Paper short abstract:

The role of urban cemeteries often exceeds their primary function as burial grounds. While a majority of scholarship on the use of cemeteries focuses on Northern Europe, this paper discusses empirical evidence from a cemetery in Russia and explores the variety of ways people use and experience it.

Paper long abstract:

The way in which we deal with the deceased is fundamental for our societies, and cemeteries are clear spatial manifestations of this. However, the role of urban cemeteries, which occupy vast territories in the cities, often goes beyond their primary functions as burial grounds and places for remembrances, and includes, for example, recreational activities. The extent to which different functions coexist in an everyday deathscape varies significantly among cultures and can provide useful insights into the society it represents. While a majority of scholarship on the use of cemeteries focuses on Northern Europe, this paper brings forth empirical evidences from a cemetery in Russia. It describes the policy context around Moscow cemeteries and explores how visitors use and experience Vvedenskoe cemetery. The study is ethnographically informed and involves a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, including systematic and participant observations of people's activities, semi-structured interviews and observations of photos and texts shared by cemetery visitors in social media. Although visiting a grave was the most frequent reason for coming to the cemetery, people were also engaging with the deathscape in other ways. For many of the interviewees and users of social media the cemetery was included into their everyday life as a place for promenades, contemplation and contact with nature. A special spiritual atmosphere, monumental heritage and graves of famous people also make Vvedenskoe cemetery an attractive place for excursions, especially focused on arts and history. The findings show that the role of Vvedenskoe cemetery is multifaceted and compliments its primary function as a burial ground.