Another problem: Russian soldiers don't want to be released from the hospital, even if they have recovered
March 7, 2025
While Ukraine anxiously awaits whether the genuflection towards Trump will really have any effect, the EU struggles to see whether it can stand on its own two feet militarily and geopolitically, and Putin in the meantime only intensifies the war, I had very different bad news: our caretaker Oleg called to say that his wife Ella (52) has lung cancer.
At least that was the diagnosis of the doctor at the local hospital 80 kilometers outside Moscow. Definitely not a specialized cancer hospital.
“I find it strange too,” said Oleg, “she has never smoked and lives a healthy life. Maybe it is because she has worked in a daycare center all her life. Children there always have colds and that is why Ella coughs a lot.”
“You need a second opinion,” I said. “I’ll make an appointment at the American Medical Center – the best private hospital in Moscow.”
“I would be careful with that,” Oleg responded, “that hospital is super commercial. Remember when you had problems with your knee and they wanted to operate there. In the Netherlands, a physiotherapist would quickly help you get rid of your complaints. What Ella needs is a doctor we can trust and who also has time.”
For advice, I called the mother of our daughter-in-law Olga. Valeria is a cardiologist and chief physician at a hospital in Vladivostok. Before I could ask another question, Valeria poured out her heart about the stress she was experiencing.
"We are being flooded with wounded soldiers from the front. They are also getting worse and worse. Putin has decreed that soldiers have absolute priority. Regular patients are being pushed aside. There are also cuts, because the entire budget goes to the war."
Vladivostok is 10,000 kilometres from Kyiv, on the other side of the vast Russia. So you would think that the effect of the war would be less felt there. But the opposite is true: the more than 800,000 dead and wounded now come precisely from the remote provinces, where health care is already much worse.
Then there is another problem. The soldiers do not want to be discharged from the hospital, even if they have recovered. That costs them money. As patients, they receive higher benefits. And they are afraid of being sent back to the front.
“Veterans’ families are behaving like a new elite,” says Valeria, “they earn the most, get priority at schools and universities, take the best jobs. That creates a lot of bad blood.”
"They also constantly file complaints with our hospital and those complaints also have priority. As head of the clinic, I am more concerned with that than I am at the bedside. It is extremely frustrating."
Via Valeria we end up with a reputable oncologist in Moscow. He also has a long waiting list, but with some lobbying and an accompanying envelope he is prepared to examine Ella.
Officially, Russian healthcare is free, but everyone knows that without cash payments, serious care is not possible. This applies to all levels, from a nurse at your bedside to a complicated operation. Under Putin, this has only gotten worse, with the healthcare system on the verge of collapse and medicines becoming increasingly scarce.
To everyone's shock, the Moscow doctor confirmed Ella's cancer diagnosis. This week she underwent surgery to remove a piece of tissue from her lung. According to the doctor, the operation went as hoped and the prognosis for Oleg's wife is promising.
We'll just stick to that. At least something good to report from Russia.