Consequences of the war: The number of cemeteries and crematoriums in Russia has risen sharply
17 April 12:18
Over the past ten years, more than 1,000 new cemeteries have been established in Russia. Their total number has risen from 72,760 to 73,833. This is according to data from the Unified Interdepartmental Information and Statistical System, as cited by Russian propaganda media, reports "Komersant Ukrainian".
As of the end of 2025, the largest number of cemeteries was in Bashkortostan (4,761), Tatarstan (3,194), and the Smolensk Region (2,524). The fewest were in Chukotka (48), Magadan Oblast (44), and occupied Sevastopol (37). Meanwhile, Moscow had one fewer cemetery (133 in total), and the Moscow Region had 22 fewer (1,495).
At the same time, the number of crematoriums is growing. According to data from the Russian Ministry of Construction, in 2025 there were 33 state-run crematoriums registered in Russia, which is 10 more than in 2015. The largest number of facilities for cremating the deceased is located in Moscow (3). There are also two crematoriums each in the Chelyabinsk, Rostov, Sverdlovsk, and Novosibirsk regions, as well as in the Krasnodar and Primorsky Krais. Meanwhile, last year the authorities in St. Petersburg decided to expand the city’s crematorium to make it the largest in Europe. After modernization, it will be able to perform up to 240 cremations per day.
The number of cemeteries and crematoriums is growing in Russia amid heavy losses in the war against Ukraine, which, according to Western intelligence, have reached record levels for the country since World War II. The number of confirmed casualties alone has exceeded 200,000. According to an estimate by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), by the end of 2025, the Russian army had lost up to 325,000 soldiers killed in action, and 1.196 million including the wounded. On average last year, about 35,000 Russian soldiers were removed from the battlefield each month.
“No war fought by the USSR or Russia since World War II comes even close to the war in Ukraine in terms of the number of deaths,” CSIS analysts noted.
Meanwhile, in 2025, Rosstat closed off virtually all demographic statistics, including mortality data. According to the latest available information, Russia’s population stood at 146.1 million people, having decreased by 61,100 in January–March 2025. Over the three-month period, 288,800 people were born, 471,800 died, and the natural population decline amounted to 183,300 people, two-thirds of which was offset by net migration of 121,900 people.
