The Shirokorechenskoe Cemetery, located on the southwestern outskirts of Yekaterinburg, in Russia, is the final resting place of many famous locals including folk artists, scientists, and heroes of World War 2. Their graves are adorned with unusual funerary sculptures, including reliefs, gem-embedded headstones and laser engravings of the deceased on granite.

In one section of the cemetery, among the pines, you’ll find some of the most elaborate tombstones. Huge granite headstones with large-than-life photo-realistic carvings depicting hardened men in expensive suits and leather jackets, with gold chains and tattoos, holding a cigarette or keys to a Mercedes in their hands. Often the cars themselves would be engraved in the background, sometimes accompanied by their girlfriends. These extravagant tombs belong to gangsters who died violent deaths during the gangland wars of the turbulent 90s.

Photo credit: Denis Tarasov/The Guardian