Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Russia's New Arlington?


One can only begin to contemplate the implications of a new cemetery especially if this will be located in Russia. Apparently Vladimir Putin has been giving this some thought according to the Telegraph On Line:

"The Federal Military Memorial Cemetery, its designers boast, will be Russia's answer to America's Arlington. Arguably the most ambitious architectural project undertaken since the fall of the Soviet Union, it remains to be seen whether the cemetery, due to be completed by 2010, will become the landmark the Kremlin hopes.

There is no doubt that the project encapsulates the Putin era, which officially ends on May 7, though the president is likely to remain Russia's most powerful man in his new job as prime minister.

The cemetery will be a testament to extravagance, a piece of architectural monumentalism intended to reflect the glory of a resurgent Russia. For the critics, it is also a worrying sign of the Kremlin's flirtation with its Communist past. The design marks a return to the style many assumed had gone with the end of the Soviet Union.

Drawings show that the 132 acre site will feature obelisks, golden statues of figures from Russia's past and friezes of workers in heroic poses."


Russia is full of great cemeteries , Novodevichii and the Lavra come to mind, but new cemeteries usually require new occupants and quite frankly if I were Russian I would wonder who will be the new occupants?

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