Since times immemorial burial ceremonies were conducted according to Orthodox funeral rites near parish churches and in churchyards. After the 1771 plague epidemic, the Senate restricted burial within the city precincts, so many cemeteries were built in the outskirts of Moscow. The reconstruction of Moscow in the middle of the XXc. made it necessary to eliminate some of the old cemeteries in the city center (which were formerly the outskirts). The remains of famous people were reburied at the Novodevichye cemetery., where most of the graves and tombstones are relics of history and culture and are under state protection.
Some cemeteries are split into two parts for Orthodox Russians and non-orthodox Russians. Some are now necropolis reserved for graves of the famous.