In Russia, obtaining disability status costs $600

World News
BB.LV
Publiation data: 02.02.2026 10:10

Вместе с бабушками инвалидность требуют "ветераны СВО".

In the interests of the authorities - falsification of statistics.

An astonishing figure has been discovered in the official statistics of Rosstat. According to the agency, there are 11.1 million disabled people in Russia. In recent years, this number has changed only slightly – despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the war. What is surprising is not only the lack of growth: the figure itself seems unjustifiably low.

Missing Millions

In the summer of 2025, while presenting a report on the situation of people with disabilities in the State Duma, the Human Rights Commissioner in the Russian Federation, Tatyana Moskalkova, also stated that there are 11.1 million disabled people in the country. This figure did not raise any questions for the ombudsperson.

Meanwhile, in 2012, the World Health Organization in its foundational report indicated that, on average, disabled people make up 16% of the population worldwide. This means that in Russia, with a population of 146 million, there should be approximately 23.3 million disabled people – twice as many as reported by the ombudsperson.

Even without relying on hypothetical figures from the WHO, it is easy to notice that according to Rosstat's official data, eight years ago there were 12.2 million disabled people in Russia, a million more than now. And State Duma deputy Oleg Smolin (himself disabled and a long-time lobbyist for the interests of people with disabilities) cautiously noted at that same meeting in the State Duma with Moskalkova that fifteen years ago there were 13 million disabled people in Russia – two million more than now.

In recent years, at least two major events should have significantly increased the number of disabled people in Russia – the COVID-19 pandemic and the full-scale invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine. The number of people with disabilities should have increased by hundreds of thousands, but it has decreased by hundreds of thousands instead.

Medical and social experts, doctors, and patients interviewed by "Sistema" unanimously assert that it has simply become significantly more difficult for Russian citizens to obtain and confirm disability status.

Consistent Health Reform

The gradual tightening of the rules for obtaining disability status in Russia has occurred unnoticed – through ministerial orders and government resolutions. It began in 2014 with amendments to the law and reached its peak with the harshest government resolution of April 5, 2022 – a month after the start of the full-scale war.

In 2014, Federal Law No. 419-FZ introduced the concept of "persistent impairment of functions and limitations of vital activity". The basis for recognizing a person as disabled, explains a medical and social expertise (MSE) specialist to "Sistema" on the condition of anonymity, became not a medical diagnosis, but these very limitations and impairments. This means that if a person, despite their illness, manages to cope, work, and live a more or less normal life, they will not be recognized as disabled.

In 2015, the Ministry of Labor issued an "Order on Classifications and Criteria..." for medical and social expertise. Many criteria were tightened, says the MSE specialist to "Sistema".

In 2019, the government issued a resolution "On Amending the Rules for Recognizing a Person as Disabled". According to this resolution, it became significantly more difficult for doctors to refer patients for medical and social expertise.

– Too many documents need to be collected, – says the MSE specialist to "Sistema". – For example, if a patient is working, the doctor must request a letter from the employer stating whether the employee is coping with their duties and how difficult it is for them.

In 2020, due to COVID, medical and social expertise was allowed to be conducted remotely, but the criteria were not softened. The subject of consideration became only medical documents, not the person themselves.

– Roughly speaking, – explains the MSE specialist, – people lost the ability to appeal to the obvious, to say "look, my nasolabial triangle is blue, how can you deny respiratory failure?"

Finally, on April 5, 2022, a month after the start of the full-scale invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine, the last government resolution "On Recognizing a Person as Disabled" was issued. An MSE employee who spoke with "Sistema" calls this resolution "draconian" and directly links it to the beginning of the full-scale war:

– They (the authorities) realized that the war was dragging on and that disabled people would come in hundreds of thousands. They decided to make the numbers look better and save money.

Disabled people in Russia receive a pension ranging from 6,000 to 20,000 rubles per month (up to $240). Plus regional allowances, compensation for the purchase of rehabilitation equipment, free treatment, and benefits for transportation and utilities. The specialist suggests that reducing the number of disabled people by one million saves the government at least 10 billion rubles monthly. Or – 120 billion rubles a year ($1.53 billion).

As an example of the "draconian" nature of the new decree, the specialist cites the conditions for recognizing a citizen as disabled listed in paragraph 5:

a) health impairment with persistent dysfunction of the body caused by diseases, consequences of injuries, or defects

b) limitation of vital activity (complete or partial loss of the citizen's ability or possibility to self-service, move independently, orient themselves, communicate, control their behavior, learn, or engage in labor activities).

c) necessity for rehabilitation and habilitation measures.

These conditions seem reasonable, but only until one reads paragraph 6:

The presence of one of the conditions specified in paragraph 5 of these Rules is not sufficient grounds for recognizing a citizen as disabled.

That is, the specialist explains, neither dysfunction of the body, nor limitation of vital activity, nor the need for rehabilitation are grounds for recognizing a person as disabled. A combination of these conditions is necessary. In other words, anyone can be denied disability status on the grounds that "the conditions for recognizing a person as disabled" exist, but their combination does not.

– I quit, – says the specialist to "Sistema". – The purpose of the work was to provide assistance to people, not to deny it.

Just Business This interviewee of "Sistema" was not the only employee of medical and social expertise who quit after the April decree. Some quit to turn obtaining disability status into a business. For example, Svetlana Danilova – she runs a Telegram channel with 13,000 subscribers and offers paid consultations of varying complexity. When asked by "Sistema" how much her services cost, Danilova did not respond, but it can be assumed that obtaining permanent disability status is more expensive than obtaining temporary status.

The thing is that paragraph 52 of the April decree stipulates the following:

"Re-examination of group I disabled persons is conducted once every 2 years, group II and III disabled persons – once a year, and disabled children – once during the period for which the child is classified as a disabled child."

This means that even with the most severe, first group disability, one must collect documents, undergo examinations, and medical and social expertise every two years. And with a lighter disability, a "person recognized as disabled" must engage in confirming their disability almost continuously, year after year.

The April decree stipulates that disability can also be permanent; it is established (paragraph 9) "based on the list according to the appendix, as well as on the grounds specified in paragraph 13". The MSE specialist tells "Sistema" that such wording allows for establishing permanent disability for anyone or for not establishing it for anyone.

A patient named Marina (she asked not to disclose her last name for fear of upsetting the doctors) tells "Sistema" that the doctor suggested she consult a consultant. Not the aforementioned Svetlana Danilova, but a certain Ivan. Ivan needed to be paid 50,000 rubles ($600) to help her with the documents for permanent disability. And another 50,000 when the permanent disability was obtained.

To Have Health

Marina is 70 years old, she is a pensioner. She tells "Sistema" that due to heart disease, she underwent coronary angiography but had a very bad experience – after the anesthesia, she could not remember for a long time how she ended up in the hospital and what had happened to her. She searched her phone for her daughter's number to call her and could not remember her daughter's name. Gradually, her memory recovered, but it was very unpleasant and frightening.

As a result of the coronary angiography, Marina had heart surgery, two stents were placed, and she was given a third group disability. But a year later, she had to confirm her disability, as if the stents could somehow disappear from her heart. To confirm it, she needed to undergo coronary angiography again. And Marina refused disability. She says:

– If I have to undergo coronary angiography every year, I will die from it before I die from a heart attack.

And Sergey Lvovich is eighty. This patient of the Bakulev Center in Moscow also asked not to disclose his last name to avoid upsetting the doctor. Twenty years ago, Sergey Lvovich had a massive heart attack, and now he has had a second one. And Sergey Lvovich ended up with the same doctor. The doctor remembered how twenty years ago he had suggested that Sergey Lvovich apply for disability, but he refused, feeling still young and full of strength. And now, the doctor said, it has become very difficult to obtain disability status.

– I don’t know, – says Sergey Lvovich, – maybe the doctor was hinting that I should give him money for help in obtaining disability?

The third interviewee of "Sistema" among the patients is named Oksana. She also asked not to disclose her last name to avoid conflict with the doctors. She is not sick herself; her son is ill.

The young man is twenty years old, he has severe multiple disorders. He does not speak, walks poorly, suffers from epilepsy, and, of course, cannot study or take care of himself. He can eat independently but cannot control urination and defecation, and wears diapers.

When the boy turned eighteen, Oksana spent a whole year gathering documents for her son, conducting the required examinations, and proving to the medical and social expertise that her disabled child would remain severely disabled after reaching adulthood.

Oksana jokes:

– In Russia, to obtain disability status, you need to have good health.