A Russian woman on February 21 placed an open coffin containing the body of her deceased husband in front of the regional government building in Samara in the Volga region, in protest against what she said was "competition between funeral homes" that prevented her from interring him.
Media reports in Russia say that the man died two weeks ago and the woman was trying to obtain money to bury him in the city cemetery.
The cemetery funeral home asked her to pay at least 30,000 rubles ($460), an amount too high for her.
The woman then went to a second funeral home, which agreed to bury her husband for 8,000 rubles ($120).
But when the gravediggers arrived at the cemetery, some 30 men prevented them from completing their task.
The incident prompted the woman to bring her husband's body in the casket in front of the regional government building.
The open casket was exposed in front of the building for several hours, before the widow removed it.
Amid the reports and outcry on social networks, the Samara region's governor, Dmitry Azarov, stated that he will personally investigate the case and vowed to assist the woman in burying her husband.
The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, now says she will bury her husband in a village.
Samara, with population of around 1.2 million people, is located on the Volga River.
