Moscow Stops Publishing Statistics about Cancer Deaths Likely Because They are Rising as Medicines and Treatment Become Harder to Get

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Nov. 14 – Moscow’s Herzen Oncology Research Institute for the first time has not included statistics about deaths from cancer in its annual statistical handbook, apparently because such deaths are skyrocketing given the problems Russians suffering from cancer are now facing in getting the medicines and treatment they need.

            The To Be Precise portal has reported this change (tochno.st/materials/v-rossii-perestali-publikovat-dannye-o-smertnosti-ot-raka), and the findings by the Movement Against Cancer suggest that increasing mortality is behind it (moscowtimes.ru/2025/11/14/v-rossii-prekratili-publikovat-dannie-o-smertnosti-ot-raka-a180161).

            On the basis of research conducted at the end of last year, the Movement said that almost 80 percent of the more than four million Russians suffering from cancer are having difficulty getting the medications and procedures they need, with the situation in rural areas being far worse than in urban ones (moscowtimes.ru/2024/12/30/podavlyayuschee-bolshinstvo-onkobolnih-rossiyan-stalkivayutsya-szaderzhkami-lecheniya-a151702).

            The primary reason for an increase in mortality from cancer in the Russian Federation is Putin’s healthcare “optimization” program which has closed many medical facilities and made it far more difficult for Russians to get care. But the Kremlin can be expected to place the blame entirely on Western sanctions which have made it more difficult for Russians to get medications.