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Burials at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis

  • Joseph StalinJoseph Stalin once trained to be a Russian Orthodox priest. He later led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death.
  • Alexei KosyginHenry Kissinger once mistook Alexei Kosygin for the real leader of the Soviet Union.
  • Mikhail SuslovA box of index cards with Lenin quotes launched Mikhail Suslov's Soviet career. Stalin promoted him in 1937.
  • Leonid BrezhnevIn a 2013 Levada Center poll, Russians named Leonid Brezhnev their favorite 20th-century leader.
  • Yuri AndropovYuri Andropov saw officers strung up from Budapest lampposts. Historian Christopher Andrew says it haunted him.
  • Konstantin ChernenkoSoviet leader Konstantin Chernenko's obituary ran on page two. Page one celebrated his successor, Gorbachev.
  • Vladimir LeninLenin's name came from no person, and the N in N. Lenin stood for nothing. One theory points to the Lena River.
  • Kliment VoroshilovKliment Voroshilov once smashed a platter of food on Stalin's table. He blamed Stalin's purges for Winter War losses.
  • Sergei KorolevSergei Korolev stepped out of a black ZIS 110 limousine with his coat collar turned up and his hat brim pulled low. The cosmonaut Alexei Leonov watched from a window and could not make out the visitor's face. He saw only a man a little…
  • Andrey VyshinskyIn 1917, Andrey Vyshinsky signed an order to arrest Lenin. He later became Stalin's feared state prosecutor.
  • Maxim GorkyWriter Maxim Gorky visited a Soviet labor camp that had been staged for him, and he did not notice.
  • Yuri GagarinYuri Gagarin answered liftoff with one word: Poyekhali, or "Off we go."

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