Moscow is providing visitors, tours, guests and citizens with free Wi-Fi Internet access in the most unlikely of places — the city’s historic cemeteries. No, this isn’t some supernatural attempt to communicate with those who have passed.
In a statement from Moscow’s city hall, Artyom Ekimov, a Moscow city official, says the purpose of providing the cemeteries with free Internet access is to help visitors learn more about the cemetery’s history and culture along with individual tombstones and monuments. This will allow visitors to research the names of the deceased, download cemetery maps and other educational information immediately.
It’s also likely that more than a few people will use the free Wi-Fi to upload selfies taken with the tombstones of famous people. Three historic cemeteries in Moscow will be the first to receive internet access beginning in the first half of 2016 — Vagankovo where Soviet actor Boris Andreyev is buried, Novodevichy where writer Anton Chekhov is buried and Troyekurovo where Russian singer Valentina Tolkunova is buried.
Many actors, musicians, writers, activists, government officials, military personnel, diplomats and other notable persons are buried at the three cemeteries, which already attract visitors and tourists. The goal in providing internet access at public areas of the cemeteries is to attract more visitors to the area. If the addition of Wi-Fi is successful, they plan to expand access to more than 130 cemeteries throughout Moscow.
In time where people are more connected to their phones, tablets and laptops than ever and Internet access is widely available in public places, it may seem a bit much to install Internet in a cemetery. It could also be considered a ploy to increase business to the tourist areas.
What are your thoughts? Does adding Internet access to cemeteries provide an educational opportunity for visitors to research and learn about the history or is it just a disrespectful method of increasing business in the area?
