Zoë Wallace
Head of Political and Global Impacts
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Secretary and Outreach Officer
As of May 10th, 2020, three Russian doctors have fallen from hospital windows during the coronavirus pandemic. This could be a coincidence of three unfortunate accidents or the result of nefarious activity, but it is also important to entertain the possibility that it shows an overall trend of the stress placed upon doctors in Russia amid COVID-19. Of the three doctors, only one has survived, and he is currently in intensive care. Each of these physicians has been reported to have spoken out about or criticized the lack of protective equipment in hospitals related to the COVID-19 epidemic.
Fall 1: Natalya Lebedeva
The first fall happened on April 24th. The doctor’s name was Natalya Lebedeva, head of an ER unit just outside of Moscow. According to reports, Dr. Lebedeva threw herself out of a hospital window after contracting COVID-19 and being accused of spreading it to other members of the ER staff. Although her fall was labeled as “a tragic accident” by the hospital, this could have occured due to the increasing stress that Russian doctors are facing at this time. A local newspaper reported that after interviews with her colleagues, it was clear that Lebadeva’s death may have been the result of a suicide.
On May 10th, Russia recorded an increase of over 10,000 new cases of COVID-19 for the seventh day in a row. In the capital alone, there are 104,000 cases. The national death toll is officially at 1,827. Moscow has been in a city-wide lockdown for weeks now, and officials have extended the lockdown at least until the end of May. Starting on May 12th, everyone will be required to wear masks in public and will be fined 5,000 rubles ($67.93) if they do not wear masks on public transportation. Although most cases have been in the capital, there is a lack of medical equipment throughout the country. Activists have brought attention to the fact that the prisons and detention facilities in Russia are places where the virus is likely to spread. This could be devastating, since about 875,000 people are being held in these centers and thousands more are working there. The overwhelmed hospital system, the potential for an increased surge in sick patients requiring critical care, and the risk of being exposed and spreading the virus to colleagues are factors that increase the stress on doctors in Russia. This could be a cause for, or contributor to, the spate of recent accidents. Therefore, it is reasonable to consider the possibility that Natalya Lebedeva’s fall was a suicide.
Fall 2: Yelena Napomnyashchaya
The second doctor to fall was Yelena Nepomnyashchaya, head of a veterans’ hospital in Siberia. Media reports have shown that Dr. Nepomnyashchaya was being pressured by the health ministry of the region to convert part of her hospital into a treatment center for COVID-19. This was an unrealistic goal, since the hospital was already lacking in the protective equipment that is necessary for the safe treatment of COVID-19 patients. The health ministry denied these claims. Nepomnyashchaya publicly spoke out against the plan to treat the virus in her hospital, according to the local TKV news outlet. On May 1st, Yelena Nepomnyashchaya fell from the fifth-story window of the hospital after a meeting with regional health officers. She died from her injuries. The pressures placed on her by the lack of protection equipment and the health ministry’s plan for the hospital may have culminated in her suicide, but it is also important to note that the ministry benefitted from her death (because of the removal of opposition to their plan to convert part of her hospital to treat COVID-19) and may have been complicit.
Fall 3: Aleksander Shulepov
Aleksander Shulepov, an emergency physician, was the latest doctor to fall from a window. A week before the incident, a video had been posted on social media that showed him and his colleague, Aleksander Kosyakin, complaining that they were being forced to work for the Novousmanskaya hospital. Shulepov had tested positive for COVID-19 that same day, April 22nd, and was appalled by the fact that instead of being treated for his illness, he had to continue working in an environment where he could infect more people. The hospital denied these allegations and stated that once they had been informed of his positive test, he had been removed from his shift and transferred to the infectious diseases ward of the hospital.
A few days later, Shulepov released a statement recanting his former complaint, stating that both he and his colleague’s responses had been fueled by their emotions. In this video, Igor Potanin, head of the hospital that Shulepov was working for, appeared to assert that the hospital had no shortage of protective medical equipment. Shulepov’s colleague Kosyakin had addressed medical shortages in other social media posts before the video, and was called into questioning by the police because he was allegedly spreading “fake news.”
Kosyakin spoke to Shulepov while he was in the hospital being treated for COVID-19 on April 30th, and reported that “He felt fine, he was getting ready to get discharged from the hospital.” Strangely, the next day Shulapov fell from the second-story window. Unlike the other two doctors, Shulepov has not died from his injuries. He fractured his skull and broke multiple ribs in the fall, and is in critical condition. It has been reported that he may have fallen while smoking near the window.
What does this all mean?
The reasons for the three falls within the past two weeks remains mysterious. There are many possibilities that could explain this trend, but none of them are easily confirmed. The three most popular theories are these:
These were coincidental accidents caused by carelessness or bad luck.
These were caused by suicidal tendencies brought on by the crisis. The lack of protective equipment and the overwhelmed hospitals with critically ill patients could have taken a large toll on the doctors.
One or more of these falls could be the result of government silencing.
Through the information provided, you, as the reader, may draw your own conclusion. For now, Russian law enforcement is investigating these events.
Sources:
Image: RTN Online. 2020. "Three Russian Doctors Fall From Windows - RTN Online". RTN Online, 2020, https://www.rtnnewspaper.com/2020/05/three-russian-doctors-fall-from-windows/. Accessed 11 May 2020.
"COVID-19: New Cases In Russia Top 10,000 For Seventh Straight Day". Radiofreeeurope/Radioliberty, 2020, https://www.rferl.org/a/covid-19-wrapup-may-9/30602544.html.
Mary Ilyushina, CNN. "Three Russian Doctors Fall From Hospital Windows, Raising Questions Amid Coronavirus Pandemic". CNN, 2020, https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/04/europe/russia-medical-workers-windows-intl/index.html.
"NPR Choice Page". Npr.Org, 2020, https://www.npr.org/2020/05/07/852319465/three-russian-frontline-health-workers-mysteriously-fell-out-of-hospital-windows.
"3 Russian Doctors With COVID-19 Mysteriously Fall From Hospital Windows". Cbsnews.Com, 2020, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-doctors-fall-from-windows-coronavirus-2-had-complained-official-covid-19-response-2020-05-05/.
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