Navigating Social Funerals: My Honest Experience at Vagankovskoye Cemetery

Navigating Social Funerals: My Honest Experience at Vagankovskoye Cemetery

When you're reading this review, chances are you've just lost someone, and I want to start by saying how sorry I am for your loss. My own experience with grief is still pretty fresh, as I lost my mom recently.

Her passing was on November 10th, 2025, but it feels like an eternity since I last saw her on November 6th, 2025. We laid her to rest at the Vagankovskoye Cemetery, a historic site where all my ancestors are buried. I didn't consider any other options, given the family ties.

We had a dignified funeral, complete with a coffin and a service at the Church of St. Andrew the First-Called on the same cemetery. It was an amazing experience, and I'm grateful to have been able to organize it through a social fund (formerly a pension fund).

For more details, including costs, you can check out my previous post here.

Now, I want to share the truth about social funerals without any exaggeration or scaremongering. I've heard a lot of negative feedback about social funerals, from people saying we'll be judged by funeral agents, mortuary workers, porters, and even cemetery administrators.

Apparently, we'll be treated with contempt by the people who dig graves – I've heard some pretty disturbing stories, and my takeaway is that I'll never opt for a social funeral. I'll just pay the funeral expenses within six months.

I have to admit, I voluntarily went to the 'social funeral' even though it wasn't planned, and I didn't encounter any hiccups; no awkward glances, no rudeness or hostility. Everyone was super polite, courteous, humane, and kind.

When my husband and I arrived at the mortuary, there was no agent waiting for us, but I had considered my options...

I was really scared and anxious that I'd be pressured, deceived, or intimidated. The mortuary looked like a quiet and peaceful place, with a little window and a waiting area:

The cost of preparing two documents - a medical certificate of death and a death certificate - with agent GBU Rituál is 9,000 rubles as of November 10, 2025, in Moscow.

Since it's easier for me to cope with the grief through action and control, I chose to handle everything myself with my husband's support.

So, why did I choose the state agent GBU Rituál? I compared prices with private agents recommended by others, and my analysis showed that their prices were identical.

Let's start with the estimate. You should have a rough idea of the costs waiting for you, and there are three big groups: the mortuary, related goods, and the cemetery.

1. The mortuary. You can pay nothing at all and opt out of paid services.

Free: The state provides quite comprehensive services for the deceased. They include storing the body in a refrigerated chamber for 7-10 days, washing, dressing, laying out, and transporting the body to the funeral hall.

However, there are some additional services that come at a cost:

Full embalming of the entire body for up to 3 days - 13,200 Tampoanation of natural orifices - 2,500 Removal of post-mortem defects - 6,000 Female makeup - 4,300 Sanitary treatment of the body - 3,600 Total cost of the package - 30,100

Prices may vary from mortuary to mortuary and can change over time. As of my visit to the IKB1 mortuary on 10.12.2025, the prices were as follows, and you can choose to pay for the entire package or individual services - it's quite convenient!

Some private agents offered me a service called 'transfer', where the deceased is transported to the mortuary for free and then charged for additional services, with prices ranging from 30,100 to 13,500 rubles. However, I didn't take advantage of this offer.

Important note: If there's going to be a funeral in the church or mortuary, you need to coordinate with the priest to determine which additional services are required for the funeral. For example, in the mortuary, the entire package of additional services was required, while in the church, a simple certificate of embalming was sufficient.

2. Other items you may need for the funeral:

Standard burial (prices identical to those of GBU Rituale, as provided by a private agent on 10.11.2025):

Here's an example of the prices:

Burial - 84,990 rubles

Coffin with atlas gauze Handles for the coffin - 4 Ties - 2 Bedding: atlas Pillow: atlas Cover: atlas Cross for the coffin Grave marker - metal, pine Plaque Wreath - 1 (90 cm) Ribbon - 1 Delivery to the mortuary Porters Transport: mortuary - cemetery

Cremation - 64,990 rubles Coffin with atlas gauze

Handles for the coffin - 4 Ties - 2 Bedding: atlas Pillow: atlas Cover: atlas Memorial branch Delivery to the mortuary Porters Transport: mortuary - crematorium

Let's take a closer look at the second option, which is actually a service offered by the local government agency.

The average cost for this service is around $200,000, which breaks down into a number of individual components.

A high-quality, polished coffin with six sidesA shroudA pillowA coverHandlesLocksA cross on the coffin lidTwo elite wreaths, each 120 cm longTwo satin ribbonsA non-metal cross for the graveA memorial plaqueA team of escortsTransportation to the morgue, temple, cemetery, and a café or your homeThe price for the local government agency's service, as shown in the breakdown, is approximately $18,000. At first glance, the breakdown looks something like this:

But on the day of the funeral, the official breakdown looks nothing like that – no tricks or deception:

One thing to note is that only the local government agency allows you to offset 'social funerals' services, and no other funeral agencies can do this – they don't have the authority, they can only offer a 'funeral payment' of $23,000, which you can claim through government services within six months of the person's passing.

Yes, the agents tried to scare me, saying that claiming services for funeral payments was a super complicated and time-consuming process, but in reality, you'll get the document right away – just make sure to submit it the day after you receive the death certificate at the MFC!

Important note: If you submit it immediately after getting the death certificate at the MFC, you'll get a rejection – just resubmit it the next day, and the system will be updated.

Given that prices are the same across all agents, even those with their own production, but government agents can help you save more than the funeral payment, because they can handle and cancel the work (transport and digging) – and it's free for some, but we chose the paid option. Plus, government agents are decent, tactful, not pushy, polite people, so it was clear to me which agent to work with.

3. Cemetery

The biggest expense is if you're dealing with the Vagankovsky historical cemetery, where all my ancestors are buried, so I'll be writing specifically about this cemetery from now on.

You'll be working with GBU Rituál, which is the administration of the cemetery.

What are 'Social Funerals'? It's a list of guaranteed services defined by federal law 8-FZ, which includes:

Preparing documents;Providing and delivering items for burial (coffin, slippers, shroud);Digging the grave;Transporting the deceased to the cemetery or crematorium;Burial or cremation;Installing a registration plate with the deceased's name and years of life.Social Funerals can be arranged through a social fund or government services (I recommend doing it online, not faster than within a day after reporting the death to the MFC) at any cemetery in the city, not just the new one, but also the historical one.

Since we had a requiem, we were charged 3,400 rubles for the waiting time, but if there's no waiting, these funds aren't returned even if there's no requiem. Social Funerals guarantee a free Mercedes with 10 seats from the morgue to the cemetery. And that's true.

The digging of the grave is also free, which is a significant expense – you'll save around 100,000 rubles.

I've gotta say, the social funeral services or the 23,000 ruble compensation - that's a pretty big deal. Important: social funerals are actually pretty low-key, and they only cover a limited amount of help. Any additional decorations, like flowers or ribbons, a headstone, a funeral orchestra, or other extras, will cost you extra.

You can check out the compensation info here.

Important! My experience and advice:

I wouldn't recommend opting for the social coffin, unless you're on a tight budget, of course. It's better to order from the funeral catalog instead:

Thanks for sticking with me to the end - I really wanted to share my first-hand experience with funerals, because I know how hard it can be to find honest and unbiased info on the subject. Death and funerals can be a really tough process, and I hope my experience can help make it a little easier for you.

Value every moment! May God be with you.

Pрах к праху...