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This is Svetlana Bronnikova from the independent media outlet 7x7. Authorities in Krasnoyarsk are closing two maternity hospitals at once. Officials have attributed the decision to the declining birth rate, but healthcare workers and patients have spoken out against the closures. They are recording video appeals to Putin, collecting signatures, and trying to save facilities where women could expect to be treated with respect during childbirth. Employees have been threatened with difficulties finding other jobs because of their protest, but even that has not deterred them. Why are they continuing to fight? Read on to find out.

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Why Are the Authorities Shutting Down Maternity Hospitals?

Krasnoyarsk is a city in Siberia with a population of more than one million. It currently has several state-run maternity hospitals. Starting in January 2027, women will no longer be able to give birth at two of them, Maternity Hospitals No. 4 and No. 6.

Employees of Maternity Hospital No. 4 learned of the authorities’ plans in the summer of 2026, while staff at Maternity Hospital No. 6 found out in late August. The regional Health Ministry attributed the decision to the declining birth rate. According to officials, the existing maternity hospitals are operating below capacity, so some of them need to be closed and women in labor redirected to other facilities.

In Russia, this policy is known as “healthcare optimization.” Officials generally use the term to refer to merging hospitals, reducing the number of wards, and redistributing patients among medical facilities. Authorities say optimization is intended to make more efficient use of funding and medical resources. For residents, however, it often means having to travel farther to receive medical care.

This is precisely what Krasnoyarsk healthcare workers fear. They believe that closing two maternity hospitals will increase the burden on the remaining facilities. Doctors and midwives will have less time for their patients, while ambulances will have to travel farther with women in labor, including during emergency deliveries.

Despite the objections, the authorities have not reversed their decision. Maternity Hospital No. 6 will stop admitting patients on January 11, 2027, and close permanently on January 15. Maternity Hospital No. 4 will become part of a large state-run medical center and stop handling deliveries in January.

How Healthcare Workers and Mothers United Against the Closures

Employees of Maternity Hospital No. 4 were the first to take action. They created a chat on MAX, a Russian messenger promoted by the state authorities, to discuss how to save the facility.

However, according to an activist who agreed to speak to 7x7 on condition of anonymity, the head physician gained access to the messages, deleted the chat, and prohibited employees from speaking to journalists. Healthcare workers also said that management had threatened them with difficulties finding other jobs if they continued to speak out against the closure.

The women did not abandon their protest. They appealed to local lawmakers and later joined patients in recording a video appeal to Vladimir Putin. Appealing directly to Putin is a common way for people in Russia to draw attention to a local problem. People record such videos when they feel that regional officials are not listening to them, hoping that Putin’s intervention will prompt local authorities to reconsider their decision.

Employees of Maternity Hospital No. 6 took a similar approach. They sent appeals to government bodies and officials, including Putin and the head of the Investigative Committee, a state agency that investigates serious crimes.

For healthcare workers and patients, the fight is not only about access to medical care, but also about how women are treated during childbirth.

Natalia (whose name has been changed), an employee of Maternity Hospital No. 6, told 7x7 that staff at the hospital had spent years creating a space where women in labor could feel comfortable. They looked for investors, purchased equipment, and tried to accommodate patients’ wishes. The hospital introduced bathtubs and a special birthing hammock.

“You know, it’s very difficult to turn a state-run facility into a place where women actually want to come to give birth,” Natalia said.

According to her, around 2,000 women choose this maternity hospital every year, many of them on their own initiative.

Among those who have spoken out against the closure is Alexandra (whose name has also been changed), a mother of several children. In 2015, Alexandra had a traumatic experience during childbirth. The hospital was overcrowded, and some patients had to be placed in the hallways. Healthcare workers were exhausted by the workload and had little energy left to pay attention to the women’s emotional state.

Alexandra later gave birth at Maternity Hospital No. 6 in Krasnoyarsk and, for the first time, felt that the staff were willing to accommodate her wishes:

“They told me, ‘Do whatever makes you comfortable, and we’ll adapt to you.’ And that’s exactly how it was. There was no pressure.”

Alexandra believes that reducing the number of maternity hospitals will leave doctors and midwives overworked and expose patients to obstetric violence more often, including rough treatment, humiliation, pressure, or medical interventions performed without a woman’s consent.

What Do the Protesters Risk?

For maternity hospital employees, the fight has already put their jobs at risk. Maternity Hospital No. 6 employs 116 people. Management offered them around 80 vacancies, but only eight were positions for doctors. The rest included jobs for hospital attendants and cleaners. Some employees were offered positions in other cities.

“We were offered seven positions in Norilsk and four in Achinsk, but who is going to move there? Some people have children, some have elderly parents,” Natalia, an employee of Maternity Hospital No. 6, told 7x7.

Norilsk is located in the far north of Krasnoyarsk Krai, while Achinsk is about 150 kilometers from Krasnoyarsk. For many healthcare workers, relocating would mean having to leave their homes and families behind.

But layoffs are not the only issue. According to employees, management threatened protesters with difficulties finding jobs at other medical facilities in the future. For those who want to continue working in their profession in Krasnoyarsk, such a threat is particularly serious.

Natalia said that the HR department suggested that employees leave as early as December and receive the compensation they were entitled to. However, some of the staff decided to keep working until the very last day.

“People don’t understand that we care so deeply about our work that we actually want to come in, work our shifts, and help people,” the healthcare worker explained.

Why Healthcare Workers Keep Fighting

Krasnoyarsk is not the only Russian city where residents have tried to save maternity hospitals.

In January 2026, residents of Kolchugino in Vladimir Oblast held a rally against the decision to end scheduled deliveries at the local hospital. Women will now have to travel to other cities to give birth, including Vladimir, 80 kilometers away.

Residents of Gus-Khrustalny, another city in Vladimir Oblast, tried to stop the closure of a maternity ward through the courts. The court initially suspended the staff cuts, but in April it refused to overturn the decision to close the ward.

Krasnoyarsk healthcare workers also understand that they may lose their fight. But they continue to discuss new initiatives, send appeals, and support one another.

“Of course, we understand that we might lose. But there’s always hope that what we’re doing will somehow make a difference,” Natalia said.

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