The official pathologist's report from Botkin Hospital regarding the cause of death of production designer Alexander Kondratov, who died on October 23, 2026, in a pre-trial detention center, has been released. The document, provided to Mediazona by the late filmmaker’s brother, Alexey Kondratov, identifies "hypertensive cardiovascular disease with heart failure" as the primary cause of death. The field for "condition directly leading to death" lists "left ventricular failure," and the post-mortem epicrisis names ischemic cardiomyopathy as the primary underlying disease.
Timeline of the Final Hours
According to the documents, Kondratov, who was being held in a pre-trial detention center, lost consciousness on October 23 at 22:15. At 23:29, he was delivered to Botkin Hospital "during ongoing resuscitation efforts, 1 hour and 14 minutes after the onset of clinical death." Doctors declared biological death at 23:59 that same day. Thus, less than two hours passed from the moment of losing consciousness to the pronouncement of death, with resuscitation efforts beginning in the detention center and continuing during transit to the hospital.
Body Still in the Morgue
According to Alexey Kondratov, his brother's body, as of November 12 — nearly three weeks after his death — remains in the Botkin Hospital morgue. The lawyer for the deceased has been denied access to the body: the attorney lacks a power of attorney from relatives, without which, according to regulations, a body inspection cannot be conducted. On November 11, the Moscow City Court rejected an appeal against Kondratov's arrest. Commenting on the defendant's absence from the hearing, the judge noted that he was unable to attend "for known reasons."
How Kondratov Ended Up in Detention
Alexander Kondratov had lived in Kyiv for about 14 years. In the spring of 2026, he arrived in Russia to renew his passport. In May, he was detained at border control at Vnukovo Airport. Under a petty hooliganism protocol, a court sentenced him to 15 days of administrative detention. This was followed by repeated arrests for other administrative offenses; in total, he spent at least 70 days in detention. On August 5, 2026, a criminal case was opened against Kondratov for high treason, and he was arrested on August 9. The indictment states that the case was initiated based on "no fewer than six publications" on the internet; their content has not been disclosed in public sources.
Discrepancies in Stated Cause of Death
It is noteworthy that the verbal report from the head of the pathology department at Botkin Hospital, previously communicated to Kondratov’s lawyer, contained a different medical formulation: the cause of death was stated as "type 2 myocardial infarction." The written pathologist's report, by contrast, records chronic cardiovascular pathology — hypertensive disease and ischemic cardiomyopathy resulting in heart failure. Both documents originate from the same institution, yet the terminological discrepancy between the verbal and written reports remains.
Who Was Alexander Kondratov
Alexander Kondratov was 52 years old. He worked as a production designer on several Russian and Ukrainian TV projects, including the series "Liquidation," "Odessa-Mama," and "Return My Love." For his work on "Liquidation," he was awarded the "Golden Eagle" and TEFI national film awards. News of his death in the detention center broke on October 26; the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) did not disclose the circumstances of the incident for several days.
