Any person from the capital city who dies can be buried only at the Saint Lazarus Cemetery in Chisinau, called also “Doina” Cemetery. The other cemeteries managed by the municipality are semi-closed ones and are intended only for personalities and, in some cases, for relatives of the first degree of persons who were buried there earlier, executive director of the municipal enterprise “Funeral Services Complex” Maria Romanescu stated for IPN.

“All the applications for burial at the Central Cemetery (situated on Armeneasca St., e.n.) are addressed to the deputy mayor and are then referred to our enterprise. We consider the possibilities and give an affirmative or negative answer,” stated Maria Romanescu. In general, personalities conferred state awards are buried at the Central Cemetery. “The others are allowed to entomb if they have relatives of the first degree buried there and there are available places there. But the number of available places there is very low,” said Maria Romanescu, specifying that the situation is the same at the other smaller cemeteries.

The authorization of burials started in 1995. If a family buried someone in the cemetery before this year and wants to use the place, it can do it. “After seven years, it is allowed burying another person in the same grave,” explained the executive director of the Funeral Services Complex.

Asked about the taxes levied for maintaining cemeteries, Maria Romanescu made reference to a decision by the Chisinau Municipal Council, which stipulates that the taxes are paid by authorization owners depending on the number of authorized places they have in the cemetery. The pensioners, invalids, participants in the Afghanistan war and several other categories of people are fully or partially exempted from paying these taxes.

The municipal enterprise “Funeral Services Complex” manages 11 cemeteries. The cemeteries located in suburban communities are managed by the local public authorities.