Russia Is Building a Digital Platform for the Dead

The country is rolling out a high-tech system to manage cemeteries, letting families apply for burial plots online and putting an industry long known for opacity into the digital era.

Russia is preparing to launch a new digital platform called “Burial Management,” designed to streamline funeral services and move much of the process online. The initiative, first reported by the outlet NEFT, was confirmed by Pavel Tsiporin, deputy governor of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District.

Relatives of the deceased will soon be able to apply for cemetery plots directly through the national e-government portal Gosuslugi. The platform will also centralize records of burials, a move officials say will improve the efficiency of cemetery management across the country.

The system is scheduled for completion by the end of this year, with pilot testing set to begin in early 2026 in Khanty-Mansiysk, one of Russia’s northern regions.

This isn’t Russia’s first attempt at digitizing daily life, even in sensitive areas. The “Electronic Home” service already allows citizens to file requests on more than 250 issues, ranging from broken elevators to burned-out lightbulbs in apartment buildings. Meanwhile, local engineers have gone as far as programming smart-home systems to adjust lighting and humidity based on a resident’s personality type — sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, or melancholic — determined through a questionnaire.

Officials argue that “Burial Management” will mark an important step in expanding Russia’s social infrastructure. More importantly, they say, it will make funeral services more transparent and accessible to the public.