Eager optimizer
The restoration of order in the regional healthcare system continued with high-profile criminal cases. Recently, the deputy chairman of the regional government for social issues, Yevgeny Nikonov, was detained on suspicion of bribery and abuse of power. However, judging by the state of affairs in the industry, the investigation is unlikely to be limited to one episode.
Few details are known about the investigation so far. The amount of the bribe that investigators believe was received Evgeniy Nikonovamounts to 650 million rubles. The official does not admit his guilt.
Most likely, the security forces took Nikonov into operational development last spring. In April 2023, two of his assistants were detained and accused of fraudulent purchases of medical equipment for the Khabarovsk Krai Ministry of Health. It is quite possible that this was only the tip of the iceberg of shadow schemes in the department.
How 115 million floated away
Evgeny Nikonov was appointed to the position of chief curator of the regional Ministry of Health back in December 2020. Since then, the industry has been rocked by high-profile scandals.
Even the head of the federal Ministry of Health once drew attention to the disorder in Khabarovsk healthcare Mikhail Murashkowho declared his readiness to raise the issue of the professional suitability of local officials. At the same time, the federal center recalled the failure of the cancer treatment program: out of the 3 billion rubles allocated in 2023, about 500 million were not spent. At the same time, not a single target indicator of the program was achieved.
Another high-profile scandal erupted around the floating hospital “Health” – a motor ship that sailed along the Amur River and called at remote settlements to provide medical care to residents. As the regional office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) found out, according to state tenders, from 2014 to 2023, the floating hospital was supposed to be a motor ship with a capacity of at least 70 people. Over almost 10 years, 115.5 million rubles were allocated from the budget for these purposes.
In fact, it turned out that “the transportation of passengers was carried out on the motor ship Tayezhny, which has a capacity of 30 people.” This story did not go beyond an administrative case.
Meanwhile, the recipient of the government contracts was a local entrepreneur Vyacheslav Kozlovskywhose name has repeatedly appeared in various scandals. In 2020, he became a defendant in a case of administrative offenses for using fictitious documents. In 2020, Kozlovsky signed a contract with the Khabarovsk mayor's office for river transportation. However, he himself refused to fulfill his obligations. During the administrative proceedings, it turned out that the documents of the captain and mechanic that Kozlovsky had were fake. They were supposed to be confiscated and destroyed.
Why, even after such a loud scandal, the KGBUZ “Territorial Consultative and Diagnostic Center” continued to sign contracts with Kozlovsky for a floating hospital is a mystery.
“Extra” hospitals
It has not yet been reported whether the dubious episode with the floating clinic will be investigated as part of the Yevgeny Nikonov case. However, it is obvious that the regional government's chief healthcare curator was probably aware that the vessel was at least half the size promised. In general, the situation looks like unrestrained optimization of everything and everyone is exactly what Yevgeny Nikonov became famous for in his post. He began his career in his new position in 2020 by reducing the number of medical institutions operating in the region. Thus, City Polyclinic No. 7 was merged with Polyclinics No. 6 and No. 8, and the Piotrovich Clinical Hospital was merged with Children's City Hospital No. 9.
The pinnacle of Nikonov's optimization activity was the unification of all three maternity hospitals in Khabarovsk into a single organization, the “Maternity Hospital named after Doctors Fyodor and Zinaida Ventsov.” Nikonov explained his decision at the time by the need to overcome demographic problems, as well as the “load” of the Perinatal Center.
The demographic problem, by the way, deserves special mention. Having effectively deprived Khabarovsk residents of maternity hospitals, Nikonov spoke incessantly about the need to increase the birth rate. In particular, it was proposed to call families with one or two children “small-numbered”. According to the official, wanting to get rid of this “shameful” status, women will urgently increase the birth rate.
The result of such vigorous activity can be considered a mass exodus of doctors from the region. Every year, more than a third of medical school graduates leave Khabarovsk Krai.
Foreign trace
In Khabarovsk, one can hear the opinion that Evgeny Nikonov could receive generous “gratitude” from suppliers of medical equipment, even the size of the share is mentioned – 10% of the transaction amount. For this reason, 29 state contracts were allegedly concluded at an inflated price, and the equipment was supplied with far from the best technical characteristics. Presumably, the beneficiary of these contracts was a certain Israeli citizen, who controlled a network of supplier companies.
Over the past year, the Khabarovsk department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism) has already opened six criminal cases against accomplices of this scheme. However, the details of the investigations have not yet been disclosed.
It is possible that the former Minister of Health of the region was also involved in the fraud with state purchases. Yuriy BoychenkoHe was dismissed from his post back in March 2024, after which he hastened to leave the region.
After his arrest, Yevgeny Nikonov stated that he did not plan to follow his example:
