Crematoria in Russia

Contrary to popular misconception, cremation came to Russia even before the October Revolution in 1917. The country's first crematorium was built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Vladivostok. It was equipped with a Japanese oven and was intended primarily for the cremation of citizens of the Japanese Empire. In the USSR, the first crematorium were opened in 1920 in Petrograd, and in 1927 in Moscow. Despite the active Soviet propaganda of “fiery burials”, cremation was never widespread in Soviet Russia. However, cremation is becoming more and more popular today as a modern and sustainable alternative to the traditional way of burial in a coffin.

Operating crematoria in Russia

Currently, there are 27 operating crematoria in Russia in 23 cities located throughout the country: two in Moscow, two in the town Balashikha near Moscow, two in Novosibirsk. The following cities have one crematorium each: St. Petersburg, Artemovskiy, Arkhangelsk, Barnaul, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhniy Tagil, Novokuznetsk, Novorossiysk, Norilsk, Rostov-on-Don, Simferopol, Surgut, Tula, Khabarovsk, Chelyabinsk, Yaroslavl, Voronezh.

Crematoria of Moscow and Moscow region

1. Mitinsky crematorium

Location: Pyatnitskoe Ave, 6th km.

Opening hours: 9.00 - 17.00 daily.

The Mitinsky crematorium was opened in 1985 at the cemetery of the same name in the North-Western Administrative District of the capital. Capacity is about 30 cremation procedures per day. The facility is run by the state-owned funeral agency “GBU Ritual”, which delegates the right to provide cremation services to Ritual.ru funeral home and other authorized undertakers.

The crematorium offers three funeral halls of different capacities, the largest of which can accommodate up to 80 people. The Mitinsky crematorium has storage facility for long-term preservation of bodies before cremation and an open-air columbarium.

2. Khovansky crematorium

Location: "Mosrentgen", Kiyevskoye Ave, 21st km.

Opening hours: 9.00 - 17.00 daily.

The crematorium at the Khovanskoye cemetery is under the operation of the state-owned funeral agency “GBU Ritual” and provides its services to residents of Moscow and the Moscow region. The facility was opened in 1988 and today it is one of the largest crematoria in Moscow, second only to Nikolo-Arkhangelsk. Up to 50 cremations take place here every day. It has 10 funeral halls with accommodation capacity ranging from 10 to 100 people. There are also five columbariums and storage facility for long-term preservation of bodies before cremation.

3. Nikolo-Arkhangelsky crematorium

Location: Balashikha, Okolnaya st, 4;

Opening hours: 9.00 - 17.00 daily.

The Nikolo-Arkhangelsky crematorium is considered as one of the largest of its kind in Europe. It was put into operation in 1972 at the cemetery of the same name in the Moscow region bordering The Moscow Automobile Ring Road. Managed by the state-owned funeral agency “GBU Ritual”. Capacity – up to 70 cremations per day. Offers 10 funeral halls for the farewell ceremony. The crematorium has two open-air and indoor columbariums. Storage facility for long-term preservation of bodies before cremation is available.

4. Nosovikhinsky crematorium "Gorbrus"

Location: Nikolo-Arkhangelskoe settlement, Nosovikhinskoe Ave 16, building 2.

Working hours: 9.00 - 17.00.

The Nosovikhinsky crematorium is the first private crematorium in Moscow, founded in 1999 by the funeral home "Gorbrus". It is located not far from the Nikolo-Arkhangelsk cemetery in the Balashikha district of the Moscow region. Offers 3 farewell halls and remains conservation facility for up to 150 bodies.

St. Petersburg City Crematorium

Location: St. Petersburg, Shafirovsky prospect, 12.

Working hours: 9.00 - 18.00 daily;

The St. Petersburg City Crematorium was opened in 1973 and today it is the only crematorium in the city. There are 9 halls for the farewell ceremony: 4 small halls for 15 people, 3 medium ones with a capacity of up to 50, and a central hall for up to 200 people. The crematorium has its cemetery and an open-air columbarium.

Novosibirsk city crematoria

1. Zakamensk municipal crematorium

Location: Novosibirsk, Gusinobrodskoe Ave, 78.

Working hours: 09: 00-18: 00 daily.

The Zakamensk crematorium, located at the Gusinobrodsky city cemetery, was put into operation in 2014. Offers 2 farewell halls with a capacity of 45 and 100 people, room for funeral feasts, and an open-air columbarium.

2. Novosibirsk private cremation complex

Location: Novosibirsk, Voskhod settlement, Voentorgskaya st. 4/1.

Working hours: 24/7.

Website: https://crematori-nsk.ru/contact/

The Novosibirsk crematorium is a large-scale memorial complex with a columbarium and a park of sorrow, equipped at a state-of-the-art level of the funeral industry. The first cremation in it was carried out in 2003, and today about 5 thousand deceased people from Novosibirsk and other cities of Siberia are cremated in the facility every year. Offers a small (up to 100 visitors) and large halls for the farewell ceremony (up to 300 visitors), storage for bodies before the procedure, and a cremation observation room. The enterprise has a large open-air columbarium and a museum of Funeral Culture.

Yekaterinburg crematorium

Location: Yekaterinburg, st. Siberian tract, 10th kilometer, 1/1.

Working hours: Mon.-Fri. 9.00-17.00, Sat. 9.00-16.00.

The Yekaterinburg crematorium operates within the location of the Siberian cemetery since 1982. There are two farewell halls for 100 and 200 people, a storage facility, and an open-air columbarium.

Nizhny Novgorod crematorium

Nizhny Novgorod, Zaitseva st., 27

Working hours: Mon.-Fri. 09:00-18:00; Sat. 09: 00-13:00

Website: https://krematoriynn.ru/

The crematorium in Nizhny Novgorod has been providing its services since 2017. Two farewell halls with capacity up to 150 people each and storage for keeping the bodies before the procedure is available.

Chelyabinsk crematorium

Location: Chelyabinsk, st. Radonezhskaya, 1.

Working hours: Mon.-Thu. 9.00-17.00; Fri. 8.00-16.00; Sat-Sun 9.00-16.00

The Chelyabinsk crematorium was opened in 2007 and is run by the municipal agency "Memory". The crematorium building has three farewell halls with a total capacity of up to 1000 people, there is storage for bodies and their preparation for the cremation procedure. An open columbarium is located near the crematorium.

Crematorium in Rostov-on-Don

Location: Rostov-on-Don, st. Orbital 1a

Working hours: Mon.-Fri. 8:00 - 16:00;

Website: https://rostovskiy-krematoriy.ru/index.html

The Rostov crematorium at the Northern Cemetery offers residents and visitors a farewell hall for mourning ceremonies, a broadcasting service for the cremation procedure, as well as storage for keeping bodies before cremation.

Barnaul crematorium

Location: Barnaul, Kosmonavtov Ave., 64 building 1;

Working hours: 8.00 - 17.00 daily;

The crematorium in Barnaul has been serving residents of the Altai region since February 2015. Up to 10 cremations are held here per day. The institution offers two farewell halls, storage for keeping, a room with a screen for online broadcasting the cremation procedure, and an extensive columbarium for 9,000 cells.

Crematorium in Khabarovsk

Location: Khabarovsk, 3rd km. Khabarovsk-Zaozernoe Ave;

Working hours: Mon.-Fri. 08:00 - 17:00.

The crematorium at the Matveyevskoye cemetery in Khabarovsk is run by municipal unitary enterprise "Specialized Public Services". The institution provides a basic range of funeral services; the farewell hall and columbarium are not available.

Yaroslavl crematorium

Location: Yaroslavl, Skokovo village, building 3;

Working hours: Mon.-Fri. 8.00-17.00; Sat. 8.00 - 13.00;

Website: http://www.yarkremat.ru/

The Yaroslavl crematorium offers a farewell hall for up to 100 people, a room for viewing the initial progress of cremation, a room for storing urns with ashes, and a refrigerator. There is a funeral accessories store.

Crematorium in Vladivostok

Location: Vladivostok, st. Patrocl, 6st2;

Working hours: Mon.-Fri. 09:00 - 17:00; Sat. 09:00 - 15:00;

The Vladivostok Crematorium at the Marine Cemetery was opened in 2002. Offers two farewell halls and an open-air columbarium. Up to 2 thousand cremations are held here annually.