Translated material
Soldier's letter
Doctors again stood up for Andrei Sychev
At the ongoing hearings in the Chelyabinsk Garrison Court in the case of the crippled private Andrei Sychev, a new unexpected turn occurred. For several days in a row, the only sounds heard in the hall were refutations of the prosecutor’s version, accusations against the investigators of falsifying the case, and reproaches against the injured private himself for lack of personal hygiene. But yesterday everything changed: the story was again described as it sounded in media materials at the beginning of the year.Let us recall that immediately after the New Year holidays it became known about an emergency at the Chelyabinsk Tank School, where on the night of January 1, according to the prosecutor's office, junior sergeant Alexander Sivyakov woke up Private Sychev and forced him to squat for three hours, periodically kicking him in the shin. A few days later, the young man could not walk and was hospitalized in a civilian hospital, where doctors, during an examination, assessed the condition of the soldier’s legs as critical and, in order to save the patient’s life, amputated them. Now the private is in the military hospital named after. Burdenko, and the doctors are going to discharge him, and the Chelyabinsk Garrison Military Court is considering a criminal case initiated on the events of that night.
Since last week, witnesses called by Sivyakov’s lawyers reported that none of the three inspections of the school confirmed the version of the prosecutor’s office, all the soldiers were “pressured” and demanded to slander Sivyakov, the nurse of the military unit convinced that Sychev was sloppy and even on the eve of the emergency health was suspicious, and the doctor at the hospital named after. Burdenko blamed his civilian colleagues from Chelyabinsk for improper treatment, which led to amputation. The victim became aware of all this and sent an open letter to the court. Yesterday's meeting began with this.
“I am very worried, and I am very upset that my colleagues are forced to tell lies in court. I am not offended by them, I understand that they still have to serve further and therefore they are forced to give such testimony,” said Private Sychev’s letter. At the same time, he also described the events of December 31, when, as stated in court, while cleaning the toilet he found himself wearing slippers, and not boots, like his colleagues. This detail is actively used by Sivyakov’s defense, proving that either Sychev had problems with his legs for a long time, or he caught a cold while cleaning. “I remember exactly that it was not cold in the washbasin, a little cooler than in the company position, but not much,” the private recalls in a letter. - At least I was wearing slippers and wasn’t cold. I maintain that no one forced us to wear boots while cleaning that day. If my feet were cold, I would put on boots, which, unfortunately, I can’t put on now.”
Then Sychev’s attending physician from Chelyabinsk Emergency Hospital No. 3, Professor Arnold Astakhov, spoke at the trial. He also issued an appeal from the staff of the medical institution, restoring in writing the January events. “On January 7, Sychev was admitted to us in extremely serious condition. He could die at any moment. However, we managed to save his life,” the doctors write and remind that they were initially against transporting the patient to Moscow, since transportation could only worsen his condition. During the interrogation, Mr. Astakhov continued to criticize representatives of the hospital. Burdenko, who questioned the professionalism of Chelyabinsk doctors. He recalled that the head of the hospital, Vyacheslav Klyuzhev, who arrived at the hospital, did not give any advice regarding the treatment program for the victim. The diagnosis of “thrombophilia”, which Mr. Klyuzhev considers to be the cause of the emergency, is questioned by Arnold Astakhov - there is no such disease in the world classifier.
The final chord was the interrogation of the chief forensic expert of the Center for Forensic Medical Examination of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Viktor Kolkutin. Assessing the work of Chelyabinsk doctors, he immediately admitted that “Sychev’s treatment was not and could not be ideal, but it was adequate and complete.” Since the patient has positive dynamics in the development of the disease, this means that the decisions taken in Chelyabinsk are justified. Mr. Kolkutin noted that the root cause of Sychev’s disease was ischemic venous thrombosis, which is caused by the lack of outflow of venous blood from the extremities while maintaining arterial blood flow. Lack of outflow is possible even when a person is in a deep squatting position for a long time. All stories that the cause of the disease could be poor hygiene, a defect in the nail on the left foot, Mr. Kolkutin rejects - no inflammatory process was observed.
When asked to evaluate the statements of hospital employees. Burdenko, a senior Defense Ministry official said: “I cannot in any way evaluate the words of the doctors of the hospital. Burdenko. Someone else's soul is darkness. However, I can say that our commission, during the investigation of the development and causes of the disease, came to a different conclusion, which does not coincide with the opinion of the military doctors of the hospital.”
After this, the court itself decided to again postpone until Thursday the consideration of the petition for a new, already fifth medical examination of Andrei Sychev, filed by Alexander Sivyakov’s lawyers. The prosecution and defense are asked to prepare all the arguments for and against in order to voice them during the trial.