"In Belarus, You Can Only Cheer In Minsk"
4- 1.11.2026, 10:49
- 2,546
A heartfelt plea from a resident of Slutsk whose husband died after dental treatment.
Irina, a resident of Slutsk, described on social media the medical history of her husband, who died following dental treatment. The Belarusian woman’s story caught the attention of the publication “Solidarnast”.
“Who will be held accountable for my husband’s death? I’m a widow left with a 4-year-old son to raise,” the woman from Sluch began her story in “Treds.” “He had a toothache, so my husband went to the dentist, but they wouldn’t see him—they said there was no surgeon available and they couldn’t take an X-ray. Come back tomorrow.
He didn’t sleep all night, so he went back. They took an X-ray and said the tooth was fine. They made an incision and placed a drain. ‘Take antibiotics.’
The next day, they made incisions in two more places. ‘Take antibiotics.’ He was getting worse, couldn’t swallow anymore, but they still said, ‘Take antibiotics.’”
According to Irina, a few days later her husband started feeling unwell, so she called an ambulance.
“The crew arrived. They took a look. Nothing serious. Take the antibiotics; they found a swelling on his neck. We won’t take him in—they said it’s normal with a tooth.”
In the morning, the man felt really bad. Irina called an ambulance, which took him to the emergency room at the Slutsk Central District Hospital. The woman thanks Dr. Volkova: “She ordered a CT scan and an ultrasound. She said, ‘Send him to the ICU immediately.’
I heard the conversation. They didn’t want to admit him there. To which Volkova said: ‘Come in and write a refusal stating that you won’t admit him.’ He started choking. Without hesitation, she said, ‘To the ICU immediately.’
According to Irina, this happened on Sunday.
“That night, surgeons from Minsk arrived urgently. They operated on him.
On Tuesday, the Minsk doctors performed a second surgery on him; I asked them to take him away. But he said it wasn’t possible yet. When his condition stabilized and he could be transported, I asked that he be sent to Minsk. But my pleas fell on deaf ears.”
A few days later, a consultant arrived whom Irina had called herself. “He said he could be transferred, but a decision from the higher-ups was needed. I asked the head of the ICU. He said he couldn’t decide that. I asked the hospital’s chief medical officer, who said it wasn’t up to us to tell her how to do her job.
It was as if they were holding him back on purpose—I don’t know why.< We worked it out ourselves with the regional hospital; the ICU team came and picked him up.
The next day, he underwent his third surgery. Then I heard from the head of the ICU that I was playing both sides. And I replied that I simply wanted to save the father of my 4-year-old child and my husband.”
The woman wants the Slutsk doctors to be held accountable for everything: “Who will bring back my husband, my husband’s father, and my only son?” Irina thanks the Minsk doctors from the intensive care unit: “A huge thank you to Sergei Viktorovich and Yaroslav Olegovich. But it was too late. They fought until the very end.”
The man’s diagnosis, as reported by his wife: neck phlegmon, mediastinitis, and kidney failure.
“I don’t know how to tell my little son that his dad won’t be coming home anymore,” Irina wrote.
Her post on “Treds” garnered over 334,000 views and about fifty comments, in which Belarusians offer their condolences to the woman who lost her husband and share their views on the state of healthcare in the regions.
People write:
“In Belarus, you can only get sick in Minsk. In the regions, doctors are often underqualified. There are good doctors everywhere, but the chances of surviving are much higher in Minsk.”
“Just a few days ago, a young woman in Minsk was looking for a doctor to have her wisdom teeth removed, and the day before yesterday, after the extraction, she was buried.” (This refers to 30-year-old Valeria Bobrovnik, who traveled to Minsk to have a wisdom tooth removed, but it all ended in tragedy—Ed.).
“This is already the second high-profile case of death following dental treatment in a week—what on earth is going on there?!”
“And how could they not see it on the X-ray at the dentist’s office? I’m speechless—both the dentists and the hospital staff. They didn’t want to admit him. They’re the worst. Make sure they’re punished. It won’t bring my husband back, but it might save others.”
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