What happened to Russian cemeteries before and after the Revolution? Is it true that the mass destruction of necropolises only began in Soviet times?

Cemetery researcher Margarita Nikolaeva examines the history of Russian necropolises in the 19th and 20th centuries—from the Russian Empire to the USSR. Using examples from St. Petersburg, Moscow, Saratov, Samara, Tula, and other cities, she shows what cemeteries looked like, why they were closed and demolished, what happened to tombstones, and how old monuments were converted into building material.

The lecture covers pre-revolutionary vandalism and theft in cemeteries, laws of the Russian Empire, the Soviet nationalization of cemeteries, the destruction of old necropolises, the reuse of tombstones, and the unusual phenomenon of cemetery museums.

Why can photographs of the past create a misleading impression of old cemeteries? How did Soviet practices differ from pre-revolutionary ones—and was it really as different as is commonly believed?

Margarita Nikolaeva is a researcher of historical cemeteries.

Answers to questions: https://boosty.to/sciencevideolaborat...

Thanks for your support on Sponsr (https://sponsr.ru/svlab) and Boosty
(https://boosty.to/sciencevideolaborat...
Secretary:
Znatnaya Synapsida, Iurii Ermolaev, nkAlex, Nataly, Ksennia DemetryCelest, Alexander Petrenko, Konstantin Spirin, Mynch
Scientist:
EA, Irinka

Thanks for your support on Patreon (Patreon: svl):
($50): Andrey
($20): Vera Kovshik