ABSTRACT
Russians die at home in about 50–53 percent of cases. If a person dies in a hospital, family members generally are not in attendance at the death. Intensive care units generally remain closed for visits, especially at night. Immediately after death, the body is taken to the morgue. The body is transported by a special municipal service or a private funeral director. The contract with the funeral director or agent is signed immediately after death. Two essential purchases in preparation for the funeral are a coffin and a wooden cross which is installed on the grave until the monument is built. As a rule, the deceased is shown to the family for a short time only. Until the day of the funeral, the body is in the morgue and is not visited. The funeral takes place on the third day after death. Funeral agencies in Russia constitute a secular type of service.
