Doctor of medicine, professor, director of Moscow Research Institute of Child Surgery and Traumatology at the Russian Academy of Sciences, president of International Charity Fund for helping child victims after catastrophes, member of the Public Chamber, chair of the Chamber’s Panel for Public Health Issues…All these are regalia, positions and titles of one person – Leonid Roshal.   

Q: Leonid Mikhailovich, your birthday this year falls on the Easter. As far as I know you are not a religious person.

A: It’s my parents’ fault, not mine. Though, you know everyone is somewhat religious. Those who consider themselves to be non-believers, they just lie, as anyway there is something somewhere in everyone’s soul. When parents take their children to have a complex operation, everyone becomes a believer. This is why we are restoring an orthodox church. If I had opportunity, I would also build a small mosque, a small synagogue, and a small Buddhist temple, as there are no bad religions. There are people distorting religion to get some advantages for themselves.     

Q: Have you had situations where you prayed to the God?   

A: Never. I remember flying to Beslan on a border force’s plane. Then a storm began and lightning sparkled. I asked the pilots what was going to happen in case the lightning struck the plane. They said we would crash. But even then I just tried to compose myself. It was appalling, but I didn’t pray.   

Q: And have you ever prayed for others, when saving someone’s life?  

A: (after a long pause) No, I can’t say I prayed. I just wished very strongly the person to survive. And I always suffer when this does not happen.   

Q: What do you believe in?

A: I believe in mind. And I am an optimist despite all this horror and nightmare around us. It takes mind to stop all that.  

Q: And should people trust the authority?

A: It never happens that the entire nation trusts the authority! Even at Communists there was a double bottom. I don’t like it when everyone votes unanimously. I always live in accordance with my conscience. It’s impossible to make me say something when I don’t agree to that. I must come to my own opinion. This is why I never sign collective letters. 

Q: There are many people who can be called “court”: there are court film directors, actors, artists. Could you call yourself to be a court doctor?   

A: I have never treated children of government members or party leaders. I’m not a court man. This is why everyone knows it’s difficult to deal with me.  

Q: Have you ever had disagreements with the authority?  

A: For example, I felt pressurized greatly when we discussed the question of the state of public health, in the Public Chamber. But we managed to insist and admittance was made of unsatisfactory state of the Russian health care system.   

Q: Do you always agree with what the president does? 

A: Which one?

Q: The standing one.  

A: Well, he has done much good for Russia. Any way you slice it, it was him to stop the mass blood shed that we had in Chechnya. We have short memory and we don’t remember us receiving casualty bulletins daily. Now we have much less casualties.  

Actually, I’m a state-supporter in my nature. I’m glad to see that the time has gone where Russia was nearly discarded. Now the country has her own voice, and it’s no terrible that some countries disagree with her. Of course, I’d like to see our economy develop better. And the situation with the public health system is not good. We need twice as big money for providing proper financing.        

Q: If you became the healthcare minister, what would you do first?  

A: First, I would retire. It’s not that I’m afraid of such a job; I’m doing a similar job in the Public Chamber. You know, there must be checks and balances in the society. There must be people disagreeing with the executive power in something. It’s no good when everything is done unanimously. I see my destination in providing for the voice by civil society.  

Q: I can’t help asking you about Dubrovka (Nord-Ost). Looking back now, do you think any mistakes to have been committed then?  

A: (after a pause) You know, this is a painful question for me… Let’s not speak about that. I said then and I can repeat now: if my relatives had been in the hall at that moment and the question was to be decided whether to apply or not the gas, I would have spoken anyway for using it. I had seen those guys eyes-to-eyes and I had seen the bombs. Everything could have blown up, and then not 130 people, but all 800 could have died. That was a chance for salvation.   

Q: You said in one of your interviews that when you met with Putin you were more excited than when you were in Dubrovka carrying out the talks.  

A: Honestly, I had never been to the Kremlin before. And I had never been received by any state’s leader. This is a normal feeling when you walk along the Kremlin’s wall and realize that it’s there that the many-century destiny of Russia was decided. And in Dubrovka I was doing what I had to.  

Q: Have you had a moment of passing over some threshold of being indifferent? Have you had a feeling that you became less sensitive to other people’s tragedies?   

A: If I felt anything like that, I would put off my robe right now and would leave. I would just go for gardening.  

Q: There are many reports around about fatal doctor’s mistakes, and the fear for doctor begins to appear with people….

A: That’s the press’s fault. You say about doctor’s mistakes, but you don’t say that most doctors still work for poor wages. I came to work here more than 20 years ago. It has been only 2-3 people who left for richer medical institutions since then. And the rest put on their robes and continued working. They are real heroes! Yes, there are those among doctors who never come to see a patient without money. They must be expelled from the profession. But 98% of the doctors are sincere and real people.     

Q: With your jubilee, do you feel your age?  

A: Not at all! I’m not bored to live. I don’t feel I’m seventy five. It’s only about awarding me with something again. I consider it to be rubbish. Why decorate people just for living up to this age? Decorations must be given for real feats.   

Q: Well, I congratulate you and wish you only to get awards you really appreciate.  

A: And I don’t want any decorations. I just want everything to be alright with my job.  

Interview by
Ksenia Turkova-Kiria,
a host at REN TV,
specially for Novaya Gazeta