The Russian doctor in charge of treating Alexei Navalny after being poisoned by the nervous agent Novichok has died suddenly at the age of 55, according to several reports.
Sergey Maximishin died of a heart attack after being taken to hospital where he worked Wednesday night due to a rise in blood pressure, Life.ru reported, citing a spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Health .
“The doctor died of a heart attack because he had a very stressful job and lost people who were close to him,” spokeswoman Galina Nazarova said.
“It’s just the human heart,” he said at the exit.
Maksimshin, who was the head of intensive care, died in the cardiology emergency room of his hospital in Omsk.
“He gave his local hospital 28 years, saved thousands of lives and left many talented students who will follow his legacy,” said Health Minister of the Omsk region Alexander Murakhovsky.
“Sergey Maximishin literally dragged from the ‘other side’ even the most critical and hopeless patients with his hands.”
About 1,400 people have been arrested, mostly in Moscow and St. Petersburg, during heated protests over the January 17 arrest of Navalny, 44, a fierce Kremlin critic who was detained on his return to Russia since of Germany, where his treatment for intoxication had been continued.
Navalny has been sentenced to 3 and a half years in prison after authorities ruled his trip to Germany violated his parole.