Cemeteries are not only places of burial of people, but also a part of the history of our country. Even on a rural churchyard you can find something informative, not to mention the large urban necropolises. In our article we will talk about the Shirokorechenskoye cemetery, located in Yekaterinburg.
First graves
At the beginning of 1941, the plot of land allocated for burial was just beginning to fill up, there was a lot of free space. Therefore, it was here that the soldiers and officers who died during the Great Patriotic War, or, to be more precise, those who died in the Sverdlovsk infirmaries, found their resting place. Shirokorechenskoe cemetery is a special place. It is here, according to the decision of the Sverdlovsk Executive Committee of 1978 and the decree of the head of Yekaterinburg of 1995, that only servicemen who died in the line of duty to their homeland, people's artists, honorary citizens of the city, members of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the Russian Academy of Sciences are buried. Also on its territory was built the Church of St. Mark of the Caves.
Two sides of the coin
Shirokorechenskoe cemetery (Yekaterinburg) isthe place where the memorial, built in honor of the 30th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War, is located, in 1985 an obelisk was attached to it. Currently, the memorial is looked after as an object of cultural heritage. In 2015, its restoration was completed. At the same cemetery, a monument was erected in honor of the Germans who died in captivity during the war. The Shirokorechenskoye cemetery became their final resting place. However, in 1952, the area that was specially allocated for these purposes was liquidated along with graves and tombstones.
Help Needed
Interestingly, in order to maintain the Shirokorechenskoye cemetery in order, a special charitable foundation was created. He is engaged in the fact that he collects funds not only for the maintenance of the graveyard and the memorial. One of its main goals is social support for veterans, disabled people, pensioners, family members of fallen servicemen.
Of course, budget funds are allocated for the maintenance of the cemetery, but they are not enough to cover all the necessary expenses. For example, in order to cut down trees that pose a threat to monuments, additional funds are needed to pay for the work of special services.
Heroes of their time
It's no secret that the 90s of the XX century were difficult for the whole country. But among its inhabitants there were those who did not want to put up with poverty and preferred to strive for a good life at any cost. Often such a struggle led to the death of people, then they were buried ondesignated areas of the cemetery. We are talking about bandits who died in a showdown between two groups.
In Yekaterinburg, power in the city was divided between "central" and "Uralmash". The burial place of the members of the first group was the Shirokorechenskoye cemetery (Yekaterinburg). Gang graves are a sign of that time. Therefore, it is not surprising that burials of this kind become a landmark of necropolises. The Shirokorechensky cemetery also has marble and granite monuments erected in honor of the dead gang leaders and ordinary fighters.
A lot of our people died
Gang members most often died young. The leaders of such organizations arranged a rich funeral for everyone. The coffin and other attributes of the farewell ceremony were supposed to be very expensive, but, of course, in accordance with the status of the deceased bandit.
The heads of organized crime groups themselves had the most magnificent farewell. To emphasize the power of the organization and the "love" for the deceased, a huge stone slab was placed vertically on his grave, on which he was depicted in full growth. Such monuments made of marble and granite make up an alley of "heroes" at the Shirokorechensky cemetery.
Look good
Local tombstones differ from those in other cemeteries in that the dead bandits are depicted on them in their usual clothes, without embellishment, as they appeared before members of their gang daily. And this, of course, is a tracksuit, sneakers, a leather jacket, a cap.
But the authorities look spectacular ontomb pictures. Looking at such portraits, one can doubt that a man in an expensive suit is the head of a gang. Also, the monuments depicted luxury items of that time: cell phones, cars, gold jewelry. On the tombstones it was emphasized that the deceased was a believer, so icons, crucifixes, crosses or signs of another religion were often depicted.
Original tombstones
One of the interesting monuments to the deceased member of the bandit organization is the tombstone of Nikolai Morazovsky. He was killed at the age of 23. There are two portraits on his monument. On one of them he is young and not very we althy financially. This is evidenced by the objects surrounding him and the discreet decoration on his finger. In the second portrait, Morazovsky is a mature man who has achieved a certain material prosperity. This symbolizes that his death was not in vain and he did not die in vain.
On its vast territory of 44 hectares, the Shirokorechenskoye cemetery gathered and reconciled many diverse people. Someone died the death of heroes, defending their homeland, someone just appropriated this title to themselves. But they all now sleep peacefully next to scientists, artists and politicians.
