Communist

Fall colors in Communist section of Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 18, 2016

A lane in Communist section of Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 18, 2016

Tomb of M. A. Fishman in Communist section of Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 18, 2016

Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) in Communist section of Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 18, 2016

Kommunisticheskaya Ploshchadka (Communist Section) of Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 18, 2016

Troitsky Cathedral from Communist section of Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 18, 2016

This curious constructivist monument near the cathedral entrance on the Communist Section marks the 1921 grave of Nikolay Vasilyevich Bakhvalov, recognized as one of Russia s pioneer motorists and mechanics. In an era when driving demanded advanced mechanical mastery, fellow chauffeurs commemorated their veteran colleague by welding together authentic automobile components--spoked wheels, spur gears, roller drive chains, bearings, and a steering-wheel mechanism at the summit. Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 18, 2016

Paradise Tower of Vyborg Castle, Naberezhnaya 40-letiya Komsomola (40th Anniversary of Young Communist League Embankment) and Old City south-east from St. Olaf Tower. Vyborg, Russia, June 7, 2009

Sculpted head and torso of the Red Army soldier marking the grave of Mikhail Abramovich Fishman (1890-1935) on the Communist Section of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Rendered in early Socialist Realist style, the portrait captures a determined, stoic gaze, a firm jawline, and the textured wool collar of a military greatcoat. Crowning the figure is a summer-pattern budenovka (cloth helmet) with a visor, buttoned earflaps, and an incised five-pointed Red Army star at the front. Rain-slicked dark patination, traces of moss, and weathered crevices in the cast metal highlight the sculptural fidelity of this iconic revolutionary sentinel standing directly before Holy Trinity Cathedral. Saint Petersburg, Russia, May 29, 2014

Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) on a stump in Communist section of Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 18, 2016

Monument of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) in snow in Botanic Gardens of Komarov Botanical Institute. Saint Petersburg, Russia, November 4, 2016

Embankment of 40 Anniversary of Komsomol (Young Communists) and old city from St. Olaf Tower of Vyborg Castle. Vyborg, Russia, February 14, 2013

Vyborg Castle from Embankment of 40 Anniversary of Komsomol (Young Communists). Vyborg, Russia, February 14, 2013

A sculpted marble hand on the monument to Gleb Alexandrovich Iwaszencow (Gleb Ivashentsov, 1883-1933) on the Communist Section of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Ivashentsov was a prominent physician, infectious disease specialist, and the chief doctor of Leningrad s Botkin Hospital, who died of typhus contracted while treating patients during an epidemic. Created in 1934 by celebrated sculptor Leonid Sherwood (:041b:0435:043e:043d:0438:0434 :0412:043b:0430:0434:0438:043c:0438:0440:043e:0432:0438:0447 :0428:0435:0440:0432:0443:0434), the monument features a white marble half-figure with bronze and carved stone accents, known for combining contrasting textures and materials. The photograph captures the physician s hand resting downward against the folds of a coat or shroud, showing naturalistic anatomy in the knuckles and fingernails. Decades of Saint Petersburg dampness and soot have weathered the white marble surface with granular pitting, dark staining, and chipping along the thumb. Saint Petersburg, Russia, May 29, 2014

Monument of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) in Vilpovitsy Village near Orzhitdy. Lomonosov Region of Leningrad District, Russia, January 4, 2016

This constructivist funerary sculpture on the Communist Section of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra marks the 1921 grave of Nikolay Vasilyevich Bakhvalov, remembered in Petrograd lore as one of the pioneer automobile drivers and motor mechanics of early revolutionary Russia. In the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War, professional chauffeurs and mechanics formed an indispensable technical corps operating transport trucks and armored vehicles, prompting local authorities to allocate Bakhvalov a burial site within the monastery s inner courtyard. Eschewing stone stelae and traditional Orthodox funerary emblems, the memorial was fabricated by fellow workers from authentic mechanical components representing the deceased s trade. The structure rests on a concrete plinth anchored by paired cast-iron spoked wheels, surmounted by horizontal spur gears and transmission rings. Heavy roller drive chains--the type utilized in early chain-driven motorcars and industrial machinery--extend upward in a triangular pyramid to meet a central vertical shaft and finial that originally displayed a metal nameplate. Created during the War Communism era, the monument represents a rare surviving specimen of early Soviet Productivist and Proletkult memorial art. By assembling discarded industrial hardware into an emblem of proletarian labor and mechanized modernization directly opposite baroque monastic architecture, the work embodied the early Bolshevik effort to replace religious mourning traditions with a secular cult of the machine. Saint Petersburg, Russia, May 25, 2011

Monument of a Russian communist leader V. Ulyanov (Lenin) on an armored train in front of Finland Train Station. Saint Petersburg, Russia, January 10, 2017

World War Memorial in Indianapolis (stars are reminiscent of communist symbols) and Scottish Rite Cathedral. Indiana, May 4, 1999.

Louis G. Deschler house with red stars reminiscent of communist symbols at Illinois Street. Indianapolis, December 1, 1999.

This detailed bas-relief portrait on the Communist Section of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra depicts Alexander Alexeyevich Kapteltsev (1895-1933), chief of Leningrad s Criminal Investigation Department (:0423:0433:043e:043b:043e:0432:043d:044b:0439 :0440:043e:0437:044b:0441:043a) under the OGPU . The sculpted relief captures his heavy features, fleshy neck, and closely cropped hair, wearing an early 1930s service tunic (gymnastyorka) with a turn-down collar . The collar tabs display four geometric insignia insignia along the gold trim--representing the 1928-1931 positional category insignia for senior militia and criminal investigation commanders prior to the reintroduction of personal military ranks. Weathered surface pitting, dark soot deposits in the carved folds, and traces of moisture accent the stark realism of the early Soviet security chief s funerary monument. Saint Petersburg, Russia, May 29, 2014

Tourists visiting a monument of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) in Vilpovitsy Village near Orzhitdy. Lomonosov Region of Leningrad District, Russia, January 4, 2016

Monument of a Russian communist leader V. Ulyanov (Lenin) on an armored train with Christmas decorations in front of Finland Train Station. Saint Petersburg, Russia, January 10, 2017

Monument of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) in front of Mansion of Ober Kukhmister Iogann Burhard Felten (Lapino) in Vilpovitsy Village near Orzhitdy. Lomonosov Region of Leningrad District, Russia, January 4, 2016

A portrait of Russian communist leader J. Stalin at Museum of American History. Washington DC, February 4, 1998.

This grave marker on the Communist Section of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra commemorates Pyotr Petrovich Petrov (1883-1925), an early Bolshevik revolutionary and Soviet worker-cadre buried during the First Five-Year Plan s formative years. Like many party functionaries interred along the courtyard s central avenues, Petrov died in the mid-1920s during the arduous post-Civil War reconstruction of Petrograd . The memorial consists of a weathered concrete and stone stele characteristic of the modest, egalitarian funerary aesthetic favored for early Soviet party members . Flanked by iron railings and spring greenery, the unadorned headstone preserves an austere, secular tribute to an early Soviet activist laid to rest within the historic monastery courtyard. Saint Petersburg, Russia, May 29, 2014

This monument in the inner courtyard of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Saint Petersburg marks the grave of Alexander Alexeyevich Kapteltsev (1895-1933), who headed Leningrad[CloseCurlyQuote]s Criminal Investigation Department (:0423:0433:043e:043b:043e:0432:043d:044b:0439 :0440:043e:0437:044b:0441:043a) under the OGPU from 1929 until his death. The burial site belongs to the historic Communist Section (:041a:043e:043c:043c:0443:043d:0438:0441:0442:0438:0447:0435:0441:043a:0430:044f :043f:043b:043e:0449:0430:0434:043a:0430), a cemetery created in 1917-1919 directly before Holy Trinity Cathedral that Bolshevik authorities repurposed into an elite pantheon for prominent revolutionaries, secret police officials, military commanders, and Soviet intellectuals within the grounds of an Orthodox monastery . The obelisk of dark polished stone features an inset bas-relief portrait in lighter composite showing Kapteltsev in an early Soviet service tunic (gymnastyorka) bearing the badge of an Honorary Worker of the VChK-OGPU on his chest. Beneath it sits a light stone nameplate where the word :041f:043e:043b:043a:043e:0432:043d:0438:043a (Colonel) appears faintly above his surname--a later addition or informal epitaph, given that personal military ranks were not formally restored in the Soviet Union until 1935, two years after his demise. Decades of northern weathering and moisture have streaked the dark stone and partially eroded the painted lettering of the plaque. The subject[CloseCurlyQuote]s striking resemblance to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is purely accidental, resulting from natural facial physiognomy combined with period aesthetics. Kapteltsev s full features, prominent double chin, close-cropped military haircut, and buttoned high-collar collar uniform closely echo the contemporary silhouette, tailored dress, and iconic grooming associated with North Korea s supreme leadership. Russia, November 25, 2016

A memorial sculpture with a red banner reminiscent of a communist leader in the U.S. Capitol. Washington DC, February 4, 1998.

Leather coat of a communist spy Richard Sorge (Germany, 1930s) in Museum of Political History (Kshesinskaya Mansion). Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 24, 2011

Monument of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) (2010) in a public garden near Town Hall. Sortavala (Karelia), Russia, September 19, 2015

Statue of German communist leader Ernst Thalmann at sunset on Sofiysky Boulevard in Pushkin (former Tsarskoe Selo), a suburb of Saint Petersburg. Russia, September 26, 2015

Decorative vase illustrating communist plan of electrification in Russian Museum. Saint Petersburg, Russia, January 8, 2016

Tomb of I. I. Grekov in Communist section of Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 18, 2016

Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) on a tree stump in Communist section of Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 18, 2016

This monument on the Communist Section of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra marks the grave of Mikhail Abramovich Fishman (1890-1935), a Bolshevik cadre and Civil War veteran. Prominently situated along the main avenue facing the entrance to Holy Trinity Cathedral, the grave is known locally as the "Sentry" (:0427:0430:0441:043e:0432:043e:0439). The memorial features a full-length, life-size statue of a Red Army soldier standing vigil against a dark, round-topped granite stele. Clad in a belted greatcoat (shinel), cartridge pouches, and a peaked budenovka cloth helmet bearing a star, the bronze-toned figure holds a slung Mosin rifle at attention. Placed directly on monastery ground during the height of militant Soviet secularism, the armed revolutionary guard stands as an unmistakable ideological statement, posted as an eternal sentinel facing the Orthodox cathedral. Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 18, 2016

This monument marks Mass Grave No. 7 of three power workers - Sergey Yakovlevich Vasilyev, Sergey Ivanovich Vshivtsev, and Alexander Mikhailovich Babanov . As recorded on the marble epitaph plaque mounted on the concrete base, the men perished on July 24, 1935, in a fatal industrial electrical accident at Leningrad s 5th State District Power Plant (:0413:042d:0421-5, later Krasny Oktyabr) during the First and Second Five-Year Plans aggressive electrification drive . Enclosed by black looped-iron railings against golden foliage, the memorial features a painted steel scale replica of a high-voltage transmission pylon (:043e:043f:043e:0440:0430 :041b:042d:041f) with crossarms and ceramic suspension insulators . The constructivist design reflects early Soviet funerary culture, which substituted traditional crosses with the industrial artifacts of a worker[CloseCurlyQuote]s vocation, transforming state electrification and technological sacrifice into sacred proletarian memory within the monastery courtyard. Communist section of Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 18, 2016

Monument of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) in Botanic Gardens of Komarov Botanical Institute. Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 26, 2016

Swida bush in front of a monument of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) in Botanic Gardens of Komarov Botanical Institute. Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 26, 2016

Fall colors around a monument of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) in Botanic Gardens of Komarov Botanical Institute. Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 26, 2016

Monument of a communist revolutioner V. I. Lenin (a leader of Bolshevic Revolution) in snow in Botanic Gardens of Komarov Botanical Institute. Saint Petersburg, Russia, November 4, 2016

This steel monument in the inner courtyard of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra marks Mass Grave No. 7 on the historic Communist Section, commemorating three Soviet electrical workers - Sergey Yakovlevich Vasilyev, Sergey Ivanovich Vshivtsev, and Alexander Mikhailovich Babanov. The three men died together on July 24, 1935, in a severe industrial electrical accident at Leningrad[CloseCurlyQuote]s 5th State District Power Plant (:0413:042d:0421-5, later known as Krasny Oktyabr). Celebrated as fallen martyrs of the nation s rapid electrification drive, they were granted an elite collective burial on the monastery grounds alongside revolutionaries, military commanders, and prominent party cadres. The grave is crowned by a detailed miniature replica of an electrical transmission pylon (:043e:043f:043e:0440:0430 :041b:042d:041f), complete with riveted steel lattice bracing, crossarms, and hanging ceramic insulator bells. The monument reflects early Soviet constructivist mourning aesthetics, which systematically purged Orthodox crosses in favor of industrial tools, machine gears, and technological artifacts that symbolized a worker[CloseCurlyQuote]s vocation and contribution to socialist development. The presence of a high-voltage transmission tower directly before Holy Trinity Cathedral stands as one of the most eccentric visual contradictions of early Soviet material culture . Reflecting Vladimir Lenin s defining decree that communism equated to Soviet power plus national electrification, the utilitarian pylon transformed sacred monastic space into a monument honoring Soviet modernization and the sacrifices of its industrial labor force. Saint Petersburg, Russia, November 25, 2016

This modest headstone in the Communist Section of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra commemorates P. S. Fedotov (1900-1931), a 31-year-old Bolshevik party member who was killed in the line of duty. The weathered inscription reads :0427:041b. :0412:041a:041f(:0431) - denoting his membership in the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks--and records his death with the Soviet administrative formula :043f:043e:0433:0438:0431 :043f:0440:0438 :0441:043b:0443:0436:0435:0431. :043e:0431:044f:0437. (short for :043f:043e:0433:0438:0431 :043f:0440:0438 :0438:0441:043f:043e:043b:043d:0435:043d:0438:0438 :0441:043b:0443:0436:0435:0431:043d:044b:0445 :043e:0431:044f:0437:0430:043d:043d:043e:0441:0442:0435:0439) on October 31, 1931 (notated as 31/X). In Leningrad during this era, such formal recognition alongside burial in an elite pantheon typically honored law enforcement operatives, OGPU security officers, or industrial managers who perished in violent confrontations with armed criminal gangs, counter-revolutionary elements, or fatal workplace emergencies. In sharp contrast to the monumental granite obelisks and constructivist steel sculptures of senior officials nearby, Fedotov[CloseCurlyQuote]s marker exemplifies the austere egalitarianism of early Soviet funerary culture. Proletarian ethics of the First Five-Year Plan discouraged bourgeois tomb ostentation, favoring minimal, unadorned markers that commemorated political dedication over personal grandeur. The memorial consists of a rough stone slab set into a concrete footing, punctuated by machine-drilled holes along the lower edge that reveal its origin as salvaged pre-revolutionary masonry or industrial scrap - a resourceful repurposing common during the construction shortages of early 1930s Leningrad. Covered in moss and decades of urban weathering, the stone preserves the hand-chiseled epitaph of a rank-and-file Soviet cadre buried on the grounds of an Orthodox monastery. Saint Petersburg, Russia, November 25, 2016

This sculptural niche on the Communist Section of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra shelters the memorial urn of Professor Ivan Ivanovich Grekov (1867-1934), one of Russia s foremost clinical surgeons and chief physician of Leningrad s historic Obukhov Hospital. Renowned for pioneering complex abdominal and cardiovascular procedures--including an early successful direct suture of a penetrating cardiac wound--Grekov was named an Honored Scientist of the RSFSR in 1932. His sudden death in 1934 prompted the municipal authorities to grant him a resting place in the monastery courtyard, which served as an elite civic pantheon for pre-revolutionary academic luminaries alongside Bolshevik cadres. The monument departs from the constructivist steel pylons and industrial iconography common to neighboring graves, adopting traditional neoclassical funerary forms. Recessed within a vaulted masonry alcove sits a fluted stone urn draped in a sculpted mourning shroud and accented with beaded molding, adorned with a profile medallion that captures Grekov[CloseCurlyQuote]s features with academic realism. Commissioned by his medical colleagues, the design reflects the enduring humanistic traditions of the imperial-trained intelligentsia in early Soviet Leningrad. Saint Petersburg, Russia, November 25, 2016

Monument of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) at the entrance in Botanic Gardens of Komarov Botanical Institute. Saint Petersburg, Russia, March 2, 2017

Monument of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) at the entrance of Lenin Museum in Jalkala (Ilyichovo), north from Saint Petersburg. Russia, April 1, 2017

Monument of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) in Tarkhovka, west from Saint Petersburg. Russia, October 2, 2017

Statue of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) in Peter the Great Botanical Garden of Komarov Botanical Institute. Saint Petersburg, Russia, May 7, 2019

Old monument of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) and educational building at Army Base No. 28287 in Morye, west from Saint Petersburg. Russia, May 13, 2021

Old monument of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) in front of Stuff Building at Military Base No. 28287 in Morye, west from Saint Petersburg. Russia, May 13, 2021

Overgrown monument of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) at Army Base No. 28287 in Morye, west from Saint Petersburg. Russia, May 13, 2021

Old monument of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) together with Orthodox Church of St. Peter Afonsky and Dutchess Olga at Military Base No. 28287 in Morye, west from Saint Petersburg. Russia, May 13, 2021

Old monument of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) in Peter the Great Botanical Garden of Komarov Botanical Institute. Saint Petersburg, Russia, May 26, 2021

Head of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) in Peter the Great Botanical Garden of Komarov Botanical Institute. Saint Petersburg, Russia, May 26, 2021

The diverse visual language of mourning in the "Alley of Heroes," showing a mix of permanent granite monuments and temporary graves decorated with flags, including the Russian Imperial black-yellow-white tricolor and a Soviet red banner. In the foreground, the polished black headstone of Ivan Vladimirovich Semenov (1995-2024) features a color portrait of the 28-year-old soldier, while nearby, two women stand amidst the graves, highlighting the cemetery as an active site of personal grief. The scene captures the juxtaposition of varied ideological symbols--imperial, communist, and modern state--united within the shared space of military sacrifice. Cemetery of the Victims of January 9, St. Petersburg, Russia, October 4, 2025