Soviet-era television healer Anatoly Kashpirovsky dies in hospital at 87

Hospitalization and death in Moscow

Television presenter Sergei Malakhov and the manager of Anatoly Kashpirovsky confirmed on Saturday, 3 October 2026, that the psychotherapist died in a hospital at the age of 87. The official cause of his death was not released to the public at the time of the announcement. Kashpirovsky had celebrated his 87th birthday at the beginning of August 2026. In July 2026, Russian media reported that physicians had diagnosed him with malignant cancer and described his overall medical condition as serious. Media reports noted that prior to his hospital admission, Kashpirovsky had attempted to treat the malignant disease on his own rather than seeking immediate institutional care. His manager delivered the initial confirmation of his passing to the Russian state news agency TASS.

Televised hypnosis across the Soviet Union

Trained as a medical doctor specializing in psychiatry and psychotherapy, Kashpirovsky abandoned traditional scientific research to build a mass media presence at the end of the 1980s. His televised sessions of hypnosis and suggestion gathered entire families in front of television screens across the Soviet Union. During these broadcasts, he looked directly into the camera and instructed viewers to follow mental commands that he claimed could remotely influence the human body and heal illnesses without medications or surgery. Supporters claimed the broadcasts alleviated pain, restored vitality, and cured specific conditions, including childhood bedwetting. The scale of public reaction drew scrutiny from Soviet authorities, who described the widespread public excitement surrounding his broadcasts as a form of mass psychosis.

Political career and cross-border fame

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kashpirovsky renounced his Ukrainian citizenship to acquire Russian citizenship and convert his television notoriety into political office. In 1993, he secured a seat as a deputy in the State Duma of the Russian Federation, running on the candidate list of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia led by Vladimir Zhirinovsky. His television broadcasts also crossed state borders to achieve widespread viewership in Poland during the social and political transformation of the early 1990s. Polish audiences watched his televised sessions as an entertaining spectacle or a source of hope during rapid economic changes. In 1990, Polish television authorities presented him with the Wiktor award in the television personality category.

Scientific criticism and recent event cancellations

Throughout his decades in the public eye, Kashpirovsky faced sharp condemnation from medical associations for claiming that alternative healing practices were superior to conventional hospital medicine. The scientific community rejected his methods, and two years before his death, the Russian Academy of Sciences officially described his techniques as absolute pseudoscience. Despite this scientific dismissal, commercial interest in his public healing sessions continued into his later years. In autumn 2025, organizers scheduled a series of live appearances for Kashpirovsky at Teatr Rampa in Warsaw. Although tickets for the Polish tour sold out completely in advance, the theater canceled all scheduled dates following public criticism and formal protests from medical doctors.