Health security

How Kremlin Propaganda Destroyed Russian Healthcare

To get an idea of what’s really happening in Russia, just do an Internet search for “doctors quitting.” Every day, a new story unfolds:

— Doctors in Novosibirsk quit over concerns for their personal safety;

— 350 physicians in the Kaliningrad region refuse to work during the pandemic;

— Dozens of anesthesiologists, pulmonologists and nurses submit their resignations after their hospitals were told to treat coronavirus patients;

— The head doctor of a hospital in Omsk resigned after dozens of medical workers lined up to get tested for Covid-19.

These are only the cases known to the media: in most instances, doctors quit without any fanfare to avoid problems with future employers.

Every day, an even greater number of stories emerge of hospital doctors issuing video appeals about their plight, explaining how they still lack personal protective equipment (PPE) and how the money that President Vladimir Putin promised them winds up in other people’s pockets.