Where is Novodevichy Cemetery situated?

The cemetery is located in Moscow, bordering the southern wall of Novodevichy Convent.

Which prominent figures are buried at the site?

The grounds contain tombs of writers, musicians, scientists, and leaders, including Anton Chekhov, Nikolai Gogol, Nikita Khrushchev, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Dmitry Shostakovich.

What is the general layout of the cemetery?

The cemetery is arranged as a park with chapels and sculpted monuments across old, new, and newest sections.

Who designed Novodevichy Cemetery?

Ivan Mashkov designed the cemetery.

Are regular burials still conducted here?

Burial space is scarce, so the site is reserved for symbolically significant burials while a cemetery in Mytishchi accommodates broader needs.

Moscow · Russia

Novodevichy Cemetery: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

Long-term residents treat the shaded grounds beside the convent as an open-air archive and quiet park, but finding specific graves means picking up a layout at the office.

Novodevichy Cemetery · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Around here2

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Within two hours

Red Square≈ 25 min Mercury City Tower≈ 40 min Cathedral of Christ the Saviour≈ 50 min Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts≈ 50 min Moscow Zoo≈ 55 min Kremlin≈ 1 hr

About the place

Novodevichy Cemetery preserves the graves of prominent cultural and political figures beside an ancient convent.

Architect Ivan Mashkov drafted the cemetery layout beside the convent grounds. Its national prominence expanded when authorities demolished several medieval monastic burial grounds across the capital, sparing only the Donskoy site. State officials disinterred prominent figures, including writer Nikolai Gogol and author Sergey Aksakov, to rehouse their remains along these walkways.

Read on

Burials here once ranked directly behind the Kremlin Wall in prestige, eventually accommodating state leaders like Nikita Khrushchev, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Boris Yeltsin. Sculpted monuments commemorate cultural figures such as composer Dmitry Shostakovich and writer Anton Chekhov. Because ground space is exhausted, authorities established an alternate national pantheon in Mytishchi.

Associations

Nikolai GogolHis remains were transferred here after monastery destruction.
Nikita KhrushchevA rare Soviet head of state resting outside the Kremlin necropolis.
Burial space shortageExhausted burial capacity prompted opening an alternate site outside the city.
Sculpted monumentsElaborate stone memorials and chapels create a park atmosphere.

Facts

Architect Ivan Mashkov designed the cemetery grounds beside the monastery.
Nikolai Gogol was reburied here after his original monastery tomb was scheduled for demolition.
Nikita Khrushchev and Mikhail Gorbachev are buried on the site instead of the Kremlin Wall.
The grounds are organized into old, new, and newest divisions with sector maps available on site.

Updated September 8, 2026Source: Wikipedia

Novodevichy Cemetery: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

What is around2

Novodevichy Cemetery preserves the graves of prominent cultural and political figures beside an ancient convent.

Getting there and staying

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