Businessman Alleges Cemetery Entry Fees in Yekaterinburg
Monument installers say they are asked to pay 5,000 rubles to enter cemeteries.
A businessman has reported extortion at Yekaterinburg cemeteries. According to a representative of Danila-Master (Danila-Master, a memorial-stone production and installation company), installers are required to make donations each time they enter.
«Our production is based in Yaroslavl, and our sales offices operate in many regions, including Yekaterinburg since 2016. This is the only place where we’ve had such a conflict with cemeteries. The guards demand that installers pay for entry via a QR code — about 5,000 rubles (≈$60 at current rates), depending on the cemetery. Officially — it’s a voluntary donation. This year we hired new crews because we have many orders. Those who worked in their first year didn’t know these rules and entered several times without “donations”. As a result, the company was placed on a blacklist at the cemeteries; our installers are not allowed in and are being intimidated», — said the company’s representative, who asked to remain unnamed.
The entrepreneur says the entry problems began at the peak of the season — in July 2025. He says that for the next three months installers were allegedly told not to take orders from this company, otherwise they would not be allowed to work. Sometimes the guards used official reasons, such as grounds maintenance. However, that did not stop them from admitting other installers.
Installers claim 5,000-ruble payments are collected and sent to a cemetery support fund.
«In front of clients or when I called, the guards pretended no payment was required. If the installers take out their phones — the conversation also stops. As a result, of five crews I have only one left; the others explained they could not afford to stand idle — they need to earn money during the season. And nobody wants problems», — the entrepreneur added.
Business representatives say this may be the work of competitors.
«I spoke with colleagues; they say we sell a lot and cheaply by Ural standards, and there are plenty of local sellers here. So they decided simply to push us out of the market. We received offers to sell the branch, and thugs came to the office to “settle the issue”. But I don’t understand what there is to settle. We operate openly and legally, we always obtain permits and do everything officially», — the director explained.
City cemetery security is provided by LLC ChOP OA ‘Saturn’ (LLC ChOP OA ‘Saturn’, a private security company). The company’s general director, Andrey Kononov, told E1.RU that he had not heard about the conflict, but his guards do not make decisions about cemetery entry. Employees follow the client’s instructions — in this case, the caretaker’s.
«ChOP employees carry out the caretaker’s wishes. They do not engage in illegal activities or in collecting money», — the security company director explained.
Konstantin Kalashnikov, head of the municipal Service for City Cemeteries (Sluzhba gorodskikh kladbishch), denied the businessman’s accusations in an interview with E1.RU.
«I am aware of the situation; these people have a problem with installers — they simply lack personnel. There are many orders, and they cannot install the monuments in time, then they blame us, claiming we do not let them in. That is not the case. We received complaints from their clients and addressed each one individually. The company itself never came to us with questions», — he explained.
The head of the city cemeteries confirmed there is a relief fund that officially cooperates with the MKU (a municipal state institution). Money is donated by residents who wish to help; installers are not required to make any contributions. Donations are used to buy additional equipment, build roads and update waste disposal sites. Entry to the cemeteries — for everyone — is free.
«Sometimes installers arrive during funerals or when rubbish is being removed, and they are asked to wait. Some unscrupulous workers do not want to waste time; they ask for a stamp on the permit and later claim they were not allowed in. That, to put it mildly, is untrue. It sounds more like some kind of abuse», — Kalashnikov said.
The service head added that the security company is chosen annually via an open auction under Federal Law No. 44. The ChOP that won is working at the cemeteries for the first year.
Earlier we reported how much funerals cost in Yekaterinburg. We also published an instruction on what to do when a loved one dies.
