Russian Necropolis in Belgrade

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[Этот текст на русском языке]

On four plots at the New Cemetery in Belgrade, in over 700 tombs there are the mortal remains of over 3.000 Russian soldiers who died in the First World War in the Balkans, but also members of the Russian emigration. The central place occupies a monument of the "Russian Glory", the first monument in the world that was erected in honour of Russian Emperor Nicholas II Romanov and imperial Russia's soldiers who died in the First World War.

The monument is dominated by the figure of Archangel Michael, the commander of the heavenly army.
In the lower part of the monument above the doors of the ossuary is a statue of a wounded Russian soldier and an inscription in Russian: "Спите орлы боевые" (“Sleep, Eagles of War”)
To the right of this inscription is written in the Serbian language: "To the brave fallen Russian brothers"

In the crypt under the monument there is ossuary with mortal remains of Russian soldiers which were killed in the defense of Belgrade, on the Thessaloniki front, other battlefields, on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. Also, mortal remains of four Russian prisoners of war and about a hundred Russian soldiers died in hospitals.

The chapel of Iver

The idea of building a chapel appeared after the creation of a Russian cemetery in Belgrade. While negotiations with the Serbian authorities lasted, Russian emigrants learned that the Chapel of Iver was destroyed in Moscow. Then it was decided to reconstruct the Chapel of Iver at the new cemetery in Belgrade. The project of the chapel was done by Valeriy Stashevsky and its construction was completed in 1931. In the crypt of the chapel, the archibishop Antonije Hrapovicki was buried.

The belfry

In this Russian Nekropolis are buried: the last chairman of the Russian Duma Mikhail Rodzhyanko and the last commander of the Russian imperial army, General Mihail Alekseyev, the balerina Nina Kirsanova, actress Natalia Erdeli, opera singer Sofia Drausal, numerous academics, professors, scientists. Behind the monument is a belfry. All structures and all graveyards were reconstructed in 2014.

All photos are mine,

Goran.