12 graves of famous people in Kazan will receive the status of cultural heritage sites.

12 graves of famous people in Kazan will receive the status of cultural heritage sites.

<p> (KZN.RU, January 9, Ksenia Shvetsova). This year, 12 graves of famous people at the Arskoe Cemetery and Bishbalt Cemetery in Kazan will receive the status of cultural heritage sites. In total, 38 graves are protected in the Tatarstan’s capital as monuments of republican and federal significance. The work on necropolis research continues. Farida Zabirova, the deputy chairperson of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Art and Culture Monuments, said this at the press conference in the news agency “Tatar-inform”. </p> <p> </p> <p> Kazan ethnographers and scientists have been studying the necropolis for a long time, but active work began in 2016. Then local historians addressed Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of the RT. In their address to the head of the republic, they noted that Tatarstan cemeteries need to be studied. It is necessary to compile a register of burials, and this requires the organization of scientific expert work. After that, the project “Kazan Necropolis” was launched thanks to the support of the President of the RT. The implementation of it required 2 million 766 thousand rubles fr om the budget of the republic. </p> <p> </p> <p> The work on the study of cemeteries allows finding valuable graves that have been preserved for many centuries. This year, another 12 graves will be added to the list of cultural heritage sites: 6 ones at the Arskoe Cemetery and 6 ones at the Bishbalt Cemetery. Information about them has already been submitted to the Ministry of Culture of the RT. </p> <p> </p> <p> In other cities of the republic, there are many valuable necropolises and cemeteries as well where outstanding personalities found their rest. “There are unique burials in Chistopol, for example. The tomb of the khan period and the stones of the Golden Horde period have been preserved there”, said Farida Zabirova. “Registration of cemeteries in the urban planning is very important. This is part of the sacred historical and cultural framework of Tatarstan, which must be preserved”. The study and considering of the necropolis a historical item started back in the XVIII century. The burial registries are compiled according to various principles: genealogical, confessional, and others. The registry in Tatarstan is formed in alphabetical order. </p> <p> </p> <p> Yelabuga is leading in the matter of preserving historically valuable graves, where the Japanese, Austrian, Austro-Hungarian, Orthodox cemeteries are under special protection, said F. Zabirova. </p> <p> </p> <p> Before the revolution, there were about 20 necropolises in Kazan. The most significant of them are located on the territory of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky, Zilantov and Kizichesky monasteries. The Arskoe Cemetery is of particular value. Unfortunately, to date, it has been preserved only by 10%, noted Anatoly Eldashev, a local historian. The Arskoe Cemetery was organized by the decree of Empress Catherine the Great in 1771. In 2021, it will be 250 years old. Today about 240 thousand people are buried there. “Today, we cannot find the graves of the end of the XVIII century”, said Anatoly Eldashev. “But still, we find valuable burials, for example, we found the grave of 1812, wh ere the town governor Osip Petrov was buried. This cemetery keeps the history of our city for a quarter of a millennium”. The local historian added that the Arskoe Cemetery is of great interest since people from different segments of the population are buried there: peasants, artisans, clergy, merchants, and others. </p> <p> </p> <p> A. Eldashev pays the closest attention in his studies to the graves of clergymen. There are at least a thousand of them at the Arskoe Cemetery. Christians, Catholics, Lutherans, and Old Believers are among the buried, for example, Archbishop Sergy Korolev, Bishop Justin Maltsev, two rectors of the Kazan Theological Academy. In addition, there were 15 graves of professors of the Kazan Theological Academy, among whom are Gordiy Sablukov, who in 1878 made one of the first translations of the Quran. Nikolai Ivanovsky, the compatriot and friend of the holy righteous archpriest John of Kronstadt, rests on the same cemetery. Thanks to Nikolai Ivanovsky, John of Kronstadt visited Kazan in July 1894. A lot of holy fools in rest in the Arskoe Cemetery, for example, the holy fool of the 60s of the XIX century Mardary Fedorovich. “More than 30 chapels at the Arskoe Cemetery have not yet been attributed. We do not know who lies under them. There are graves of relatives of Vladimir Lenin in this cemetery, the only monument from the time of the first Russian revolution located there. All this needs to be monitored”, believes A. Eldashev. </p> <p> </p> <p> Today, the work is also being done on the territory of the Novo-Tatar Cemetery. There is no cemetery with such a number of graves of prominent personalities in any other place of residence of the Tatars. This was said by Aidar Nogmanov, the head of the Department of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the peoples of the RT of the Mardzhani History Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the RT. In addition, about 160 monuments were discovered at the Powder Cemetery: the earliest graves are dated to the 40s of the XIX century. </p> <p> </p> <p> Another old cemetery is the Bishbalt Cemetery, which needs restoration. It will be transformed into a memorial zone. “There are graves of very good preservation, with original decoration. It is to be studied and investigated”, A. Nogmanov explained. “Today, the main task is to create a register of personalities buried in this cemetery. It occupies 24.6 hectares and was formed over more than two centuries. It is based on hundreds of thousands of Kazan citizens. Therefore, personal examination of each grave is not a very easy task”. He added that the representatives of the creative Tatar intelligentsia are buried there: writers, artists, poets, as well as eminent scientists, high school workers, professors, academicians who made a great contribution to the development of Tatarstan and national science. </p> <p> </p> <p> Anton Taraev, the first deputy head of the Information Technology and Communications Directorate, reminded about the website <a href="https://cemetery.kzn.ru/">https://cemetery.kzn.ru/</a> created in 2014. It contains official data on the graves. Today, it is possible to find information about 250 thousand graves in 13 cemeteries of the city. The section “Virtual Necropolis” contains the names of all prominent personalities who found peace in Kazan cemeteries. </p> <p> </p> <p> All graves of prominent personalities that are located in Kazan and other cities of Tatarstan are taken under protection. Olesya Baltusova, an assistant to the President of the RT, noted that various departments of the republic were given instructions for the improvement of cemeteries for ensuring their safety and developing tourist routes. In the near future, it is planned to consider the issue of including funds for the improvement of Novo-Tatar and Arskoe cemeteries in the municipal programs, establishing guardianship over the graves of prominent personalities. </p>

2019-01-09T17:42:42+0300