Northern Cemetery, Rostov-on-Don, cemetery in Russia

The Northern Cemetery in Rostov-on-Don covers over 400 hectares and holds more than 500,000 graves. Its grounds include a crematorium, the Holy Protection Church and chapel, a columbarium, administrative buildings, and workshops producing gravestones. The white church has a tall tower with a blue octagonal drum, gold crosses, and a blue tent roof topped by a small gold onion dome.

The cemetery opened in 1972 and grew to over 400 hectares with more than 500,000 graves; by 2009 it held 355,034 graves on 355 hectares. A crematorium operates on the grounds, though traditional burial remains more common. In summer burials reached up to 50 a day, and the cemetery is now officially closed to new plots, with burials continuing only in family graves and along former access lanes.

The cemetery holds the grave of Alexander Pechersky, the Red Army officer who led the 1943 uprising at the Sobibor camp, and of mathematician Iosif Vorovich and Olympic wrestler Valentin Nikolayev. Near the entrance, guarded quarters with video surveillance protect the more valuable monuments from vandalism.

The cemetery is easy to navigate with wide pathways; visitors can use public transportation or simply follow the roads to reach different areas. A computer database near the entrance helps locate specific graves using records dating back to the 1970s.

The cemetery holds the grave of Alexander Pechersky, the Red Army officer who led the 1943 uprising at the Sobibor extermination camp. Mathematician Iosif Vorovich and Olympic wrestling champion Valentin Nikolayev are also buried here. Pet burials that lay just outside the south-western edge were bulldozed in 2016.