Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk to close two of its five maternity hospitals after regional birth rate nearly halves

Source: Argumenty i Fakty

Two of Krasnoyarsk’s five maternity hospitals, Nos. 4 and 6, will close at the end of 2026. That will leave Leninsky District without a maternity hospital and reduce the number in Sovetsky District from two to one. Staff at both hospitals oppose the closures and have called on Moscow to intervene.

The Krasnoyarsk regional Health Ministry cited a falling birth rate and insisted the closures would not cause a shortage of beds. According to the ministry, births in the region fell by nearly half, from 44,000 in 2014 to 23,000 in 2025.

“The city’s maternity hospitals now have several times the capacity needed to meet actual demand,” said Alexey Konovalenko, the Krasnoyarsk region’s health minister.

Staff at the hospitals facing closure disagree. They have recorded two appeals to Vladimir Putin.

Medical workers at Maternity Hospital No. 4, which is slated for closure, complained that management suggested they look for jobs in other cities or retrain for a new profession and threatened to put those who objected on “blacklists.” “If you fall out of favor with a chief doctor, and then with the Health Ministry, you won’t be able to find another job in medicine,” staff members said.

Workers at Maternity Hospital No. 6 said the chief doctor has been urging them in meetings since August to resign or change specialties because the hospital was not financially viable. All 133 staff members opposed the closure.

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Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk to close two of its five maternity hospitals after regional birth rate nearly halves

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Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk to close two of its five maternity hospitals after regional birth rate nearly halves

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