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Dying Got More Expensive as Cremation in Russia Rises up About $260
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Prices for cremation services in Russia have risen sharply since the New Year, with the average increase around $590, according to The Moscow Times on February 17, 2026.
The outlet cited the Baza Telegram channel as saying operators linked the price jump to higher utility tariffs, including electricity for businesses up 8% to 12% and gas for household and municipal needs up 7% to 10%.
Industry representatives also pointed to shortages of spare parts for imported furnaces and higher costs for mandatory gas-cleaning systems amid increased demand.
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The steepest increases were reported in Moscow and the Moscow region, where cremation prices rose by about $260 to about $590.
At the Nikolo-Arkhangelsk crematorium in Balashikha, a standard package covering the service and an urn now costs roughly $1,050 to $1,110, up from about $590 to $650 in autumn 2025, The Moscow Times reported.
Cremation has remained the most common form of burial in Russia, with the channel cited by The Moscow Times saying 60% of clients chose it over the past two years.
The Moscow Times also cited official statistics showing that, since the start of 2022, the cost of making a coffin in Russia rose 84% and grave-digging rose 51%. It reported that a separate estimate by Taxcom put the average cost of traditional funerals in January-June 2025 at about $400, while cremation averaged about $240 over the same period.
The increases came amid signs of weakening household sentiment as Russia’s economy slows, after consumer-confidence readings fell to three-year lows in January and official data and government estimates put full-year growth in 2025 at about 1%, according to Russian and international reporting.
Earlier, it was reported that St. Petersburg’s only crematorium carried out nearly 42,000 cremations in 2023 (about 115 per day on average) and is being expanded—with additional furnaces and supporting infrastructure—toward a stated capacity of up to 240 cremations per day amid mounting war casualties and rising demand.
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