Novodevichy Cemetery is one of Moscow's most popular tourist attractions. The cemetery is next door to Novodevichy Convent, a UNESCO World Heritage site so that might explain why so many people visit. There are also some famous people buried there.

I found the grave stones in the cemetery fascinating. In the graveyards that I've visited in the past, grave stones are usually just headstones with names and dates carved on them. The gravestones in Novodevichy were very elaborate. Some markers had pictures etched onto the stones. There were lots of sculptures as well.

These pictures and sculptures show what people valued in their lives. You kind of get a feeling for what the people might have been like when they were alive. There are some obvious ones, like men dressed in military uniforms or a sculpture of a ballerina. But then there are some random ones too. Like the woman pictured with her cat or the sculpture of a man and his dog. I'd love to know the reasons behind the choice of such monuments.

If you had to choose one thing to represent you for all eternity, what would it be?

More photos (slideshow) of Moscow on Flickr.

Our visit to Novodevichy Cemetery was part of our Taste of Russia tour. We did a 9-day tour, travelling from Moscow to St Petersburg, with Intrepid Travel. This is the first entry from that trip.