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Russia Rolls Out “Burial Management” System as War in Ukraine Drives Funeral Sector Into Focus
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Russia will launch its “Burial Management” digital burial service that allows residents to search for and obtain burial plots in cemeteries through Gosuslugi, Russia’s main online portal for government services, according to Kommersant on August 13.
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To power the platform, authorities plan to load records on 14,000 cemeteries into the National System of Spatial Data and deliver 15 state services in electronic form.
The "Burial Management" system already operates in six regions, with active work underway in 15 more, according to the ministry. Russia counts more than 73,000 cemeteries and 33 crematoria, Kommersant noted.
The ministry stated that the service speeds citizens' access to burial arrangements during a difficult period and eases the administrative burden on local authorities.
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Demand has been climbing across the sector, the outlet noted. Registrations of companies specializing in ritual services rose 22.5% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, reaching 995.
For now, the ministry is widening the pilot ahead of the December launch, aiming to standardize practices and build unified registries as it scales the service.
At the same time, recent reports from Russia indicated the average price of a coffin has climbed 105% since the February 2022 invasion, reaching about $112 by June 2026, while grave-digging costs rose roughly 60% above pre-invasion levels before officials pulled the service from the inflation basket in 2026.
The sector's total turnover reached about $1.56 billion in 2025, more than 50% above 2021, and new ritual-service firms are now entering the market at the fastest first-half pace in five years.
The growth tracks Russia's mounting battlefield toll, with Ukrainian recent estimates placing losses near 1.6 million, including roughly 700,000 killed.
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