Anatoly Kashpirovsky, the man who “healed” the country through TV, has died

Soviet and Russian psychotherapist Anatoly Kashpirovsky died at the age of 87. TV presenter Andrei Malakhov announced his death. Later, the information was confirmed by Kashpirovsky’s director Sergei Rudykh. The cause of death is not officially given.

Kashpirovsky became one of the most recognizable figures of the late USSR thanks to his television “health sessions.” From October to December 1989, six of his programs were broadcast on the First Program of Central Television, during which he claimed that he could exert a psychotherapeutic effect on viewers remotely. The first issue was released on October 8, 1989.

Kashpirovsky's performances attracted an audience of millions. His television sessions were watched by up to 180–200 million people. Later he continued to hold massive performances in concert halls and stadiums.

Before television fame, Kashpirovsky worked as a psychiatrist and psychotherapist. In 1993, he was elected to the State Duma of the first convocation on the LDPR list. During the seizure of the hospital in Budennovsk by Shamil Basayev’s militants in June 1995, Kashpirovsky came to the city and entered the captured building. He participated in negotiations with Basayev.

In subsequent years, Kashpirovsky had problems with the law several times due to his public sessions. In 2007, a court in Chelyabinsk fined him for violating the procedure for practicing traditional medicine. In 2015, after a tour in Perm, an administrative protocol was also drawn up against him for illegally practicing traditional medicine. Courts of two instances initially found him guilty, but in March 2016, the Perm Regional Court overturned these decisions and terminated the proceedings.

In recent years, Kashpirovsky has continued to conduct “health sessions” on the Internet and perform in front of audiences. In 2020, he resumed regular broadcasts on his YouTube channel.