bruce and Bok to upholster them with just black cloth.
In the center of the hall, an elevation was made, covered with crimson velvet and golden carpets (“pulpit”). On it was placed a bed covered with gold brocade under a rich canopy. On a modern engraving, you can see that Peter lies in his guards uniform. There are crowns on the pillows at the headboard. Along the walls is a guard of honor.
View of the Sad Hall
Along with the farewell, preparations were underway for the funeral. The printed "Body Transfer Ceremony" was spread out to all those invited.
A day or two before the funeral, heralds in the main city squares announced the day and hour of the start of the funeral procession.
Transferring the body to the cathedral
On March 10, 1725, the transfer of the bodies of Peter I and his 6-year-old daughter Natalia (who died in early March) to the Peter and Paul Cathedral began. The signal for the start of the ceremony was a cannon shot.
The procession was divided into 14 sections, at the head of each of which were the master of ceremonies and the marshal. The procession was opened and closed by detachments of the cavalry guards. More than 10 thousand people took part in the procession, incl. 200 clergy.
In front of the chariot with a coffin, the coats of arms of the largest cities and the order of the king were carried, the singers, the higher clergy and officials walked.
The funeral chariot was harnessed by 8 horses in black blankets. On either side of her were 60 guards scorers with lit candles. Above the coffin, 10 staff officers carried a rich canopy on cast silver poles with coats of arms. Two colonels held his cover by the brushes.
Coffin of Peter I
The royal regalia were carried behind the chariot. They were followed by the empress and other officials in seniority (all in black). There was a strong snowstorm, but Catherine, supported by Menshikov and Apraksin, followed the coffin on foot.
Two marshals with batons walked in front of the coffin of Princess Natalya, and behind him they carried her crown, orders and regalia.
Regalia of Peter I and the coffin of Natalia
The dignitaries were followed by the common people (up to 10,000 people).
The procession walked along the ice of the Neva from the Winter Palace to the fortress and to the cathedral. On its sides stood 1250 grenadiers with torches. The procession was accompanied by cannon fire.
On the Ioannovsky bridge, the cortege was met by the commandant of the fortress, and on the porch of the cathedral - by the members of the Synod, headed by the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg.
A guard was posted at the entrance to the cathedral. Foreign diplomats were not allowed into the cathedral.
betrayal
Before entering the cathedral, the covers were removed from the coffins, the coffins were brought inside and placed on a hearse. Then the covers were removed from the coffins, and the bodies were covered with covers. A guard was also posted at the hearse.
Precessional funeral blanket
Further, the bodies were symbolically “buried” (sprinkled with earth), the coffins were closed, imperial robes were spread on them and left on a hearse under a canopy for 6 years. It was assumed that the farewell to the king would continue in the cathedral. In addition, the cathedral itself had not yet been completed, and therefore decided to wait for the completion of work. In this regard, a small wooden church was even placed inside the cathedral, in which the bodies were placed.
On May 16, 1727, the coffin of the deceased Catherine (for a joint burial) will be put up next to the body of Peter. Natalia's body will be buried even before the burial of the imperial couple.
burial
May 21, 1731, Saturday, at 11.00, by decree of Empress Anna Ioannovna, the burial of Peter and Catherine was performed. They were buried - both in gold crowns - in hermetically sealed coffins, and the day before, in the presence of members of the "Sorrowful Commission" and the clergy, the heart and entrails of the kings were buried at the bottom of the grave. As with the funerals of Moscow tsars, the graves were not covered with earth, but covered with slabs.
