“We regret to inform you that … the deputy chief doctor for anesthesia and resuscitation of the emergency hospital №1, assistant of the department of the Omsk State Medical University, doctor of medical sciences Maksimishin Sergei Valentinovich died suddenly,” the hospital said in -a statement, which did not mention a cause of death.
Maximishin did not provide any press coverage at the time of Navalny’s hospitalization. As the hospital’s deputy chief physician for anesthesia and resuscitation, he was one of the hospital’s top doctors.
Leonid Volkov, Navalny’s chief of staff, confirmed that Maximishin is in charge of dealing with the opposition leader.
“Sergei Maximishin was the head of the department that treated Alexey Navalny and was responsible for his treatment – especially his medically induced coma,” Volkov told CNN.
“He knew more than anyone else about Alexey’s condition, so I can’t rule out the possibility of a wrong game,” he added.
“However, Russia’s health care system is very weak and it is not uncommon for doctors his age to die suddenly. I doubt there will be any investigations into his death,” Volkov continued.
CNN is requesting additional comments from local health authorities about the cause of Maximishin’s death. CNN has no evidence that any wrong game was involved.
The Minister of Health of the Omsk region said in a statement that Maximishin worked at the hospital for 28 years and saved thousands of lives.
“He brought people back to full reality. We will miss Dr. Maximishin very much. He left too early and because of this the pain of loss is particularly bitter,” Alexander Murakhovsky said in a statement.