Medical workers in Russian regions say their salaries are being reduced, incentive payments canceled, and workloads increased. According to the outlet Vetër, operating-room nurses at the emergency hospital in Kurgan said in March that they were ready to resign after receiving about 10,000 rubles less on average in February.
Staff said the payment line for “increased workload” disappeared from their payslips. The accounting department reportedly explained this by saying the hospital had “failed to meet its plan”, although the nurses say they do not understand how they could influence such a target. Sources told the outlet that actual earnings are often reached only through overtime and extra shifts.
“How are we supposed to pay the mortgage and buy food? On payday, you just want to cry,” one nurse said.
After the collective resignation letters, prosecutors opened a review. A source told Vetër that on March 18, chief physician Konstantin Plutakhin met with staff and promised to restore part of the withheld money, around 7,000 rubles. Employees also say the hospital is already short of staff: the number of operations has grown, while the operating unit has been working every other day for a second year to cover the shortage.
The publication presents the conflict as part of a broader healthcare trend. In 2024, according to Rosstat and other cited sources, Russia continued to face shortages of doctors and mid-level medical personnel, while in a number of regions healthcare spending was cut in 2026. Medical workers in the Vladimir and Omsk regions, Tuva, Krasnoyarsk, and Krasnodar Territory also reported withheld or reduced incentive payments.