Alexei Navalny doctor who treated Putin critic for Novichok poisoning vanishes 3 months after colleague was 'liquidated'

THE head doctor of the hospital that treated Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny after he was poisoned with nerve-agent Novichok has gone missing in a forest.

Dr Alexander Murakhovsky, 49, vanished three months after another medic who treated the Vladimir Putin critic was "liquidated" to "stop him blabbing", it is claimed.

Dr Murakhovsky has not been seen since Friday after disappearing in the Omsk region, amid reports of wild brown bears in the vicinity.

In February another doctor from the same hospital, Dr Sergei Maksimishin, 55, who treated Navalny, died suddenly amid claims he had been “liquidated”.

The following month, another medic, Dr Rustam Agishev, 63, died after “suffering a stroke”, also prompting claims the death was suspicious.

Dr Murakhovsky had said at the time regarding Navalny that "analyses of biological material carried out in three different laboratories did not find any signs of poisoning".

After the Navalny poisoning episode, Dr Murakhovsky was controversially promoted to become health minister in Omsk, seen by some as a reward for his loyalty in supporting the Russian authorities’ version that there was no evidence of poisoning. 

In a Twitter post, Navalny mocked him saying: "You lie, fake test results, are ready to please the bosses in any way – you get an award and a promotion."

But senior officials in Omsk said he was the right man for the ministerial job because he “understands all the processes that take place in healthcare”.

A major search operation has launched to locate Dr Murakhovsky, who went missing on a hunting trip in remote wetlands.

His ‘stuck’ all-terrain vehicle was found in the forest and two bears were located near it, reported Lifeshot.

There were unconfirmed claims that he had contacted other hunters by radio to say that he would go on by foot – but was confused over which direction to go.

His friends looked for him but failed to locate the missing minister. 

Russian national guards, police, emergency ministry staff and volunteers are involved in the exercises, with helicopters also deployed to find him. 

When Dr Maksimishin died, his colleagues said his demise was “very unexpected”.

It was denied he died from Covid-19, while there were also claims he had succumbed to a heart attack. 

He had suffered extremely high blood pressure shortly before his death, said reports. 

“The issue is not whether he was involved in the treatment of Alexei Navalny, but the reason for his liquidation was his readiness to share information about the treatment that he had access to,” said a post on a Telegram channel called General SVR.

The channel – which claims access to leaked secrets from the Russian elite – did not give any direct evidence for its claim to “know and affirm” about the doctor’s fatal poisoning.

'VERY UNEXPECTED'

Navalny, 44, fell acutely ill on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow in August.

The plane made an emergency landing in Omsk, and Navalny was taken to the hospital headed by Dr Murakhovsky.

Local health chiefs and doctors claimed they found no evidence of Novichok in Navalny’s blood, and denied he had been poisoned. 

But there were also claims that the hospital was full of agents of the security service FSB, which was later accused of poisoning Navalny. 

He was then airlifted to Germany, where doctors concluded he had been poisoned with a military grade nerve agent.

Navalny returned to Russia and was immediately arrested.

He was jailed in February for parole violations, on what he says were politically motivated charges, and sent to a penal colony.

Navalny subsequently staged a hunger strike as tens of thousands protested across Russia demanding his release. 

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