From time immemorial, Russian princes considered the Archangel Michael, who defeated Satan and guarded the gates of the Garden of Eden, the patron of their squads. Each time, going on a campaign, they served him a prayer service. That is why in the middle of the 13th century a wooden temple dedicated to him appeared in the capital, which became the predecessor of the current Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, which turned into a cathedral in the period of the 14th-18th centuries. to the royal and grand ducal tombs. Let's take a look at his history.
Wooden predecessor of the future cathedral
According to historians, a wooden church in honor of the Archangel Michael appeared on the Kremlin's Cathedral Square around 1248, during the reign of Alexander Nevsky's brother, Grand Duke Michael Horobrit, and was not intended for the burial of the rulers of the state. This is evidenced by the fact that the ashes of Prince Michael himself, who died during the Lithuanian campaign, were buried not in Moscow, but in Vladimir. Only two representatives of the grand ducal family were buried in this church. They were the nephew of Khorobrit Grand Duke Daniel and his son Yuri.
Temple built by votive
This earliest church stood for a little less than a hundred years, and in the 30s of the next century gave way to the first stone cathedral. It was erected in 1333 by decree of the Grand Duke of Vladimir and Moscow Ivan Kalita, who vowed to build it on the territory of the Kremlin if the Lord would save Rus' from starvation caused by a crop failure.
Now it is difficult to judge what this structure looked like, since its images have not been preserved. But the description of the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin of that time, which has come down to us among other historical documents, says that it was small and, apparently, had four pillars. Subsequently, two new aisles were added to it.
Temple struck by lightning
Despite the fact that this temple was built of stone, its age also turned out to be short-lived. In the middle of the 15th century, during a terrible thunderstorm, lightning struck it, and although the fire that had begun was extinguished in a timely manner, the walls were seriously damaged. The cracks formed in them increased over time, and by the end of the century this second Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin threatened to collapse at any moment. To prevent misfortune, the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III, who ruled in those years - the grandfather of the future Tsar Ivan the Terrible - ordered to dismantle the emergency structure and build a new cathedral in its place.
Who built the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin?
It should be noted that the moment for the construction of the temple was very suitable. At that time, Moscow, actively growing, was decorated with new churches, monasteries, which caused an influx of foreign builders and architects, mainly from Italy. Their monument can be the teeth made in the form of "dovetails" and are a vivid example of the Lombard style.
So, for the construction of the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, the photo of which is presented in the article, an architect from Milan was invited, who entered Russian history under the name Aleviz Fryazin Novy. It should not be surprising that the Italian architect had a Russian surname. In fact, the word Fryazin was a nickname denoting, in the jargon of that time, hired craftsmen ordered by princes from abroad. It is characteristic that this is how the Italian was registered in the pay books, according to which he received a salary.
Solving a complex architectural problem
It is known that even before the start of work on the construction of the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, Aleviz created projects for several secular buildings, which the customers liked very much. But it is one thing to build a residential or public building, and quite another - a religious building, in which it is necessary to strictly adhere to the established canons. The difficulty was that Ivan III wanted the temple to meet the requirements of European fashion and at the same time not go beyond the Orthodox tradition.
To the credit of master Aleviz, it should be said that he brilliantly coped with such a difficult task. His brainchild perfectly combines the strict geometry of the Italian Renaissance with the characteristic elements of Russian temple architecture. The five-domed cathedral erected by him has a traditional cross-domed system and semicircular vaults in its layout, which makes it similar to the tower style of ancient Russian churches.
In addition, in accordance with the requirements of the canon, a two-tier porch and choirs were built inside, from which representatives of the princely family could observe the course of the service. Otherwise, the architecture of the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin corresponds to the style that was then widespread in Western Europe and became a hallmark of the Renaissance.
Under the patronage of Vasily III
The beginning of construction work was preceded by a complete (and according to some sources - partial) dismantling of the former temple, erected by Ivan Kalita. Upon its completion in October 1505, Ivan III laid the first stone in the foundation of the future structure with his own hands, and, by a fateful coincidence, died a few days later, passing the reign to his son, who went down in Russian history under the title of Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III and became the father of the first Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible. He supervised the entire course of construction work, which lasted four years.
It was Vasily III who came up with the idea to make the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin the burial place of Russian tsars. He issued a corresponding decree in 1508, when the construction was nearing completion. Characteristically, until the twentieth century, only men were buried in the cathedral, while representatives of the royal family found eternal rest within the walls of the Kremlin Church of the Ascension of Our Lady. Only after it was blown up by the Bolsheviks, all the female remains were transferred to the Archangel Cathedral.
Cathedral that became the tomb of the kings
Today, under the shadow of the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, there are 54 male burials. Before St. Petersburg became the capital of Russia in 1712, hierarchal memorial services were performed near each of them on the anniversary of the Assumption. With a few exceptions, all Russian rulers from Ivan Kalita to the brother and co-ruler of Peter I, Tsar Alekseevich, found eternal rest here. Here, in 1730, the ashes of 15-year-old Tsar Peter II, who died of smallpox, were placed. Despite the fact that by that time the Peter and Paul Cathedral of the new capital had become the burial place of the kings, an exception was made for him, fearing the spread of infection.
Among the Russian rulers of those centuries, whose remains were not included in the burials of the Archangel Cathedral, only two can be named - this is the Grand Duke of Moscow Daniil Alexandrovich (1261-1303), buried in the Danilov Monastery, and Tsar Boris Godunov (1552-1605). His ashes were thrown out of the cathedral by False Dmitry, and later reburied in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
The mystery of the death of Ivan the Terrible
Among the most famous historical figures associated with the history of the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin is Tsar Ivan the Terrible. During his lifetime, he repeatedly endowed him with rich gifts, and at the end of his days he wished himself and his two sons to allocate special places for burial. Fulfilling the will of the sovereign, after his death, his body was placed in the southern part of the altar - the so-called deacon, where it is customary to keep sacred objects such as the Gospel, crosses, tabernacles, etc.
Among the interesting facts about the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin are the studies of the outstanding Soviet anthropologist M.M. Gerasimov, who in 1963 opened the grave of Ivan the Terrible and, based on the study of the skull, managed to recreate the portrait of the deceased monarch. It is curious that in the bones of the king and his wife Martha, whose remains are also in the cathedral, he found a high content of mercury, indicating that they were systematically poisoned, and the blood-drinking king did not die a natural death. This hypothesis has been put forward before, but in this case it was given scientific confirmation.
Restoration and restoration work carried out in the XIX century
Over the past two centuries, the Archangel Cathedral has been repeatedly repaired and subject to restoration. Usually this was due to its natural wear and tear, which is an inevitable consequence of the past centuries, but sometimes extraordinary circumstances became the cause. So, in 1812, the French who captured Moscow set up a military kitchen in the altar of the cathedral. The iconostasis and part of the wall painting were seriously damaged from the smoke of fires and steam rising from the boilers. After the expulsion of these European barbarians, large-scale restoration work had to be carried out. At the same time, part of the columns that were part of the decoration of the lower tier was replaced, and the unique carving of the iconostasis was restored.
What did the 20th century bring to the cathedral?
A large amount of work on the improvement and restoration of the cathedral was carried out in 1913, when the tercentenary of the Royal House of Romanov was celebrated. For the celebrations organized on the occasion of such a significant date, a marble canopy was built over the tomb of the founder of the dynasty - Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. It was made according to sketches made by Grand Duke Peter Nikolayevich, the grandson of Emperor Nicholas I, with his own hands.
Another time, significant damage was done to the cathedral in 1917, when, after the October armed coup, it came under artillery fire that shelled the Kremlin. Soon after this, the services in it ceased, and for a long time the doors of the temple remained locked. Only in 1929 they were opened to bring into the basement (lower floor) of the tomb with the remains of women belonging to the Rurik and Romanov dynasties. As mentioned above, this happened after the Church of the Ascension of the Virgin was blown up, where they had been until that time.
Resurrection from oblivion
In 1955, a museum was opened in the premises of the cathedral, where services had not been held for a long time, which made it possible to carry out some restoration work and save it from further destruction. This status was retained for him until the fall of the communist regime, which marked the beginning of the return to the Church of property illegally taken from her.
Among other shrines, the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin returned to her bosom, the address of which is extremely simple and known to all residents of the capital. It consists of only two words: Since then, the spiritual life, interrupted for almost eight centuries, has resumed in him.
Recently, the public has been excited by the question of reburial of the alleged royal remains - this time the holy Tsarevich Alexy and the holy Grand Duchess Mary. Supporters of the authenticity and, accordingly, the burial of these remains refer to the so-called. a note by Y. Yurovsky, according to which the bodies of the executed members were not destroyed, but buried in the Porosenkov Log near Yekaterinburg. Opponents of the identity of the found remains also have their own arguments.
But in connection with these disputes, the question arises of another dark historical secret of the twentieth century.
However, let us first recall the wild campaign to destroy royal monuments, which began in 1918 with a monument to a terrorist killed in the Kremlin - then V.I. Lenin himself threw the rope over the cross, and then urged his comrades to pull its ends and quickly overthrow the hated monument to him.
Through the efforts of the Bolsheviks on the territory of the Soviet Union, all monuments to the liberator Tsar Alexander ΙΙ were destroyed. Only the one that turned out to be standing on already foreign territory survived - in Finland. As for his son Alexander ΙΙΙ, the only surviving monument to him, created by P. Trubetskoy, was left rather as a ... historical curiosity.
Even a number of monuments to Peter the Great were destroyed, in particular the monument depicting him as a master shipbuilder. Those monuments to royal people that were not demolished (the Bronze Horseman, monuments to Nicholas I, Catherine II) were preserved only at the insistence of the most sensible representatives of the intelligentsia and because of their artistic value.
All icons and lampadas were removed from the royal graves, placed in boxes and sent to Moscow.
The looting of the royal graves in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg also belongs to barbaric actions. By 1917, there were more than a thousand wreaths on the walls of the cathedral, columns and at the graves. Almost every grave and near it were icons and lamps. 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. 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, placed in boxes and sent to Moscow. The further fate of the exported cathedral valuables is unknown.
But the looting didn't end there. Documents on the opening of the royal tombs have not been preserved, but a number of memoirs have come down to us, testifying to this.
Here are the words of Professor V.K. Krasusky (Koltushi near St. Petersburg):
“Peter had a large golden cross on his chest… Valuables were seized from the royal tombs”
“While still a student, I arrived in Leningrad in 1925 to my aunt Anna Adamovna Krasuskaya, an honored worker of science, professor of anatomy at the Scientific Institute. 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 is very similar to the Peter, who is depicted in the drawings. On his chest he had a large golden cross, which weighed a lot. Values were confiscated from the royal tombs.”
Knowing A.A. Krasuskaya as a very serious scientist and person, I cannot admit the thought that everything she told me was based only on rumors. She could only say what she knew well about the opening of the tombs.
And here is what Doctor of 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 in 1921 his father had taken part in the commission on the graves of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, 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):
“The tomb of Alexander I turned out to be empty: there is no coffin, no body”
“According to the late 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 was empty.
The story of the writer Nadezhda Pavlovich deserves attention. Information about the opening of the royal tombs was given to her by Uritsky's nephew Boris Kaplun:
“On that day, Boris was excited: he had just taken part in the opening of the royal tombs with a detachment of Red Army soldiers. "For what?" we asked. - "To check the rumor that royal treasures are hidden in the royal coffins." At that time, there were cases when, imitating old romantic stories, some people arranged fictitious funerals in order to get hidden wealth “out of the ground” at the right time.
“So what, did you find it?” “No, they didn't. Peter the Great was preserved better than others - he had a diamond ring on his finger, which we thought to take off for the museum, but did not dare” .
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 question requires a calm and professional answer and solution.
There is a suspicion that the graves of Russian tsars in St. Petersburg are empty today
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.
Moreover, this fact was carefully hidden not only in Soviet times, but is 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 there 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 all Russian emperors from Peter I to Alexander III were buried in the cathedral (with the exception of Peter II, who died in Moscow and was buried in the Kremlin’s Archangel Cathedral, as well as John VI Antonovich, who was killed in the Shlisselburg fortress) and many members of the imperial surnames. 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 cover, 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 lampadas, gold, silver and bronze medals from the graves, gold, silver and porcelain wreaths were removed, placed 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 starving jewelry, 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," Latest 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. The heavy doors of the tomb open, and the coffins of the emperors, set in a semicircle, appear before our eyes. 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. The great tsar, 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 from 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, in 1925 I came to Leningrad to my aunt Anna Adamovna Krasuskaya, an honored worker of science, professor of anatomy at the Scientific Institute. 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. "
And here is what Doctor of 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 in 1921 his father 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 of the State Museum of the 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 won’t tell anyone about our conversation, are his remains in the sarcophagus of Alexander I? After all, a comparative analysis was carried out by several Russian tsars. According to Zadornov, Sobchak paused and replied: "It's empty ..."
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 the leaders of the Soviet government to bequeath their bodies to be burned. 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, the initial stage of the desacralization of the past and the cult of the dead, in particular. Monuments began to be demolished primarily in the former capital of the Russian Empire. It was at this time that the epic begins 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?
Special for the Centenary
In the years 1529-1530, under Tsar Vasily III, the Italian architect Aleviz Novy erected in the northeastern part of the Kremlin (near the Spassky Gates) the Cathedral of the Ascension Monastery in honor of the Ascension of the Lord - on the site of the former, founded by St. Euphrosyne of Moscow - the widow of Dmitry Donskoy ( before tonsure - Grand Duchess Evdokia Dmitrievna).
The first church began to be built in May 1407, but during the life of St. Euphrosyne they managed to do little, and her daughter-in-law, Grand Duchess Sofya Vitovtovna, continued the work. However, the fire of 1415 destroyed the walls and vaults of the temple under construction, and 50 years later, Grand Duchess Maria Yaroslavna, wife of Grand Duke Vasily the Dark, wanted to dismantle and rebuild the Ascension Church. However, a certain Vasily Yermolin, together with master masons, came up with the idea of overlaying the charred walls with new brick, breaking the vaults of the temple, and building new ones. And when this was done, contemporaries were very surprised at this, not seeing anything like it in the construction business.
Saint Euphrosyne led an ascetic life, built several more churches and monasteries, and died on July 7, 1407. Mourned by her sons, the boyars and all the people, she was buried in a place prepared in advance by herself - inside the Church of the Ascension, which was still under construction. The Monk Euphrosyne was honored with glorification even after her death: many times they saw that an unlit candle kindled by itself at her coffin, which was proof of the holiness of the buried. Thus, in the first third of the 15th century, there were two tombs in the Kremlin: the Archangel Cathedral - for the sovereigns and the Voznesensky - for their close relatives. And until 1731, the Ascension Cathedral remained the necropolis of all princesses, queens and princesses.
Maria Borisovna, the daughter of Prince Boris Alexandrovich of Tver, also rests in the Ascension Cathedral. She was betrothed to Prince Ivan III of Moscow when he was only 7 years old. Through this betrothal, their parents, who until that time were sworn enemies, entered into an alliance against the perfidious actions of Prince Dmitry Shemyaka, who sought to seize the Moscow principality to the detriment of the rightful Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily. According to the Russian Chronicler, Maria Borisovna was humble and kind, but she could not console Ivan III with her virtues for long. Having lived in marriage for 5 years, the Grand Duchess died suddenly in April 1467. The Grand Duke was not in Moscow then, and the deceased was buried with all honors in the Ascension Cathedral by Metropolitan Philip I and the mother of Ivan III, Grand Duchess Maria Yaroslavna. The latter, after her death, was buried nearby - in the southwestern corner of the temple.
To the right of the southern gate, the first was the tomb of Grand Duchess Evdokia Lukianovna, the second wife of the Tsar and Grand Duke Mikhail Fedorovich, who died in August 1645. A year later, a precious velvet cover was made on her tombstone and a golden brother, which belonged to her during her lifetime, was placed. Grand Duchess Maria Ilyinichna, the first wife of the Tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich, is buried in the next tomb. She died on March 3, 1669 at the age of 44. Within three years of her death, the sovereign and her husband donated to the monastery two printed books of the conversations of St. John Chrysostom with an inscription on them and arranged a velvet cover over the tombstone of the Grand Duchess, and also presented a gilded silver dish to the monastery.
Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, the second wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and mother of Peter I, rested in the third grave at the southern gate. blessed both kings, Ivan and Peter. In the next three days, the Empress ordered all her royal robes to be given away in the church, the treasures to be divided among the poor, and on the eve of her death (January 24), she begged the kings to lay down public debts and release the prisoners.
Peter I was deeply saddened by the death of his mother, great was the grief of the entire Orthodox people, who had lost their benefactor in the person of Natalya Kirillovna. When the coffin with her body was taken out of the royal house, a great multitude of people of all ranks rushed to it with tears, and the funeral procession could hardly move among the sobbing crowd to the Ascension Cathedral.
The Grand Dukes and sovereigns of Russia donated a lot to the Ascension Cathedral, and great treasures gradually accumulated in its sacristy. But in 1812, the French, who did not spare the Kremlin palaces and cathedrals, stole a lot from the Ascension Cathedral. True, some relics and things from the utensils of the temple and the sacristy survived thanks to the abbess Trifene, who transported them to Vologda.
In 1822, through the efforts of Mother Superior Athanasia and with voluntary donations, a bronze chased silver shrine with a canopy over it was arranged over the relics of St. Euphrosyne. After 50 years, mother abbess Sergius arranged a more magnificent shrine with a canopy for the relics of the Monk Euphrosyne, at the same time the kiot at her grave icon was decorated with precious stones and gold.
In 1929-1930, the Ascension Monastery was demolished, and in its place a school for cadets named after A. All-Russian Central Executive Committee (now - one of the buildings of the former Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR). Thanks to the efforts of the commission created by the architects V.K. Klein and N.N. Pomerantsev, the sarcophagi were not destroyed, and they were transferred to the basement of the southern extension of the Archangel Cathedral (the Judgment Chamber). Moreover, during the transfer they were opened and examined. When opening the sarcophagus of Sophia Palaiologos, scientists discovered her remains wrapped in a shroud made of Italian damask made by a cockle (that is, an angle on her head). On the white stone lid, there is an inscription made in the graffiti technique, consisting of only one word - Sophia.
Sophia (Zoya) Paleolog after the death of the Byzantine Empire was brought up at the court of the Pope. In 1469, the throne of Rome offered the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III to marry her, bearing in mind far-reaching plans - to catholicize Rus' and bring her to a military alliance against the formidable danger from the East. Negotiations continued for a long time and only in 1471 led to the desired result. After a long journey across Europe, Zoya Paleolog arrived in Moscow on November 12, 1472, where she was married to the Grand Duke on the same day.
The long life of the Greek princess in her new homeland was rich in events, and one of the main problems was the question of succession to the throne that arose in the late 1490s, since the Grand Duke had a son from his first marriage with the Tver princess Maria Borisovna, which more than once led to complications. relations between spouses.
The Grand Duchess died in 1503, it is believed that at the age of 60, since the exact date of her birth is unknown.
Sophia Paleolog was buried in the southwestern corner of the Ascension Church. Above her grave there was no tombstone with a carved slab and an inscription, since it was surrounded on all sides by tombstones from neighboring burials. Her sarcophagus was made with a semicircular headboard and soft shoulders. As in most of the sarcophagi of this necropolis, a special elevation in the form of a step 3 centimeters high was made in the head part of the funerary structure of Sophia Paleolog. Outside, the coffin is carefully finished, but on the surfaces of the inner walls and on the bottom of the sarcophagus, traces of adze work are visible.
The tomb of Sophia Palaiologos was also opened in 1984. And this time, the researchers found only a few small fragments of her shroud: other remains of the burial clothes of the Grand Duchess have not been preserved. On the frontal part of the skull of Sophia Paleologus, only a part of the volosnik (a mesh cap in which hair was laid) was also found, which in its design was somewhat different from the traditional headdresses of that time.
Grand duchesses, queens and princesses were buried mainly in simple secular clothes, few in monastic attire. Of the queens, only Maria Dolgorukova (the first wife of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov) is buried in a brocade dress. The sarcophagi also lacked any decorations, including crosses. Only one of the sisters of Peter I had a gold ring on her finger.
When opening the burial place of Marfa Sobakina (the third wife of Ivan the Terrible), an amazing biological phenomenon was discovered. She lay in the coffin as if alive and was not touched by corruption. Experts believe that an unknown poisonous substance, which poisoned the newlywed, eventually embalmed her body.
Currently, both male and female burials of Russian princes, princesses, kings, queens and princesses are located together - in the Archangel Cathedral. The only exception is Solomonia - the first wife of Tsar Vasily III, the daughter of Yu.K. Saburov, a descendant of a native of the Tatar Horde Murza-Chet.
After 21 years of marriage, they had no children. The Grand Duke and Princess donated contributions to many monasteries, went to worship holy places, used "charms and divination", distributed alms, but nothing helped. And then Vasily III decided to divorce, and Solomonia, under the name of Sophia, was tonsured a nun in the Moscow Nativity Monastery and exiled to Kargopol. However, a lot of pilgrims went to her, after which it was decided to send her to Suzdal - to the Intercession Convent.
The Grand Duke married a second time - to Elena Glinskaya, and after 3 years their son John was born - the future Ivan IV the Terrible. Thus, it is believed that the main reason for the tonsure of Solomonia was the queen's childlessness, however, according to the well-known in the scientific world "The Legend of Prince George", she was tonsured when she was already pregnant.
From Suzdal, rumors spread throughout the country that the exiled Solomonia had given birth to a son, George, and it is known from documents that this was not an invention. To protect her son, Solomonia allegedly gave him up to faithful people, and she herself spread the rumor about the death of the baby. Even his burial was staged, when a wooden doll was buried with proper rites.
The tomb of the mysterious George was preserved until 1934 under the guise of the tomb of Anastasia Shuiskaya, the daughter of Tsar Vasily Ivanovich, who was exiled with her mother in 1610 to the Intercession Monastery in Suzdal. Archaeological excavations have shown: in the opened coffin-deck, a doll was found wrapped in a silk shirt and a pearl sling. Scientists did not find the bones of the buried… According to one of the versions of the “Legend of Prince George”, Ivan the Terrible spent his whole life hunting for his brother, who allegedly became the famous robber - Ataman Kudeyar. Researchers even have reason to believe that Ivan the Terrible was investigating Solomonia's pregnancy, but then allegedly all the papers were destroyed...
1. The Peter and Paul Cathedral was built in 1712-1733 according to the project of Domenico Trezzini on the site of a wooden church that stood on this site in 1703-1704. The bell tower of the cathedral is crowned with a spire and has a total height of 122 meters, which allowed it to be the tallest building until 2012 Petersburg.
2. From the very beginning, the cathedral was the burial place of the Romanovs and their relatives. In 1896, a tomb building was erected nearby for the Grand Dukes of the Imperial Family and His Serene Princes Romanovsky. Eight graves were moved here from the Peter and Paul Cathedral. 
3. The Grand Duke's tomb was badly damaged during the years of Soviet power, has been under repair for many years and is still closed to the public. 
4. A white corridor connects it with the cathedral. As you can see, everything is ready here, but the passage is still closed. 
5. Let's examine the interior of the three-aisled cathedral. 
6. The main entrance to the temple from the Cathedral Square. 
7. The ceiling is decorated with gospel paintings. 
8. Lush chandeliers are suspended from the vaults. 
9. Pulpit, decorated with gilded sculpture. 
10. The gilded carved iconostasis of the cathedral was made in Moscow according to Trezzini's drawings. 
11. In front of the iconostasis are the burial places of emperors and empresses of the 18th century. 
12. On the left in the first row - the burial of Peter I, crowned with a bust of the king. Next to him is Catherine I (Marta Skavronskaya), his wife. On the left is Elizaveta Petrovna, their daughter, prudently titled “Elizabeth I” in case another Elizabeth appeared among the empresses. Behind Peter I lies his niece Anna Ioannovna, daughter of Tsar Ivan V. On the left in the second row - Catherine II and Peter III, transferred after the death of his wife from the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Their tombstones bear the same date of burial, which creates the illusion that they lived together and died on the same day. 
13. Peter the Great is signed as "Father of the Fatherland". When he died in 1725, the walls of the cathedral barely rose to human height, and his body lay in a temporary wooden chapel until 1731. 
14. On the other side of the royal doors, there are also two rows of tombstones of Paul I and Maria Feodorovna, Alexander I and Elizabeth Alekseevna, Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna, as well as the daughter of Peter I, Grand Duchess Anna. 
15. All tombstones are fenced with black fences, crowned with knobs in the form of vases, covered with a mourning cloth. The gravestones of the spouses are outlined by a single fence. 
16. All tombstones were replaced in 1865 with marble ones, which still exist today, but two sarcophagi differ from the rest. They were made in 1887-1906 from green jasper and pink eagle for Emperor Alexander II and his wife Maria Alexandrovna. 
17. All marble tombstones are covered with gilded crosses, the imperial tombstones are decorated with images of double-headed eagles in the corners. One of the tombstones is clearly fresher than the others. 
18. It was placed over the burial place of Empress Maria Feodorovna (Princess Dagmara), wife of Alexander III. The empress, who died in 1928, was buried next to her parents in the tomb of the cathedral in the Danish city of Roskilde. In 2006, her ashes were taken to St. Petersburg by ship and buried next to her husband. 
19. And in 1998, the remains of the last emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and their daughters Tatyana, Olga and Anastasia rested in the Catherine's aisle of the cathedral. 
20. But the very first burials in the cathedral can only be seen on an excursion to the bell tower of the cathedral, which was built during the life of Peter the Great. Here, under the stairs, are the graves of Princess Maria Alekseevna, sister of Peter I, and his son Alexei Petrovich next to his wife, Princess Charlotte-Christine Sophia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. 
21. We will climb the worn steps to the lower level of the bell tower, which is flush with the roof of the cathedral. 
22. Here, during the blockade, there was an air defense post. 
23. Here you can see the original view of the temple. The cathedral was painted in pink, the angel on the spire was completely different. 
24. The entrance was decorated with a magnificent porch with sculptures. 
25. I remind you how the cathedral looks today (photo from the Grand Layout). 
26. The frame of the figure of an angel, which has been on the spire since 1858, is also presented here. 
29. The frame of the angel was replaced at the end of the 20th century with a modern one. 
27. The copper figure, which was on the spire until 1858, is in the museum of the history of the fortress. It was replaced during the reconstruction of the spire of the cathedral in metal, because until 1858 the spire was wooden. 
28. The current weather vane figure was repaired and re-gilded in 1995. 
30. The bell tower itself begins from this tier. Below are collected old weights of the mechanism of the tower clock-chimes. 
31. And also this old winch. 
32. The locking mechanism on the doors leading to the open area of the cathedral. 
33. Let's go up the stone steps. 
34. The carillon of the cathedral is installed on the support beams. 
35. Carillon is an impressive multi-voiced bell musical instrument, originally from Belgium. By the way, “raspberry ringing” is named so not for the sweetness of the sound, but in honor of the Belgian city of Malines. 
36. Initially, the carillon was brought and installed in the Peter and Paul Cathedral by Peter I, but later burned down in a fire, and was restored today. 
37. The instrument consists of many fixed bells of various sizes. 
38. Tongues of bells can be controlled with steel cables. 
39. You need to play the carillon from this remote control. The teacher of playing the instrument, despite the "beard", speaks Russian with a strong accent, he is clearly from somewhere in Belgium. 
In the video you can listen to how this instrument sounds peculiar:
40. Above the carillon is the lower belfry, traditional for Orthodox churches. 
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43. The largest bell, with a diameter of more than a meter. 
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45. These bells are rung quite traditionally - with the help of a system of ropes tied to tongues. 
46. There are also loads of chimes located in a tier above the chimes. 
47. The tour is not designed to rise above the lower belfry, so at the end there are two shots from a forty-meter height. 
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