---
title: "Shortage of 86,000 medical workers: Russian intelligence admits a systemic staffing crisis in healthcare"
description: "Russia's SVR reported a shortage of 23,000 doctors and 63,000 mid-level medical workers in the country. The worst situation is in Volgograd, Rostov, and Astrakhan oblasts. In Saint Petersburg, 100% staffing is achieved through staff working double positions."
date: 2026-09-15T01:46:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/shortage-86000-medical-workers-systemic-staffing-crisis-russian-healthcare
tags: [russia, healthcare, doctor-shortage, labor-market, svr, medical-staffing]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Shortage of 86,000 medical workers: Russian intelligence admits a systemic staffing crisis in healthcare

![A medical worker in teal scrubs at work in a spacious room, reflecting the strain on the healthcare system due to a recognized staff shortage](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/15/deficit-86-tysyach-medikov-kadrovyy-krizis-zdravookhranenie-rossii/deficit-86-tysyach-medikov-kadrovyy-krizis-zdravookhranenie-rossii-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Russia's SVR recorded a shortage of about 23,000 doctors and 63,000 mid-level medical staff in Russia
- The worst situation is in Volgograd, Rostov, and Astrakhan oblasts — 1.7 résumés per doctor vacancy
- In Saint Petersburg, formal 100% staffing is achieved by medical staff working 1.5–2 positions
- In 2024, only 12 osteopaths worked in state clinics, absent in 80 regions
- The staffing deficit is part of a systemic labor market crisis also affecting trade, construction, and transport

Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has published data indicating a deep staffing crisis in the country's state healthcare system. According to information reported by RBC-Ukraine, Russian medical institutions are short by approximately 23,000 doctors and more than 63,000 mid-level medical specialists. The total deficit of qualified personnel thus exceeds 86,000 people — a figure that, analysts estimate, threatens the functioning of primary healthcare across a number of regions.

### Regions in the red zone and narrow specialties

The most acute situation, according to SVR data, is in Volgograd, Rostov, and Astrakhan oblasts. There, there are only 1.7 résumés per doctor vacancy — an indicator showing that even with active recruitment, employers cannot fill their staff. The shortage of narrow-specialty professionals deserves separate attention: Russian clinics are short by about 15% of the required number of orthodontists, as well as pediatric dentists, implantologists, and maxillofacial surgeons. It is precisely these fields that typically ensure access to scheduled and high-tech care, and their shortage directly affects patients' waiting times for treatment.

### Formal staffing levels and actual workload

The situation in Saint Petersburg is of particular interest, where 100% staffing of medical positions is officially declared. At the same time, according to the same SVR data, the city has an acute need for general practitioners (district therapists), pediatricians, and emergency medical service workers. The formal indicator, as noted in the report, is achieved because current medical staff are forced to work 1.5–2 positions, compensating for the lack of colleagues. In the view of experts, this regime leads to chronic staff overload and rising professional burnout, which in the long term only worsens the outflow of personnel.

### Vanishing specialties and outflow to the private sector

The staffing deficit also affects certain medical specialties that are effectively disappearing from the state system. In 2024, only 12 osteopathic doctors worked in Russian state clinics, and they were absent in 80 regions of the country. The number of manual therapists in state medicine was about 200, and their numbers have declined by 13.3% in recent years. Qualified specialists, according to intelligence data, are massively moving from state institutions to the private sector or leaving the profession altogether. Among the key reasons cited are low pay and the lack of practical experience among medical school graduates, who are not ready to work in conditions of mentor shortages and overloaded departments.

### Systemic nature of the problem

The problem is not limited to healthcare. According to labor market analysts, a shortage of qualified workers also affects trade, construction, and transport, creating systemic risks for Russia's social and economic spheres. In Ukraine, by contrast, a similar structural gap between employer requirements and candidate skills is recorded: demand for skilled workers exceeds supply, with the shortage felt most acutely among plumbers, electricians, and emergency-repair specialists. Thus, the staffing crisis in medicine is part of a broader trend affecting both countries in the region.

### Contradictory data

The presented information contains a number of internal inconsistencies. First, the official data on 100% staffing of medical positions in Saint Petersburg directly contradicts the statement of an acute need for general practitioners, pediatricians, and emergency medical workers in the same city. The explanation given by the SVR — working 1.5–2 positions — effectively acknowledges that the formal indicator does not reflect the real situation. Second, the source of the data is the Foreign Intelligence Service, not the Russian Ministry of Health, which raises questions about the counting methodology and whether these figures match official statistics. Exact Ministry of Health data that would allow cross-verification of the 23,000 doctors and 63,000 mid-level specialists figures have not been provided in open sources at the time of publication.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Russia is short by tens of thousands of doctors: the situation is dire even in megacities](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/rosiyi-vistachae-desyatkiv-tisyach-likariv-1789434884.html) - Основной источник фактологии. Данные СВР о 23 тыс. врачей и 63 тыс. средних специалистов, региональная статистика, информация по Петербургу и исчезающим специальностям. Оговорка: источник — разведывательная структура, а не Минздрав; перекрёстная верификация официальными данными РФ в открытых источниках не проведена.
- [Kamchatka residents thanked Irina Yarovaya for examinations by FMBA doctors](https://kamchatka.aif.ru/society/kamchatcy-poblagodarili-irinu-yarovuyu-za-obsledovanie-u-vrachey-fmba) - Материал не содержит данных о кадровом дефиците. Не использован в статье.
- [Shortage of doctors, teachers, builders, and officials: how Vologda region is saving the labor market](https://fedpress.ru/news/35/society/3434492) - Подтверждает системный характер кадрового дефицита на региональном уровне (Вологодская область), включая медицину и смежные сферы. Используется как контекст для тезиса о широком охвате проблемы.
- [Altai Republic medicine makes a breakthrough: doctor shortage turns into unexpected changes](https://www.pravda.ru/news/districts/2405029-altay-medical-staffing-update/) - Подтверждает наличие проблем с укомплектованностью медицинскими кадрами на региональном уровне (Республика Алтай). Контекстный источник.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: How many doctors are missing in Russia according to SVR data?
**A:** According to the Foreign Intelligence Service, as reported by RBC-Ukraine, Russian medical institutions are short by about 23,000 doctors and more than 63,000 mid-level medical specialists.

### Q: In which regions is the situation most acute?
**A:** The worst situation is observed in Volgograd, Rostov, and Astrakhan oblasts, where there are only 1.7 résumés per doctor vacancy.

### Q: Why does Saint Petersburg claim 100% staffing if there is a staff shortage?
**A:** The formal 100% indicator is achieved because current medical staff work 1.5–2 positions, compensating for the lack of colleagues. At the same time, the real need for general practitioners, pediatricians, and emergency medical workers persists.

### Q: Which medical specialties are effectively disappearing from the state system?
**A:** In 2024, only 12 osteopathic doctors worked in state clinics (absent in 80 regions) and about 200 manual therapists, whose numbers declined by 13.3% in recent years. There is also an acute shortage of orthodontists, pediatric dentists, implantologists, and maxillofacial surgeons.

### Q: Is the shortage of medical workers part of a broader problem?
**A:** Yes. According to labor market analysts, a shortage of qualified workers also affects trade, construction, and transport. In Ukraine, a similar structural gap is recorded, including among plumbers, electricians, and emergency-repair specialists.