Brotherhood Cemetery facts for kids
The Brotherhood Cemetery is a special military cemetery in Sevastopol. This city is located in Ukraine. The cemetery was started in 1854. This was during a major battle called the First Siege of Sevastopol. It was a place to bury Russian soldiers and officers who died fighting.
At first, Admiral Vladimir Kornilov ordered three smaller burial sites. These were near the Northern Fort in Sevastopol. But many soldiers died during the siege. So, these smaller sites were joined together. This created one large cemetery. It's thought that between 100,000 and 127,000 Russian soldiers are buried here.
The cemetery has two main types of graves. There are 472 "collective" graves. Each of these holds 50 to 100 or even more soldiers. There are also 130 "individual" graves. These are for officers.
Some famous Russian military leaders are buried here. These include Eduard Ivanovich Totleben, Stepan Khrulyov, and Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov.
Saint Nicholas Church
A special church was built at the cemetery in 1870. It is called the Pyramidal Orthodox Saint Nicholas Church. It stands on the upper part of the cemetery hill.
Inside the church, you can find plates. These plates have the names of Russian officers. They died during the siege of Sevastopol. The outer walls of the church also have plates. These list the names of all the military groups. They defended the city during the siege. The plates also show the dates they fought. They also tell how many soldiers were lost from each group.
World War II Impact
The cemetery hill was used again during another battle. This was the Second Siege of Sevastopol. It happened from 1941 to 1942. During this time, the hill was a command post. It was used by Soviet troops defending the city.
The cemetery was heavily bombed during this period. It became a battleground. Soldiers from the Red Army fought against Nazi Germany troops here. The Saint Nicholas Church and parts of the cemetery were damaged.
After World War II, the cemetery grew even larger. More graves were added. These were for Soviet soldiers who died in the war. It also includes those who died when the Soviet battleship Novorossiysk sank in 1955.
See also
- Admirals' Burial Vault
