Field of Mars: communist churchyard

The latest plans for the reconstruction of the historic center drew the attention of the city public to the cemetery in the city center - Field of Mars. The historian Lev Lurie thought about the saint.

The latest plans for the reconstruction of the historic center drew the attention of the city public to the cemetery in the city center - Field of Mars. The historian Lev Lurie thought about the saint.

And although, of course, “let the young life play at the entrance to the grave, and let the indifferent nature shine with eternal beauty,” the proximity of the communist churchyard to the people's gulbis causes some discomfort. Moreover, there are few people in Petersburg who know who is actually buried there today. What does this monument mean in the general context of the history of Russian communism?

Every revolution is afraid of reaction. Because a revolution is a violation of old, pre-revolutionary laws. For complacency, special rituals are important, indicating that everything was true, there will be no return to the past, no one will be punished: we are heroes, not criminals.

The same applies to February 1917. Contemporaries called this revolution "Great and Bloodless". You can't argue about greatness - the monarchy is gone. But bloodlessness did not work.

Quite often, lynching takes place over the defeated officers and policemen. Baron N.E. Wrangel recalled: "In the courtyard of our house there lived a district police officer; the crowd did not find his house, only his wife; she was killed, and by the way, her two children. The smaller breast one was hit by a heel on the crown." M.M. Prishvin wrote in those days in his diary: "Two women go with pokers, lead balls on pokers - to finish off the bailiffs." And all the victims in Petrograd turned out to be no less than 1315 people.

All the victims were called, not without grace, "victims of the revolution." 86 soldiers, 9 sailors, 2 officers, 32 workers, 6 women, 23 people without specifying their social status and 26 unknown bodies (how many officers and policemen were - it is not known, there must be a lot) were buried on March 23, 1917 on the Champ de Mars ( at first they wanted on the Palace Square). It was planned to place the crypt under a huge column, next to erect the parliament building "according to all the rules of science, technology and art". Not less than 800 thousand Petrograd citizens passed by the mass graves on the Field of Mars.

I. Bunin, “Cursed Days”: “I saw the Field of Mars, on which they had just performed, as a kind of traditional sacrifice to the revolution, a comedy of the funeral of the heroes who allegedly fell for freedom. What needs, that it was, in fact, a mockery of the dead, that they were deprived of an honest Christian burial, for some reason nailed up in a coffin red and unnaturally buried in the very center of the city of the living! "

The Bolsheviks dispersed the Constituent Assembly, but privatized the February Revolution. Therefore, they continued to bury their own here. Grigory Zinoviev, who remained "on the farm" in St. Petersburg, considered himself the second person in the party. The capital of the future Communist World Republic is, of course, the city of the proletarian revolution, of socialist Soviet Russia. True, most prominent communists are now in the Kremlin

So there are only two general party sacrificial figures on the Champ de Mars - the censor of the Petrograd press Volodarsky and the head of the Cheka Uritsky. For obvious reasons, both of them were killed by the "counter-revolutionaries". In honor of Volodarsky, they named Isaakievskaya and Liteiny Prospect, and Uritsky - Palace Square and Winter Palace... It was to their murder that the Bolsheviks responded with the "Red Terror".

In 1918, they were joined by the chairman of the city council Semyon Nakhimson, who suppressed the anti-Soviet Yaroslavl uprising (Vladimirsky Prospekt in his honor) and four Latvian riflemen ..

10 people died in 1919 near Petrograd, reflecting the offensive of Yudenich.

In 1919, an excellent parterre square was laid out on the field according to the design of Lev Rudnev and an impressive monument of four granite blocks was erected. At the ends there are pretentious verses by Anatoly Lunacharsky: "The sons of St. Petersburg have now joined the host of great heroes of uprisings of different times who have passed away in the name of flourishing life, the crowds of fighters 48 Jacobins, and the crowds of Communards."

The funeral continued - they buried two commissars who died near Taganrog.

On August 31, 1920, in Petrograd, on Krasnykh Zor Street (Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt), at 26/28, a regular meeting of the Finnish workers' club was held, whose members were only communists. A group of hungry Finnish communists, dissatisfied with their infinitely greedy leadership (they lived in "Astoria", received an unprecedented ration), staged a massacre. The victims are eight communists. On the tombstone of the Field of Mars they wrote: "Killed by the Finns-White Guards."

In 1922, D. N. Avrov, one of the main leaders of the suppression, was buried on the Champ de Mars Kronstadt uprising... At the same time, the nine-year-old actor's son Kostya (Vanya) Mgebrov rested here, whom his enterprising parents passed off as “Petrograd Gavrosh”.

At the end of 1925, a colossal purge of the communist leadership took place in Leningrad. The team of Grigory Zinoviev was replaced by the people of Sergei Kirov. There was no one to bury on the Champ de Mars. Famous communists were now buried exclusively at the Kremlin wall - Sverdlov, Frunze, Dzerzhinsky, Nogin, Inessa Armand, John Reed.

Ivan Kotlyakov, who was a member of the provincial committee and chairman of the Economic Council under the previous city leadership, was demoted to the head of the financial department of the Leningrad City Executive Committee. But nevertheless, he was a member of the party since 1902, refused the opposition, therefore, after his death in 1929, the plant, the trampark was named after him and was buried on the Champ de Mars.

In 1928, the "old Bolshevik", Lenin's peer, L. Mikhailov-Poleticus and the "disarmed" Trotskyist, the prominent red commander Mikhail Lashevich, rested here; in 1931, the essayist K. Eremeev was buried, in 1932, another of Lenin's peers, the “red professor” G. Tsyperovich.

Meanwhile, a simpler place was found for the local nomenclature. Since 1919, the "Communist Platform" of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra began to be used.
The last burial on the Field of Mars is the grave of Ivan Gaza, the only city communist who initially voted not for the "Leningrad opposition" Grigory Zinoviev, but for the "general line" of Joseph Stalin. For this he was made secretary of the party committee of the Krasny Putilovets plant. And then the secretary of the Moscow-Narva district party committee, and after his death he was buried next to Uritsky and Volodarsky.

Now the Field of Mars connects the only green space in the city free for all class groups and the strangest churchyard. So, on the outskirts of Rome there are the giant ruins of the baths of Caracalla, the emperor, parricide and fratricide, sadist, husband of his own mother. And nothing, they stand, they amaze with monumentality. Our Field of Mars is a communist pantheon of provincial significance.

TO THE 85TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE RUSSIAN STATE ARCHIVE OF FILM AND PHOTO DOCUMENTS, KRASNOHORSK

At present, interest in the history of the February Revolution of 1917 is not weakening, but at the same time, due attention is not paid to audiovisual sources. A film and photo document, basically, acts as an illustrative or additional material to a written source, although scientific and methodological support is already available. The problems of archival and source analysis of film and photo documents, their definition as a source are devoted to the works of V.M. Magidova, V.N. Batalina, G.E. Malysheva. The funeral ceremony in Petrograd on March 23, 1917 is covered in the monograph by B.I. Kolonitsky. Noting the importance of the "new holiday of the revolution", B.I. Kolonitsky uses photographic documents in the monograph as illustrations to the text.

The purpose of the article is to reveal the source potential of film and photo documents depicting the funeral ceremony of the victims of the February Revolution in Petrograd on March 23, 1917, which was the largest manifestation after the February events.

On March 5, the Petrograd Soviet of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies decided to schedule the funeral for March 10. This day was declared "a day of remembrance of the victims of the Revolution and a national holiday of the Great Russian Revolution for all time." It was ordered to organize the funeral as "national and civil" without a church ceremony. The church funeral service could be performed by the relatives of the perished "according to their conviction." Priests of military temples on this day were supposed to perform funeral services in temples. The entire population of the capital, as well as the entire population of the Petrograd garrison, was called upon to participate in the funeral of the victims of the revolution. However, on March 10, the funeral did not take place and the date of the ceremony was postponed more than once, until finally the final date was set - March 23, 1917.

Discussions erupted over the choice of the burial site. Initially, most of the delegates spoke in favor of Palace Square, but objections arose. The organizers were worried about the soil water under the Palace Square, they feared that the mass graves would violate the integrity of the famous architectural ensemble of the square. Kazan Cathedral, Znamenskaya Square were called. The Petrograd Soviet decided to bury the victims of the revolution on the Field of Mars. The crypt was planned to be placed under a huge column, next to erect "in accordance with all the rules of science, technology and art" a building for the Russian parliament, which was to become the center of government throughout Russia. The grand entrance to the parliament building, facing the Neva, was supposed to be decorated with statues of prominent leaders of the revolution.

A special commission created by the Petrograd Soviet of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies organized the funeral. Parts of the garrison were ordered to participate in the ceremony, the allocation of special units with orchestras. On the day of the funeral in the city, it was planned to stop the work of industrial and commercial enterprises, and the tram traffic was stopped. The path and time for the mourning processions from each district of Petrograd to the Field of Mars were determined. The column organization diagram is certified by the signature of the commander-in-chief of the troops, Lieutenant-General L.G. Kornilov.

The newspaper "Petrogradskiy Listok" wrote about this event: “... processions with coffins of victims, with waving flags, with an innumerable crowd of people move slowly from all parts of the city. Slowly, solemnly in the air is heard the concordant singing of a thousand voices: "You fell a victim in a fatal struggle ...". The procession, which began at 9 o'clock. 30 min. ended well past midnight. At least 800 thousand people passed by the mass graves on the Champ de Mars. The presence of members of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma, the Provisional Government, deputies of the Petrograd Soviet emphasized the special, nationwide character of the event. Minister of War and Marine A.I. Guchkov, accompanied by the commander of the Petrograd Military District, General L.G. Kornilov, arrived at the Field of Mars at 10 o'clock. The minister knelt before the graves and crossed himself.

When studying the collection of photographs of the funerals of the victims of the February Revolution, we identified 64 units. xp. These photographic documents were received by RGAKFD in January 1972 from the Institute of Marxism-Leninism.

The reportage footage of the funeral of the victims of the revolution covers all stages of the mourning ceremony: the procession of columns from different districts of Petrograd with the coffins of the dead, the situation on the streets of the city, a rally on the Field of Mars, the burial of victims, etc. Among them: 10 photographic documents shot by the famous photographer Peter Otsupa: “Mourning procession on Nevsky Prospekt "," Funeral procession in the Vyborg district "," Lowering the coffin into the grave during the funeral of victims february revolution March 23, 1917 ”,“ Church funeral service on the Champ de Mars ”,“ Militia from the representatives of the students ”,“ Funeral columns on the Champ de Mars ”.

Most of the archival photographs of the funerals of the victims of the February Revolution are glass negatives of the second, fourth, fifth and sixth sizes: 61 units in total. xr., as well as 3 reproductions in the album. Album No. 531 "War and Revolution" includes 105 sheets and contains 294 reproductions. The cover of the album has a brown fabric binding, its title is applied in gold embossing, in large letters, and in smaller letters it is specified: "Album of current events 1914 - 1917". At the bottom of the cover there is a gold-colored ornament. On the page spread of the album it is indicated - "The publication of the Neva society of industrious help". Each of the reproductions in the album is accompanied by an explanatory inscription according to the rules of the old spelling: "Funeral of the victims of the revolution on March 23rd", "Procession on Nevsky Prospekt", "General view of the Field of Mars on the day of the funeral" and "Red coffins in the grave."

The sixth size negatives (24x30 cm) are 8 units. storage. Six negatives have deep cracks and severe scratches. To ensure safety, the edges of the cracked glass negative are glued with paper edging. Nevertheless, despite its ninety years of age, the technical condition of the original negatives can be considered quite satisfactory. Several negatives contain inscriptions and markings in black ink. On one of them: “Procession of the Vyborgsky region. Petrograd. ph. Otsup. For the funeral of the victims Feb. revolutionary. " The other has an illegible inscription, which reads only: “… Vyborgsky district. 1917 ". And one more inscription: “Nevsky district, cor. No. 11 1917 ". Perhaps there are also inscriptions under the edge edging glued to the negatives, but to ensure their safety they were once glued. Presumably, the inscriptions were made during the first analysis of the negatives no later than 1917, since they were made according to the old spelling. They indicate the numbers of storage or transportation boxes.

The second size (9x12 cm) of negatives contains 8 units. storage. Due to the technical condition, all the originals on the glass were transferred to a countertype film, which does not contain any inscriptions or droppings. Only the image itself is informative.

The fourth size is 15 units. storage (13x18 cm). One original that has survived on the glass bears an inscription in black ink: “Funeral of the victims of Feb. revol. 23.III. in 1917 ". Five were transferred to tape due to poor technical conditions. Their originals have not survived. Nine negatives are preserved, but have cracks, gaps, or deep scratches. All of them are glued with edging on all sides and if there were any marks and inscriptions on them, it is impossible to read them.

The fifth size (18x24 cm) turned out to be the most informative. 27 original negatives on glass are in satisfactory technical condition. 15 units xp. of this size are edged, inscriptions and markings are therefore impossible to investigate. On 12, inscriptions and marks made by different authors in different handwritings have been preserved. One of them, the original, was reproduced in illegible black ink along the edge of the glass negative. Others are written on paper border. Sometimes the paper edging with the text was glued to the inscription made from the negative. The texts on the border always begin with the words “To the funeral of the victims of the February revolution”, and then there is an explanation, for example, “Procession with coffins to the grave” or “Provisional government at the graves, Petrograd March 23”, “Lowering the coffin into the grave (Wife at the grave) " other. In a single case, the inscription on the paper edging duplicates the text on the glass: “To the funeral of the victims of the revolution. Students Acad. arts ". On five originals, the inscriptions are made in ink on glass: “The workers are singing. Eternal memory 1917 cor. 9 "," Filling the graves with cement 1917 cor. 10 "," Mass grave cor. 8 b "," Eternal memory to the freedom fighters cor. 4 "," No. 13 To the mass grave 1917 cor. 9 ".

After analyzing the texts on the paper edging and the negative, we can say that the inscriptions made on the glass original are more concise and shorter, necessarily have marks that indicate the number of the box in which, apparently, they were stored. Sorting of negatives was carried out, most likely, according to the principle "what came to hand". So, there are two identical negatives with the same annotations "Mass Grave", but with different numbers of boxes. Or three different negatives with different texts: "General view of the Field of Mars", "Towards the mass grave 1917", "The workers are singing. Eternal memory 1917 ", which indicate a single box number.

The study of the original glass negatives made it possible to supplement the annotations of the photo catalog, to indicate the author of the shooting on the catalog cards. So, according to the inscriptions “Petrograd. ph. Otsup ”, read on some negatives of the fifth size, it was possible to additionally establish his authorship, which was not indicated in the RGAKFD card index, in which P. Otsup was indicated only on 6 index cards.

Exploring the information of photographic documents, one can see a huge number of people of various social groups who took part in the funeral ceremony. These are soldiers and officers, workers, intelligentsia, students. The event was planned well in advance and was well prepared. The pictures show a large number of flags and banners with slogans, which are written correctly, without spelling and stylistic errors, in straight letters. Columns of funeral processions with flags and banners are moving towards the Champ de Mars in perfect order. One of the pictures shows: at the head of the columns are standard bearers or those who carry a banner with slogans. The next are the military units of the Petrograd garrison with an orchestra. Endless columns of demonstrators are moving along the streets of Petrograd, soldiers are carrying coffins with the bodies of the dead heroes, as evidenced by reportage footage. Among the representatives of the funeral ceremony, the photographic documents capture the delegations of students of the Academy of Arts, Shlisselburg residents, workers of the 1st Russian X-ray tube plant, soldiers of the auto division. Soldiers on horseback keep order on the city streets. On both sides of the street there are civilians, including women. Pushing back the crowd, the soldiers stand in a cordon holding hands, ensuring the immediate advance of the funeral procession. One of the photographs shows the police from the student body. Funeral columns accompany the coffins with the dead to the Field of Mars, where a large mass grave was dug. Photographers recorded how soldiers dig frozen ground on the eve of the mourning event - March 22.

Photo documents capture a picture of events taking place directly on the Champ de Mars: a huge crowd of people during the rally, a general view of the Champ de Mars during the ceremony, a large number of flags and banners with slogans: "Immortal memory of the fallen freedom fighters", "Eternal memory to the freedom fighters" , "Living for the Fallen" and others. Cordoning groups, an honor guard of military and civilians at the coffins of the dead. Photos show: despite the massive crowd of people, there are no crowds on the Champ de Mars, nothing interferes with the mourning columns.

Written sources record that according to the decision of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies, funerals should be held without religious rites. However, the photographs capture the performance of a religious ceremony on the Champ de Mars: three clergymen perform a funeral service over the coffin of the deceased. Next to the coffin there is a large cross with a crucifix, a banner. This ceremony is attended by soldiers, officers, men and women. Men without headdresses, with bowed heads. Perhaps this funeral service was held at the initiative of the relatives of the victims. Unfortunately, it was not possible to find out how many people served the funeral service; only one coffin is visible on the photo documents. It is noteworthy that most of those participating in the funeral service are ordinary people, as we can judge by their clothes. So, if we compare the clothes of women during the funeral with the clothes of women participating in the official burial, we will see that the former are dressed in scarves and shapeless coats, the latter are more elegant, they wear hats and coats with fur collars.

Several photographic documents depicting the burial show in the frame three-dimensional wooden barrels in a large number... It was not possible to find out what they were for, what was in them. Perhaps they contained cement for filling the graves, or water to obtain a solution. In some photographs, we see a wooden flooring and special holes into which the coffins are lowered. It can be assumed that the flooring was made for the convenience of lowering the coffin into the grave. Six people (three on each side) on ropes lower the coffin through the hole in the wooden flooring on ropes into the grave. Downstairs, several people take the coffins and put them in two rows. Some of the coffins are decorated with bouquets of flowers, each with a note with the name of the deceased attached. After the funeral, the common grave was filled with cement, which is also reflected in the documents.

Photo documents confirm the fact that members of the Provisional Government attended the funeral of the victims of the revolution. In the pictures: Minister of War and Marine A.I. Guchkov, Chairman of the State Duma M.V. Rodzianko, Minister of Foreign Affairs P.N. Milyukov, member of the Provisional Committee, Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod V.N. Lvov, etc.

When studying the film documents dedicated to the funerals of the victims of the February Revolution in Petrograd in 1917, 12 units were identified. xr., containing filming of such operators as F.K. Verigo-Dorovsky, M.I. Bystritsky (March 22), Bulla, who in his main specialty was a photojournalist, as well as photographs made by the staff of the Skobelev Committee and the firm Brothers Pate.

The footage of the preparations for the funeral ceremony has survived: “On the eve of the funeral. Preparation of graves on the Champ de Mars on March 22, 1917. M.I. Bystritsky Petrograd ". On the screen, you can observe groups of people - soldiers, civilians, belonging to different strata of society, which can be identified by their clothes. They block the passage to the Champ de Mars, where the frozen earth explodes and the graves are dug. In their hands they are holding a large poster with the inscription "The passage is closed, they are blowing up the earth for the graves." It is captured how the soldiers dig graves, the walls are reinforced with boards. A wooden flooring in the form of a bridge is made on top of the grave. In a row are large barrels, the purpose of which has not been clarified. An interesting plot: “Chapel of the Obukhov hospital. Sealing of coffins ": there are two coffins, soldering devices for sealing the coffins are warming up. The quality of this scene is poor as it was shot in the dark.

The study made it possible to eliminate some of the disagreements between scientists regarding the arrangement of graves on the Champ de Mars. B. Kolonitsky, for example, believed that four large graves were dug. However, audiovisual documents confirm the opinion of those who believed that one large mass grave was dug in the shape of the letter "G".

In the documentary of the Skobelev Committee "National funeral of heroes and victims of the Great Russian Revolution on the Field of Mars in Petrograd in 1917" (director of filming GM Boltyansky, cameramen A. Dorn, I. Kobozev, P. Novitsky) The inscription at the beginning of the film says that "up to one and a half million people participated in the procession." In written sources, there are different numbers of those who took part in the mourning ceremony, most often the figure is 800 thousand people, some sources say about a million participants in the manifestation. But the figure of one and a half million people was found only in the inscription in this film.

The first part of this film shows "a grandiose procession." The second part is the processions on the Champ de Mars. Lowering the coffins into the grave, the soldiers at the bottom of the grave lay the coffins in two rows. Thanks to these film documents, you can see in the footage of the Duma deputies present at the ceremony, members of State Council and other prominent state, military and political figures: "Octobrists" A.I. Guchkova, M.V. Rodzianko, General L.G. Kornilov, the leader of the "progressives" A.I. Konovalov, who returned from prison I.G. Tsereteli, leaders of the Russian revolutionary movement V.N. Figner, V.I. Zasulich, G.A. Lopatin, the mayor of Petrograd, professor of the Military Medical Academy Yurevich, and others. The third part of the film is devoted to revolutionary leaders. At the end of the third part: a mass grave with coffins placed in it, to which are attached paper sheets with the names of the victims. The soldiers write off the names. Basically, all coffins are simple, red. Some have white crosses.

The film documentary "National Funeral of the Victims of the Russian Revolution" (film chronicle) is similar to the previous film, but edited in an abbreviated form. At the end of the film, which is not deciphered in the editing sheet. The entry in the assembly sheet: “along the street, with one-story wooden houses, open cars with officers are passing, in one of the cars there is a civilian. The soldiers greet them. " Further, the annotation "from the car welcome the people." L.I. Shirokova writes: “It was not possible to establish where this is happening. The plot has not been deciphered. " The entire film is edited according to the chronology of the event, except for a few frames. At the end of the film, it is shown how, after the funeral, the processions disperse along the Troitsky Bridge, followed by shots of the processions of soldiers on the day of the funeral with slogans. Caption in the credits: "Procession on the day of the funeral of the victims of the revolution on March 23" In the editing list there is an entry: "With the same slogans they pass along the road outside the city, on the sides of the road are soldiers and people. The timing of these events was difficult to establish. It's light outside, which means that this could not have happened after the funeral, which ended late. Most likely, the shooting was made during the funeral, when the coffins were lowered into the grave, the columns, bowing banners and banners, passed the graves, following the exit through the Troitsky Bridge outside the city. Probably, the same way was followed by the car in which M.V. Rodzianko and Petrograd Mayor Yurevich.

Of interest is the film, shot by the Brothers Pate "Funeral of the victims of the revolution in Petrograd on March 23, 1917, Br. Pate ". The film is accompanied by explanatory captions. The first footage: removal of coffins from the chapel of the Military Medical Academy, the most grandiose funeral procession in the Vyborg region - 56 coffins. Ahead is the combat company of the Moscow regiment, followed by the orchestra of the RSDLP, consisting of Kronstadt sailors. The procession moves in two columns to the Champ de Mars. There is a filming of representatives of the Vyborg district already on the Field of Mars at the graves. Some photographic documents stored in the archive duplicate the frames of this filming. The newsreel captured: workers of the Russian-Baltic plant approached the mass grave with the body of their comrade. The coffin is decorated with flowers, which is not typical for this ceremony. This is the only coffin with the inscription: "Comrade Koryakov 27 / II-1917 is 26 years old." In this film, you can also watch the participation of representatives of various organizations in the funeral procession: students, workers, military with banners and flags. The shooting of the members of the Provisional Government is very successful, their faces are clearly visible. Filming of the procession of the funeral procession of the Vyborg district is being conducted from above.

In the film "The ceremonial funeral of the victims of the great revolution on the Champ de Mars on March 23, 1917" “Photo. V. Bulla Ed. Let's throw Russian. Acc. Common. " (Photographer V. Bulla. Publishing House of the Russian Cinematographic Society) the procession of funeral processions on Nevsky Prospekt was filmed. Bulla paid special attention to the events on Nevsky Prospekt. Columns of participants in the mourning ceremony with banners and flags pass by the Kazan Cathedral along Nevsky Prospect. On the other side of the avenue, coffins with the dead are being carried. Further events are transferred to the Field of Mars. This is the same shooting, only from different angles: coffins are being carried to the mass grave, columns of protesters with banners. The coffin is lowered into the grave, the officer speaks on the phone - the signal of the telephone operator on duty in the Peter and Paul Fortress, from there they fire up as each coffin is lowered into the grave. Committee of the Provisional Government, Commander-in-Chief Kornilov, Petrograd mayor Yurevich, “Duma members of the 2nd convocation, who returned from exile. Unusual caption in the credits: "grandmother" Vera Zasulich ". IN AND. Zasulich, accompanied by I. Ramishvili and others, are walking along the Field of Mars.

Filming entitled “The grandiose civil funeral of the victims of the revolution in Petrograd on March 23rd. Filming F.K. Verigo-Dorovsky "begins with the words of Leonid Andreev:" ... we are the first and happiest citizens of free Russia, we must bow our knees reverently before those who fought, suffered and died for our freedom. Eternal memory to the fallen freedom fighters! " The first part of the film is devoted to the mourning procession of protesters with banners and flags and a procession with coffins.

Unlike the previous ones, this film has numerous and detailed inscriptions. For example: "The chain in the center of the graves was drawn up by members of the Council of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies" or "The Council of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies. Ahead are Tsereteli, Skobelev, Steklov "or:" The Executive Committee of the Soviet of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies. In the center is Comrade Chairman Skobelev. " The inscriptions explain the ranks and positions of persons: "Minister of Foreign Affairs Milyukov", "Ober Prosecutor of the Holy Synod V.N. Lvov "," Lawyer O.O. Gruzenberg and deputy A.F. Bobyansky ".

The second part of the film begins with an inscription that has never been seen in any of the films before: "Ambulance squad." In the frames: an ambulance, people near it, a crying woman at the edge of the grave. The title explains "At the grave, a mother who lost her only son." Lowering the coffins into the grave, at its bottom the soldiers place the coffins in rows. Soldiers copy data from notes attached to coffins. Closing caption: “Oh, how many there are! How many there are! How many unknown graves, how many corpses, how much suffering Nikolai Romanov left behind. Leonid Andreev ".

"Filming of the funeral of the victims of the February Revolution in Petrograd (remnants of the 1917 film with captions)." This is an exact copy of the film by operator F.K. Verigo-Dorovsky in abbreviation. The first and last credits of the film, unlike the previous one, are collected in one frame. The surname and name of the author - Leonid Andreev - is missing.

An analysis of the RGAKFD film documents on the topic "The funeral of the victims of the February Revolution on March 23, 1917 in Petrograd" showed that all films about this event carry important additional information and have explanatory notes of different informational content. One of the operators paid special attention to the processions of the Vyborgsky district, the other to Nevsky Prospect. Filming of the same event was made from different angles.

There is no doubt that each of these films is important for the study of history. Together with written sources, audiovisual documents help to recreate a complete picture of what was happening, expand the research field of activity in the study historical event - a mourning ceremony that was supposed to turn into a grand and nationwide "holiday of freedom." The visual documents of the event make it possible to trace the action of this grandiose "performance" from beginning to end, to see the faces of people, to feel their mood.

At first glance, minor details on the periphery of a photographic print or film turned out to be extremely important, more important than the event itself, which will evaluate time. This is the historical value and uniqueness of pictorial sources.

Chertilina M.A. Burial of death tolls of February revolution in Petrograd 23 March 1917 in cinema and photography documents of RGAKFD

Abstract / Annotation

The author reveals the composition and content, information on the preservation of film and photo documents of the Russian State Archive of Film and Photo Documents, reflecting the funeral of the victims of the February Revolution in Petrograd on March 23, 1917, and also explores the source potential of these film and photo documents.

Author opens structure and content, information about safety cinema and photography documents in Russian state archive of cinema and photography documents. This information contains burial of death tolls of February revolution in Petrograd 23 March 1917 and research source potential of this cinema and photography documents.

Keywords / Keywords
Russian State Archive of Film and Photo Documents, victims of the February Revolution of 1917, Field of Mars in Petrograd, audiovisual document, source study, negative, filming, ensuring the safety of audiovisual documents. Russian state archive of cinema and photography documents, death tolls of February revolution in 1917, the field of Mars in Petrograd, audiovisual document, source study, negative, filming, safety of audiovisual documents.

PHOTO SIGNATURE

Members of the Provisional Government at a mass grave on the Champ de Mars.

Funeral procession during the funeral of victims of the February Revolution on one of the streets of the city.
Petrograd, 23.03. 1917 Author unknown

Funeral requiem for those who died during the funeral of the victims of the February Revolution.

The funeral of the victims of the February Revolution on the Champ de Mars.
Petrograd, 23.03. 1917 Author unknown

Funeral procession on Nevsky Prospekt during the funeral of the victims of the February Revolution.
Petrograd, 23.03. 1917 Author P. Otsup

The material is published in full in the Russian historical and archival journal VESTNIK ARKHIVISTA. Read the subscription terms.

The Field of Mars, located in the center of St. Petersburg, has become a habitual place of recreation for the townspeople. Few people think about the dark stories of this place.
In ancient times, according to the legends of the Karelian tribes, this place was considered cursed. According to ancient beliefs, all the forest evil gathered here at full moon nights. Old-timers tried to bypass these surroundings.

On a sunny day, the townspeople are resting on the grass of the Field of Mars (my spring photo)
Centuries later, those who died during the February and October revolutions of 1917 were buried on the Champ de Mars. So the cursed place was turned into a cemetery, where people who died a violent death, whose souls did not find peace, were buried.

Rumors that “this place is not good” appeared in the 18th century during the reign of Catherine I, whose palace was located on “Tsaritsin's Meadow” (as the Field of Mars was called in the 18th century).
The Empress loved to hear scary stories. Once an old Chukhon peasant woman was brought to her, who knew many terrible stories.
Chukhonka told the queen a lot of interesting things about the place where the palace is located:
“Here, mother, in this meadow, for a long time, all the evil spirits have been found. Like the full moon, so they climb ashore. The drowned ones are blue, the mermaids are slippery, otherwise it happens that the water one will crawl out to warm himself in the moonlight. "
In public, the queen laughed at the superstitious old woman, but decided to leave the palace near the "accursed place".

At the beginning of the 19th century, "Tsaritsyn Meadow" was named "Field of Mars". Then there was a monument to the commander Alexander Suvorov in the image of Mars (sculptor M.I.Kozlovsky). The first monument in Russia to an uncrowned person. Then the monument was moved to Troitskaya Square

Parade of Alexander II on the Field of Mars. Figure: M.A. Zichy
In the 19th century, the Field of Mars was a place for folk festivities. However, remembering old stories, the townspeople tried not to appear here with the onset of darkness.

Folk festivities on Maslenitsa in the 19th century. Field of Mars

The Field of Mars overlooks the Cathedral of the Savior on Spilled Blood ...

... and to the Mikhailovsky Castle

Parade on October 6, 1831 in Tsaritsyno Meadow. Figure: G.G. Chernetsov

Parade on October 6, 1831 (detail).
It's easy to recognize Russian classics - Pushkin, Krylov, Zhukovsky, Gnedich

Parade on October 6, 1831 (detail)

On the eve of the revolution (1916). Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Tsarevich Alexei on the Champ de Mars
In March 1917, the Field of Mars was chosen as the burial place for those killed in the February revolution. Burial in a mass grave was carried out in a demonstrative manner, rejecting religious rites, and without obtaining the consent of relatives. The cemetery, which appeared in the center of the city, immediately gained a bad reputation. The townspeople tried to bypass this place.
Despite progressive revolutionary ideas, most of the townspeople reacted with superstition to such a mass burial - they said that the souls of the dead did not find peace and would take revenge on the living.
"Petropolis will turn into a necropolis"- whispered in the city.

They said that people disappear without a trace in this place. In those days, passers-by told how at night from the side of the Champ de Mars one could hear the grave cold, the smell of corpse and a strange inexplicable noise. There were stories that anyone who approached the Champ de Mars at night would either disappear without a trace or go mad.

Funeral of the victims of the revolution. Mass grave in the city center shocked many

The memorial to the Fighters of the Revolution was built in 1919. Architect L.V. Rudnev.
Esotericists note that the pyramid shape of the memorial contributes to the accumulation of negative energy of the "cursed place"

Memorial to the "victims of the revolution" today

Field of Mars, 1920. Figure: Boris Kustodiev

Here is a panoramic view of the memorial

Memorial pyramid

Children with horror stories cannot be intimidated

The eternal flame on the Champ de Mars was lit in 1957

Updating the blog in my

“Soon, with God's help, the bright dawn of revival will shine over our Russia (…) then they will remember you, the valiant martyr of the policeman (…), and your grateful compatriots who know how to value the true greatness of spirit and true services to the Motherland will build a monument over your humble grave "Wrote in emigration Colonel of the Imperial Guard, equestrian of the Imperial Court F.V. Winberg.

The words of the Russian officer turned out to be prophetic. On May 27, 2008, on the Field of Mars, in the presence of the highest officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Emergency Situations, St. Petersburg hosted the Day of Remembrance of Petrograd policemen who died martyrs in the days of February 1917. A panikhida was served, mournful speeches were made ...

The leadership of the St. Petersburg security forces on the Field of Mars in May 2008

According to the city authorities, 170 police officers were buried on the Champ de Mars, who found a fierce death at the hands of Petersburgers during the February Revolution of 1917. Today, the names of 78 district heroes have been established.

Is the Champ de Mars really the largest police necropolis in Russia? It should be noted that this issue was of interest to the people of St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 20th century. There were three reasons for talking about the burial of policemen and gendarmes on the Champ de Mars.

Firstly, the very name “cemetery of the victims of the revolution” suggested that only loyalists who fell at the hands of revolutionaries could be “victims of the revolution”. Secondly, initially, the press published uniform lists of victims of revolutionary events. So the newspaper "Birzhevye Vedomosti" dated March 23, 1917, published a list of 266 surnames that died in the revolutionary days. Of these, 87 were soldiers, 49 were workers, 33 were employees, etc. The list also included 19 police officers and 14 officers - possible defenders of the Tsar. Finally, thirdly, the 42 dead remained unidentified, which gave rise to rumors that they could be police officers or gendarmes.

It must be said that the authorities and public authorities of Petrograd made great efforts to ensure that there were no policemen, gendarmes or officers among those buried on Palace Square. As the mouthpiece of the Petersburg business, Birzhevye Vedomosti, wrote, “... It will be buried in a mass grave ... 180 fighters for people's freedom, accurately identified and known as those who fell in the struggle against the old regime. In view of the fact that there are many still unidentified corpses in the deceased hospital ... an energetic investigation is carried out and the exact categories of victims of the revolution are established, and the true freedom fighters are carefully separated from the adherents of the old regime. " The documents of the executive committee of the Petrosovet also contain a statement from the committee of the Volyn regiment that the opponents of the uprising, “staff captain I.S. Lashevich and ensigns of the same regiment I.K. Zelenin and M. Danilov are on the lists of fallen heroes. ... the regimental committee requests the calculation of those from the lists of the fallen heroes. " On the back of the statement there is a resolution - “We undertake not to bury these persons. A. Malyshev, member of the funeral committee.

Funeral of the victims of the revolution. Postcard 1917

Ultimately, 184 bodies were selected for the first burial on the Champ de Mars (according to other sources, 178 or 181). The names of most of the buried were known. So, the bodies of Afanasy Ivanov and the worker of the Baltic plant Fyodor Kozlov were the first to be lowered into the grave. Several unidentified victims of revolutionary events were also buried. The authorities considered it unlikely that those killed were police officers, since the bodies of the latter had been identified by relatives living in St. Petersburg. Most likely, it was about nonresident and visitors.

Thus, the facts available today at the disposal of historical science make it unlikely that at least one policeman is buried on the Field of Mars. However, it is possible that the city authorities and the leadership of the St. Petersburg police have new, hitherto unknown archival materials that completely refute the traditional historiography dedicated to the necropolis on the Champ de Mars.