Russia's 'Gangster Graveyards'
- By Amos Chapple
In Yekaterinburg, a gangland tradition of tombstones featuring bling, booze, and food has gone mainstream. Our photographer took a walk through some of the Russian city's most colorful cemeteries.
![A bejeweled apparent member of the Uralmash gang depicted on a tombstone in the north of Yekaterinburg. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/8039f763-e0be-4760-94e9-3d504a626d53_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A bejeweled apparent member of the Uralmash gang depicted on a tombstone in the north of Yekaterinburg.
![Two apparent members of the Uralmash gang who died in a shoot-out in the early '90s. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/3e17d2a7-b5f0-4c72-8055-7c48fbe4960a_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Two apparent members of the Uralmash gang who died in a shoot-out in the early '90s.
![The graveyard is in a section of Yekaterinburg that was largely controlled by Uralmash, one of two gangs that gained notoriety in the Urals region city in the 1990s. Uralmash is also the name of a major factory in Yekaterinburg. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/f961976e-d10d-4a64-a393-c3174d06b353_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The graveyard is in a section of Yekaterinburg that was largely controlled by Uralmash, one of two gangs that gained notoriety in the Urals region city in the 1990s. Uralmash is also the name of a major factory in Yekaterinburg.
![At the other end of town, the gravestone of Mikhail Kuchin, reputed former leader of the Central Mafia gang, with Mercedes keys in hand. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/f56ccdc9-f155-4cb7-9797-0efa62505844_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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At the other end of town, the gravestone of Mikhail Kuchin, reputed former leader of the Central Mafia gang, with Mercedes keys in hand.
![Local photographer Denis Saratov says the tradition of flaunting wealth in full-length tombstone portraits began with the Roma community in the city. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/d30fe78f-d49d-4673-9572-147991e336e1_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Local photographer Denis Saratov says the tradition of flaunting wealth in full-length tombstone portraits began with the Roma community in the city.
![Owned by very few in the Soviet Union, foreign cars of almost any kind became status symbols after its collapse in 1991. This man is pictured with his Toyota. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/5a6e05d0-b7f6-4c5f-b80a-9cc429e78a98_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Owned by very few in the Soviet Union, foreign cars of almost any kind became status symbols after its collapse in 1991. This man is pictured with his Toyota.
![A young man and his Audi in the Roma section of a Yekaterinburg cemetery. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/21505de6-a459-4fe6-aec0-6396174ff642_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A young man and his Audi in the Roma section of a Yekaterinburg cemetery.
![Expensive leather jackets were another status symbol in the early '90s in Russia. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/9fe6f899-e766-4c91-a026-9c600db61964_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Expensive leather jackets were another status symbol in the early '90s in Russia.
![Some of the life-size tombstones show a devotion to the church. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/d4c84686-70de-49a1-8a83-4cac58a87bd7_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Some of the life-size tombstones show a devotion to the church.
![But more frequently, they emphasize the deceased's wealth and taste for the "good life." ](https://gdb.rferl.org/b1e0584c-8909-42b1-90c5-728e2ff2b570_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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But more frequently, they emphasize the deceased's wealth and taste for the "good life."
![Most are artists' impressions based on photographs of the deceased. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/ceb90676-2a09-4702-9c5c-d686802530e0_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Most are artists' impressions based on photographs of the deceased.
![The etchings are made with lasers. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/83dbd0a1-7631-40ab-8cfd-7ce131a843d8_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The etchings are made with lasers.
![The strikingly detailed tombstones can cost upwards of $15,000. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/2fdb3c62-38ec-4640-b28e-824b77a71510_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The strikingly detailed tombstones can cost upwards of $15,000.
![Although the shoot-outs of the '90s are a distant memory for many in Yekaterinburg, the style favored by gangsters of the era is echoed by more recent markers for the graves of people from different walks of life. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/d0e79e69-351a-47f1-96de-90c0b91dc29a_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Although the shoot-outs of the '90s are a distant memory for many in Yekaterinburg, the style favored by gangsters of the era is echoed by more recent markers for the graves of people from different walks of life.
![Saratov says the spectacular tombstones are "like a competition, who has the best and the biggest.... Just like in life."](https://gdb.rferl.org/f2b4f64a-ffab-491c-8f04-3060bca64645_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Saratov says the spectacular tombstones are "like a competition, who has the best and the biggest.... Just like in life."
![Frozen roses alongside a gravestone. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/d0572f0d-df14-423c-a555-51526742401e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Frozen roses alongside a gravestone.
![A young woman immortalized with golden jewels and a Lada. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/c781bee8-bf0e-4205-abef-b129340653cf_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A young woman immortalized with golden jewels and a Lada.