Anatoly Kashpirovsky, one of the most famous television healers of the late 1980s, has died

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Soviet and Russian psychotherapist Anatoly Kashpirovsky, who gained widespread fame through television sessions in the late 1980s, has died at the age of 87. His death was reported by television host Andrey Malakhov and Kashpirovsky's director. Shortly before his death, he became a father.

Soviet and Russian psychotherapist Anatoly Kashpirovsky has died at the age of 87. His death was reported on October 3 by television host Andrey Malakhov. This information was later confirmed by Kashpirovsky's director Sergey Rudyh.

According to Russian media, Kashpirovsky passed away in the morning at a hospital. It is reported that the cause of death was cardiac arrest. Relatives called an ambulance, but he could not be saved. Earlier, there were reports of health problems, including a surgery due to cancer.

Anatoly Kashpirovsky is survived by his wife Gulizar Chalbashova, who gave birth to their daughter Ellina last year. In August, the girl celebrated her first birthday.

Kashpirovsky gained nationwide fame in the late 1980s thanks to his television psychotherapy sessions. Millions of viewers watched his performances, during which he claimed to be able to influence people's well-being remotely using suggestion techniques. His broadcasts became one of the most discussed television phenomena of the perestroika era.

By education, Kashpirovsky was a doctor. After graduating from the Vinnitsa Medical Institute, he worked as a psychiatrist and psychotherapist in a psychiatric hospital for about 25 years before starting to conduct public sessions that brought him widespread fame.

In 1993, Kashpirovsky was elected as a deputy of the State Duma of Russia of the first convocation from the LDPR. In 1995, he participated in negotiations with terrorists who took hostages in a hospital in Budyonnovsk. Later, he left the party and resigned from his deputy powers.

In recent years, Kashpirovsky's activities have repeatedly come under criticism from the scientific community. In particular, in 2024, the commission of the Russian Academy of Sciences for combating pseudoscience labeled his methods as "absolute pseudoscience."

The name of Anatoly Kashpirovsky remains one of the most recognizable symbols of late Soviet television, and debates about his methods continue even decades after the peak of his popularity.