Businessman enters funeral top 100 with Yakutsk crematorium

Omsk businessman Viktor Shkurenko, who built a crematorium in Yakutsk, has entered the top 100 list of the largest players in the funeral services market for 2024, ranking 55th. This is reported by the Telegram channel «Funeral Trust.»

Viktor Shkurenko is the owner of the discount store chains «Nizkotsen» and «Pobeda!» and the fashionable coffee shops Skuratov. According to the portal «Kontur.Focus,» he has been and is the head of seven organizations and appears as a participant in 47 companies. His total revenue is estimated at 187.7 million rubles (approximately $2.1 million at current rates), with profit at 39.3 million rubles (about $437,000).

As reported by the publication NGS55.RU, Viktor Shkurenko is linked to the construction of a crematorium with columbariums in Yakutsk. The construction permit was issued to the company LLC «Bydaan Ergir.» Its founders are Shkurenko«s partners Denis Kostylev and Sergey Zakharenko.

The company «Bydaan Ergir» was opened in March 2021 and is engaged in organizing funerals and providing related services. The general director is Konstantin Startsev. Revenue for 2024 amounted to 22.2 million rubles (about $247,000), but the company«s loss was 161 million rubles (approximately $1.79 million). The same Denis Kostylev and Sergey Zakharenko own GB »Ritual« in the village of Maya in the Megino-Kangalassky District, where the director is also Konstantin Startsev. In 2024, »Ritual« earned 1.9 million rubles (around $21,000), with a net profit of 410,000 rubles (about $4,556).

As reported on the website «Echo Stolitsy,» the company «Bydaan Ergir» made an initiative proposal to the Yakutsk city hall in May 2021, in July of the same year a concession agreement was signed, and in January 2022 the administration issued a construction permit. The construction of the facility was estimated at 122 million rubles (roughly $1.36 million).

In June 2023, the crematorium began operating on the territory of the city cemetery on the Magansky Tract. It is serviced by nine employees, and the cost of cremation starts from 30,000 rubles (approximately $333).

The top of the list of Russia«s top 100 funeral service providers is headed by Moscow»s State Budgetary Institution «Ritual.» In 2023, the institution yielded first place to the structures of St. Petersburg«s funeral king Valery Larkin, but has now regained the top spot, according to the Telegram channel »Funeral Trust.«

According to the Telegram channel «Funeral Trust» from 2024, Yakutia was listed among the regions of Russia with the highest competition in the funeral industry. There are 74 deceased per company. This placed the republic in 7th place.