November 10, 2021: The Taganrog Old Cemetery was officially established in 1809 as a Cristian cemetery, although the site has already had some burials. In 1810 the The All-Saints Church in Taganrog on the cemetery's land was founded, which was consecrated and completed in 1824. Among the prominent people buried in Taganrog Old Cemetery are: Russian general Paul von Rennenkampf, Pavel of Taganrog, Russian admiral and governor of Taganrog Lev Kulchitsky, British consul John Patrick Carruthers, Alpheraky family, Sinodi-Popov family, Soviet writer Ivan Vasilenko, animal trainer Anatoly Durov, founder of Russian heraldry Alexander Laquiere and many more. On May 25, 1971 it was closed for new interments.


In 2016 an extensive inventory at the historic Taganrog Old Cemetery of the monuments possessing historical and artistic value was completed by Taganrog Local Government and volunteers. The research to evaluate their condition and then take action was led by Mrs. Marianna Grigoryan - Ph.D. in History of Arts and deputy director of the Taganrog Arts & Culture Council, Ms. Yelena Alexeenko - local historian, founder and editor in chief of the web project cemetery.su, Mrs. Natalia Bondareva - director of Taganrog Committee for Urban Development and Architecture, Mr. Alexander Mirgorodskiy - local historian and foreign relations officer of this city.


Much has happened at the site in the previous five years. Local enthusiasts have continued their longstanding efforts on preserving the Historic Old Cemetery. An integral part of the activity was "Volunteers' Project: Bringing Historical Memory Back", funded by Presidential Grants Trust.

Within the framework of the project, three sightseeing programmes through Taganrog Old Christian Cemetery have been developed. Their authors are Yelena Alekseenko, Yelena Sirota and Alexander Yurchenko. It is noteworthy that the very first comprehensive guidebook was published. It was carefully edited and designed by "husband and wife team" - Yelena Alexeenko and Sergey Lavrov, and includes much useful and interesting information based on the sightseeing programmes. All copies of this guidebook were donated to libraries, museums, guides, local historians and interested persons.


The guidebook has already received positive feedback. In particular, it was praised by Marianna Grigoryan, director of Taganrog Museum of Architecture and Urbanism. "The new guidebook will certainly be found useful - not only by small groups of historians, but also by those who organize such tours", said Marianna Grigoryan.