New funerary standards modified. The authorities in Russian-occupied Crimea have just authorized the use of coffins made from materials other than wood for state-funded funerals, reports the Moscow Times this Friday, April 17th. Cardboard or compressed wood shavings are now allowed.
This decision stems from a revision of funeral regulations. Whereas previously only wooden coffins were allowed, the only current requirement is a price ceiling of around $45 per coffin.
According to local funeral professionals, this evolution highlights persistent discrepancies between official standards and their implementation on the ground. “When someone writes a regulation, they assume that coffins are made of wood and specify it. Once it is written ‘in wood,’ it must be made of wood,” laments Yuriy Peftiev, owner of a packaging and design company in Crimea that now produces cardboard coffins.
35,000 deaths per month on average in 2025
This decision comes in the context of strong growth in the Russian funeral sector, partly fueled by an increase in military losses due to the conflict in Ukraine. Russian military losses amounted to around 1.2 million soldiers killed and wounded by the end of the fourth year of the conflict, according to a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington. In 2025, estimates projected around 425,000 losses, or approximately 35,000 soldiers dead per month.
For comparison, the United States recorded around 54,400 deaths during the Korean War, 47,300 in Vietnam, and approximately 2,400 during operations in Afghanistan, as reported by the Moscow Times.
In a different vein, it was reported that in the last ten years, Russia has created over 1,000 new cemeteries and significantly expanded its public cremation capacities.
/2026/04/18/69e37f5c36b2b882443902.jpg "It is a total capitulation to Iran and the United States: why the ceasefire in Lebanon weakens the P")
