Pure torments: what threatens the leadership of the boarding school in Prokopyevsk

The head of Kuzbass temporarily suspended the director of the Prokopievsky boarding school for citizens with mental disorders - nine residents died there during January 2026. The Prosecutor's office and Rospotrebnadzor are conducting an inspection, and a criminal case has been opened for violating sanitary standards that caused mass deaths. Lawyers believe that it is also possible to initiate a negligence case. Who may be among the accused and what punishment may follow — in the Izvestia article.

Temporary suspension

Ilya Seredyuk, Governor of the Kemerovo Region, temporarily suspended Elena Morozova, director of the Prokopiev boarding school for people with mental disorders, as nine patients died there in January.

"She's an interested party. I'm not talking about dismissal, but about temporary suspension," he explained to reporters.

An outbreak of influenza was recorded at the boarding school, this diagnosis was confirmed in 21 patients, the regional Ministry of Labor reported earlier.

On January 30, the Governor held meetings of the operational headquarters with the participation of members of veterans' associations, trade unions, journalists, representatives of religious denominations and deputies. Ilya Seredyuk said that the commission of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Kuzbass has been working at the boarding school since January 24.

"We check the quality of care, conditions of stay, food, treatment, and communicate with employees,— he said.

The Minister of Health of the region, Andrei Tarasov, said at a meeting of the operational staff that, according to the latest data, 61 residents of the boarding school were hospitalized. Now three of them are in serious condition, 11 have been discharged.

There is no understanding between the management and the staff at the institution, Lyudmila Surkova, chairman of the Kemerovo regional organization of the Trade Union of government Employees, said during the headquarters. She also called boarding school difficult.

— There were many complaints and questions in the interaction (between the management and the team. — Ed.), — she said.

According to her, almost every day the union receives questions about understaffing and about the salary level in the institution.

The governor instructed to open a hotline in the near future to record complaints about such institutions, as well as to begin developing a procedure for public certification of their leaders. He promised that those living in boarding schools would be comprehensively examined twice a year, as he instructed the regional Minister of Health of the region.

"It is important to understand in detail the root causes that led to the sad events, to exclude them in the future. People who live and receive treatment in such institutions should feel cared for," the governor emphasized on social media.

The Prosecutor's office has already organized an inspection of all 13 boarding schools in the region.

A case was opened on violation of sanitary standards

The Regional Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case for violating sanitary and epidemiological rules, which negligently resulted in the death of several people. According to investigators, officials and employees of the institution improperly performed their duties, as a result of which an infection arose and spread in the boarding school.

"Since January 23, 2026, 46 residents who were hospitalized have been diagnosed with signs of mass illness. To date, the death of three patients has been recorded, whose health has deteriorated as a result of the disease. The causes of death of six more people from among the boarding school guests are also being investigated," the Investigative Committee said.

The local Department of Rospotrebnadzor is conducting its investigation into the incident. They began work on localizing the outbreak immediately after receiving information about it, the department told Izvestia.

— All residents and all employees were examined at the Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in the Kemerovo Region. The patients have been hospitalized, and the necessary medical care is being provided. All those in contact with the sick are under medical supervision," the department added.

What threatens the director of the boarding school

The management of the boarding school faces up to seven years in prison for violating sanitary standards that led to the death of people, former prosecutor's office investigator and lawyer Vadim Bagaturia told Izvestia.

— Each of the defendants always has mitigating circumstances, so the punishment is reduced by a third of what the court deems necessary. In this case, they can impose about 4.5 years in prison," the lawyer noted.

He added that both a re-qualification of the case and a charge under new articles are possible. Lawyer Evgeny Stegantsev agrees with him.

"Perhaps the director will also be charged with negligence," he told Izvestia.

Usually, suspended sentences are imposed in such cases, but real terms are not often imposed, Evgeny Stegantsev said. And if the facts of violations reported on social networks are confirmed, in particular, poor—quality food and violation of living conditions, then the period may be the maximum, he believes.

At the same time, the head of the institution always bears personal responsibility, Vadim Bagaturia emphasized. And Evgeny Stegantsev believes that "any employee of the boarding school may face punishment."

Mass illnesses or deaths of patients are rare, although there are such precedents, Veronika Polyakova, a criminal lawyer and managing partner of the Business Legal Group Bar Association, told Izvestia. She recalled how at the beginning of 2019, more than 90 cadets were diagnosed with echinococcosis (worms) at the Ulyanovsk Guards Suvorov School. Then Marina Kondyurina, an engineering technologist at the college, and Tatiana Suchkova, head of production at Trading House SPP LLC, were found guilty. Three years later, the court sentenced them to 10 and 11 months in prison.