Ritual services in Russia

Main article: Fertility and mortality in Russia

2023: Funeral costs soar in Russia

In November 2023, prices for coffin manufacturing services Russia increased by an average of 37% compared to the same period in 2022. Grave digging services have risen in price by 18% during this time. This is evidenced by data Rosstat published in December 2023.

According to RTVI, citing Rosstat materials, in some regions the cost of coffins has grown more than in the Russian Federation as a whole. For example, in the Sakhalin region, the manufacture of coffins has risen in price by 181%, in the Omsk region - by 162%, and in the Tambovskaya and Smolensk regions/Smolensk - by 104% and 103%, respectively.

Cremation has risen the most in price Primorsk in (145%) and (Khabarovsk 119%) regions, in (Leningrad 53%), (43 Yaroslavskaya %) and (33 Murmansk regions %). Also, the top ten regions with the strongest rise in cremation prices included,,, and. Moscow Chelyabinsk region Crimea Sevastopol Tyumen region

According to Elena Andreeva, executive director of the Union of Funeral Organizations and Crematoria, coffins have risen in price due to an increase in the cost of raw materials (wood and metal) and an increase in logistics costs.

Elena Elsalieva, founder and general director of Funeral Home No. 1 in St. Petersburg, says that by 2023 in Russia the estimated cost of services and goods for burial and cremation is from 50 thousand rubles. If there is no such amount for the funeral, you should contact the funeral service organized by local authorities, she said.

Journalist, editor-in-chief of the industry Telegram channel "Funeral Trust" Ivan Golunov , in a conversation with the publication, said that prices for digging graves increased the most in those regions where there is some monopoly on funeral services. And cremation prices could also rise due to an increase in the price of servicing furnaces, he added.^[1]

2022

Revenue of Russian ritual companies increased by 5% to 86 billion rubles

The total revenue of Russian ritual companies in 2022 reached about 86 billion, rubles an increase of 5% compared to 2021. The newspaper "" wrote about this on February 20, 2023, Kommersant referring to the data. Rosstat

According to the newspaper, the income of the funeral business in Russia increased by an amount that turned out to be more than half the inflation in Russia (11.94%). The lag from the general rise in prices was recorded after two years of sharp growth in the market. In 2020, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the market volume grew by 25%, and in 2021 - by another 28%.

After the coronavirus pandemic, the ritual services market stopped growing so quickly

According to Anton Orlov, director of the Institute for Research on the Problems of Modern Politics, a slight increase in the income of ritual companies in 2022 is associated with a decrease in mortality after the decline in the incidence of coronavirus. Also, revenue was affected by a slight increase in prices for funeral paraphernalia.

Separately, the decline in the income of the industry was influenced by the desire of citizens to choose cheaper burial places for loved ones for the sake of economy. So, in Moscow, the total revenue of funeral companies fell by 20 percent, but in the Moscow region, where free cemeteries remained, increased by 11%. Anton Avdeev, a member of the commission for professional qualifications in the field of funeral affairs of the National Council under the President of Russia, also noted that the city authorities have increased the cost of "social" funerals, which are much cheaper than usual.

The main reason is that the funeral business, despite numerous attempts by lawmakers to put things in order and make it transparent, remains mainly a shadow business, Anton Orlov notes. According to him, ritual companies and especially cemetery managers receive the main income unofficially.^[2]

A monument printed on a construction 3D printer was erected at the Vagankovsky cemetery in Moscow

In Moscow, a tombstone printed on a 3D printer was erected at the Vagankovsky cemetery. The project cost amounted to 300,000 rubles. Weight - 2 tons. Size: 2 m long, 3 m wide and 1.80 m high. The company 3D4Art announced this on May 24, 2022. Read more here.

2021

The Russian market for ritual services grew by 12.5%, to 80.4 billion rubles

The Russian market for ritual services in 2021 grew by 12.5% compared to 2020 and reached 80.4 billion rubles. The rise was the highest since 2013, when revenue growth was measured at 14.3%, Kommersant reports, citing Rosstat data.

The increase in the turnover of the funeral business in Russia at the end of 2021 was lower than the increase in the mortality rate, which amounted to 15.1% year-on-year (2.44 million people). The reason for this is the desire of Russians to save on burial and in unprepared "for an additional financial burden," business participants interviewed by the publication note. They also call high inflation among the reasons.

The Russian market for ritual services grew by 12.5% in 2021

The largest market growth occurred in the Moscow region. According to Rosstat, the total revenue of ritual companies in the Moscow region increased by 53% and reached 6.3 billion rubles. At the same time, in other regions, the increase was from five to 15 percent.

Prices for ritual services in the region are lower than in Moscow, added Mikhail Burmistrov, general director of Infoline Analytics. The head of the Zhuravli funeral homes, Ilya Boltunov, said that in his company the average check for a funeral in the Moscow region is 75,000 rubles. The top manager clarified that in the region more players display revenue officially, and in Moscow the bulk of the income "falls on the receipt of unaccounted cash by agents."

Anton Avdeev, a member of the commission for professional qualifications in the field of funeral work of the National Council under the President of the Russian Federation, believes that in the Moscow region only "the whitewashing of the market continues, which ended a little earlier in the capital." All cemeteries near Moscow, according to him, by February 2022 passed to the GBU MO "Center for Memorial Services," as happened in Moscow with the GBU "Ritual."

Mikhail Burmistrov believes that in all regions the turnover of the funeral business in the Russian Federation should have shown an increase of at least 50%, taking into account inflation and mortality.^[3]

The average cost of a funeral in Moscow is 135 thousand rubles

The average cost of a funeral in Moscow is about 135 thousand rubles. This was announced in mid-November 2021 by the head of the funeral service of the State Budgetary Institution "Ritual" Artem Yekimov.

According to him, about 100-110 thousand rubles cost agency services, including the purchase of a coffin, wreaths and the order of a hearse. The burial itself, as well as cremation, costs about 35 thousand rubles.

Named the average cost of a funeral in Moscow - 135 thousand rubles

And this is not a mandatory minimum price, but the existing average check in the institution, - said Yekimov, adding that an engraved tape from an official company can cost 100 rubles, and from shadow agents - 1,500 rubles.

The average check for burial in the capital increased slightly, follows from the data of the "Ritual." According to Yekimov, the check is growing within inflation by 5-7% or due to new categories of products and new services. The price of ritual paraphernalia increased primarily due to the increase in prices for the materials used - wood and metal.

Affects the cost of the funeral and the emergence of new services. For example, over the past 5 years in Moscow, the number of burials using a special ritual elevator, a singumator, has increased from 0.3% to 20%, the head of Ritual noted.

With the beginning of the coronavirus, Muscovites did not save on funerals. According to Yekimov, in most cases, people give the maximum they can afford for organizing the burial.

The funeral is still primarily a sacred rite. This "last sorry," materially embodied. After all, they do not save on a deceased relative, - he concluded.

Artem Yekimov also noted that the burden on the funeral sphere increases as the waves of mortality from COVID-19 increase. Before the coronavirus pandemic, from January to September 2019, Ritual produced 77.7 thousand burials. In the same period of 2020, the indicator amounted to 87.2 thousand, in 2021 - 85.5 thousand.^[4]

The Ministry of Digital Development instructed to organize ritual services on the principle of one window

Ritual services in Russia will be provided according to the principle of one window. This was reported at the disposal of the Government of the Russian Federation on the approval of the National Plan for the Development of Competition in the Russian Federation for 2021-2025. The document was published in September 2021.

According to the plans of the authors of the initiative, funeral services are planned to be provided on a one-window basis by September 1, 2023. By this time, registries of cemeteries and burial sites on them should be placed on regional portals of state and municipal services. Persons responsible for burials can be given access to complete information about the economic entities contained in such registers, including the cost of ritual services provided by economic entities, TASS reports the Russian Information Agency with reference to the relevant order of the Cabinet. The Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Digital Development and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation were appointed responsible for the implementation of this item.

The Ministry of Digital Development instructed to provide ritual services on the principle of one window

In addition, the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Digital Development will develop a bill that will allow looking for information on cemeteries and companies for organizing funerals on public services.

Earlier, the Ministry of Construction prepared a draft amendment to the state program "Providing affordable and comfortable housing and utilities to citizens of the Russian Federation." The ministry proposed to introduce regulation of the funeral services market by 2030, to increase their transparency and accessibility. This is planned to be done through electronic registers of cemeteries and digital services, which will simplify the registration of documents for burial. The department intends to establish uniform requirements for participants in this market, burial sites, as well as introduce quality standards for services related to burial.

Russians began to save on ritual services. In the first half of 2021, according to Rosstat, mortality in Russia increased by 16%, but the total revenue of ritual agencies increased by only 9%.^[5]

Soaring coffin prices

A sharp increase in mortality due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and a jump in wood prices blew up the Russian funeral services market.

Coffin prices jumped 30% to 60% over the past month, showing inflation the sector has not seen in at least 10 years. If in July 2021 the purchase cost of a standard wooden coffin did not exceed 7 thousand rubles, then since August it has already been 9.2 thousand rubles. More expensive samples have risen in price from 15 to 20-25 thousand rubles.

2020

The market for ritual services in Moscow increased by 25%, to 3.59 billion rubles

The market for ritual services To Moscow in 2020 increased by 25% compared to 2019 (to 3.59 billion) rubles amid an increase in mortality (according to data, Rosstat 150,000 people died in the Russian capital in 2020 - 25% more than in 2019). Writes about this "" with Kommersant reference to the company reporting data published by "."SPARK-Interfax

One of the major market participants, Ritual Service CJSC, raised 1.26 billion rubles in 2020, 16% more than in 2019. The organization's net profit increased 4.3 times, to 72 million rubles SPARK-Interfax reports that the founders of the company are GBU Ritual and Oleg Shelyagov.

The market for ritual services in Moscow at the end of 2020 increased by 25%, to 3.59 billion rubles

Another Shelyagovykh company - "Ритуал.ру" - increased revenue by 18% to 343 million rubles, profit - up to 10 million rubles. In 2019, the company was unprofitable. Ritual Service and Ритуал.ру did not respond to a request from the publication. According to SPARK-Interfax, these companies account for 45% of the market.

The rest of the companies from the top 10 in terms of revenue, including Mosgorritual, Canopus, Styx-S, share a total of 29% of the market. In 2020, they earned 1.04 billion rubles - 71% more in annual terms.

The general director of Infoline-Analytics, Mikhail Burmistrov, believes that a significant increase in the revenue of Moscow agencies occurred due to an increase in the cost of ritual services in the capital. He notes that official figures do not represent the entire market for funeral services. According to the expert, the capacity of the Moscow market in 2020 increased by more than 30%, taking into account unofficial payments for places in cemeteries and exceeded 50 billion rubles.

Member of the Commission for Professional Qualifications in the Field of Funeral Affairs of the National Council under the President of the Russian Federation Anton Avdeev, on the contrary, doubts that funeral organizations managed to increase profits.

As a rule, the income of ritual agencies grows only if the savings of citizens allow them to spend more money. In the past couple of years, against the background of the crisis, we have seen the opposite trend, "he said.[6]

Fastest growing industry due to COVID-19

The fastest growing business in Russia was the organization of funerals. This industry came out in plus (+ 3.8%) at the end of the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such data are provided by experts from the Gaidar Institute and the RANEPA.

According to Rosstat, at the end of 2020, mortality increased by 18% and became a record since 2005 - 2.124 million people (against 1.8 million a year earlier). The rate of increase in mortality has become a record since 1947, when due to drought, the export of food abroad and the creation of grain reserves in case of a new war, 37.2% more people died than a year earlier. In December, the rate of increase in mortality reached 63% and was unprecedented since the famine and repression of 1933.

The natural population decline in 2020 doubled to 688.7 thousand people.

Notes