A Sensitive Topic That's Off-Limits
- 5.10.2026, 14:44
While hospitals in Irkutsk are being closed for quarantine and mask mandates are being implemented, federal TV remains silent.
Following the death of an employee at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, local journalists are reporting on quarantines in hospitals, and the head of neighboring Buryatia suggests that the woman died of the plague. But the federal media are acting as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened, according to “We Can Explain”.
Instead of covering the outbreak, Channel One discussed future U.S. wars on the Moon. On Sunday’s “Vremya,” a separate segment was devoted to the Pentagon’s initiatives to develop lunar military systems, artificial intelligence, and robotics. Military topics also took center stage on other channels.
Only REN TV reported on a possible plague—and then deleted the posts. Five posts about the infection disappeared from the channel’s social media accounts. The administration of Baikalsk (Irkutsk Region) acted similarly: it first urged residents to limit travel due to unofficial reports of a plague outbreak, and then removed the warning.
Federal agencies are spreading a reassuring narrative. Reports from TASS, RIA Novosti, and Interfax include statements from Rospotrebnadzor: the situation is “stable,” there were no incidents involving pathogens at the institute, and the patient was diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown etiology.” The Interfax report does not even mention the employee’s death. TASS published a comment by former Rospotrebnadzor head Gennady Onishchenko stating that Russia is not at risk of a plague outbreak. However, one of his explanations—that the woman had allegedly returned from Buryatia—was later directly refuted by Governor Alexey Tsydenov, who stated that she had never been there at all.
The head of Buryatia explicitly acknowledged that the death was caused by the plague. Tsydanov wrote that the deceased woman had not visited the republic, and that the source of the infection was linked to other circumstances. According to data cited by “Meduza,” the post initially read “died of the plague,” but the word “possibly” was later added. Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev limited himself to referring to a suspected “particularly dangerous infection” and reported on a meeting with the head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova.
Following the lab technician’s death, journalists reported on quarantine measures in hospitals. According to “People of Lake Baikal,” 28-year-old Daria Shipilova was hospitalized on September 29; she died two days later. The publication reported a three-week quarantine at Hospitals No. 1, 3, and 10, the Ivano-Matreninskaya Children’s Hospital, and one of the maternity hospitals. Its source claims that doctors are discussing the plague, although this diagnosis is not specified in the documents. The Irkutsk Aluminum Plant has implemented a mask mandate.