Grigory, a resident of Novocherkassk, lost his right foot after being blown up by a mine during the NWO in July 2022. The man participated in the special operation as a volunteer, he was a member of the BARS detachment ("Combat Army Reserve of the Country"). After being wounded, Gregory spent almost a year in hospitals, trying to relearn how to walk.
"Morally, it was difficult to realize that now it will be like this. But you get used to everything. Moreover, I already had the experience of a serious injury - back in 2014, I volunteered for the Donbass militia, and in 2015 my leg was broken there, also my right, only the femur. At that time, I spent almost a year and a half in the Ilizarov apparatus, and it was much more difficult to walk on it than now on a prosthesis, "Grigory recalls.
According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the military during a special military operation receive mainly mine-explosive wounds, they occupy 70% of the total number of wounds. It is with these that there is a risk of losing a leg or arm.
At the same time, 1.5 million people with disabilities in Russia need technical means of rehabilitation, including prostheses of the upper and lower extremities. Such data are provided by the Ministry of Labor. This figure does not include participants in the special operation to protect Donbass, who are still just preparing for registration and registration of disability.
Experts say that now the industry is facing problems due to Western sanctions, and consumers themselves complain about the difficulties in obtaining prostheses and compensation for the purchase of these expensive rehabilitation tools.
As Gregory explains, the process of obtaining a prosthesis through the Ministry of Defense took him more than three months. The man spent all this time in the hospital. But now he already needs a new prosthesis - according to treatment protocols, in the first two years the patient must change a total of three prostheses, since the stump decreases in volume over time.
According to Gregory, the first prosthesis issued to him no longer fits in size and needs to be replaced. Until a new prosthesis is issued, Gregory manages with improvised means: so that he does not hang out on his leg, the man is forced to wrap it with construction tape.
Grigory says that until recently, volunteers who participated in the NWO had practically no rights, but after their "legalization" the situation began to improve. Due to the fact that the status of a volunteer was legally secured, the man finally passed the military medical commission (VVK). Previously, in military hospitals, he, like other volunteers, simply did not sign a medical certificate, and it is necessary for registration of military disability.
Shortage of workshops
A resident of Krasnodar, Ivan, participated in the NWO as a volunteer. In July 2022, Ivan was blown up by a mine and lost part of his foot - he has a non-standard case of traumatic amputation, since part of the limb is preserved. However, with such injuries, it is even more difficult to select and deliver a suitable prosthesis than for patients with a complete amputation - highly specialized specialists need to be involved in the work.
- Ivan
- © Photos from the personal archive
"From Krasnodar, I have to go to the prosthetic center in St. Petersburg, because in my region there are no such specialized centers at all. In St. Petersburg, I was made a special prosthesis - a slipper, which is made from a cast of the leg. Thanks to him, I can now walk without a cane and crutches, I can work," says the volunteer.
In addition to the St. Petersburg center, Ivan went to Moscow for a prosthesis. There he was offered to do everything for free under a tender from the Ministry of Defense - however, this process, according to Ivan, would take a very long time. However, the appearance and functionality of the proposed product did not suit the man.
- Ivan's prosthesis: in the process of manufacturing and finished
- © Photos from the personal archive
"There are few normal prosthetic centers in the country. I got out to Moscow. There I was offered huge spanks on my leg, like hockey goalkeepers. This is very inconvenient, the work of the ankle is completely excluded. In addition, now I wear normal shoes, albeit two sizes larger, ordinary clothes, my jeans - and here it would not be possible to wear all this. That is, such a prosthesis does not imply that a person will be able to live normally with him, "says the interlocutor of RT.
Prosthesis on credit
Igor Goncharenko, director of the Svoim charitable foundation, who helps participants in the special operation in Ukraine undergo rehabilitation after injuries, told RT that now companies have appeared on the prosthetics market offering NWO participants not to wait for rehabilitation funds from the Ministry of Defense, but to get prostheses "here and now", but at their own expense.
"People don't know what they're supposed to do, where to go. Because of this, a huge number of companies have appeared on the prosthetics market, which, in my opinion, act as swindlers: they convince those in need of a prosthesis to take a loan for a prosthesis from a bank, assuring that someday the state will supposedly compensate for all this and you will return this money to the bank, "explains Goncharenko.
According to him, in Russia there is no single state norm or federal law that guarantees everyone compensation, which will cover the entire cost of a prosthesis purchased privately.
"If a person is not legally savvy, he takes out a loan for a prosthesis in the hope that he will then return the money. And if a person is a soldier, a disabled combat veteran, it is unlikely that he will subsequently have the opportunity to repay these multimillion-dollar loans, "concluded the head of the Svoim Foundation.
Goncharenko added that some private companies that convince potential buyers to take loans for expensive prostheses often do not have a goal to provide the client with a really high-quality product - many bring the cheapest goods from China. The problem of consumer goods is that a typical prosthesis does not take into account the individual characteristics of the patient. Because of this, a person will have difficulties in using the replaced limb, up to the impossibility of using the prosthesis. And then he will have to buy a new one.
The effect of sanctions
Representatives of the Agency for Strategic Innovations (ASI), supervised by the President of the Russian Federation and promoting domestic manufacturers of prostheses, told RT that, as of mid-2022, more than 80% of the prosthetic and orthopedic industry in Russia was provided with products from Europe, the USA or China.
"The withdrawal of foreign goods from the Russian market due to restrictive measures and sanctions has also affected the most vulnerable segments of the population - people with disabilities. The imposed sanctions affected the cost and availability of foreign-made prostheses, as well as their maintenance, the ASI states. "According to manufacturers, the price of foreign components has increased by about 50%, however, despite this growth, Russian products remain cheaper than Western counterparts produced in Europe by about 30%."
According to Mikhail Terentyev, a deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation and chairman of the All-Russian Society of Disabled People, after the introduction of restrictive measures, Russian manufacturers are trying to replace imported parts and materials with domestic analogues.
The deputy's words are confirmed by the experience of several large Russian prosthetic companies. For example, the wards of ASI - "Motorica" and "Techbionic", which produce prosthetic hands, managed to overcome the mark of 90% of domestic components in their production.
Small companies are also coping with sanctions. For example, Ortori LLC, where Ivan was prosthetic, independently produces foot prostheses - insert shoes according to an individual technological process. The company's CEO and leading specialist, Irina Reshetova, told RT that they had already managed to solve the problems that initially caused the sanctions.
"When the sanctions began, we, like all companies, experienced some difficulties: supplies, materials. However, in general, it turned out that we are not very dependent on sanctions, because we can replace everything with domestic materials. We do not need to wait a lot of time for components, we do everything ourselves - and quickly enough. This is a big plus of alternative prosthetics," concluded Irina Reshetova.
Integration into society
According to State Duma deputy Mikhail Terentyev, it is important to reduce the time for Russians to receive rehabilitation funds in order to accelerate their integration into society. Having received a prosthesis, a person will be able to leave the house on his own, establish a normal life, and, if possible, look for work.
This is the story of Sergey, a 25-year-old contract soldier from the Altai Territory. In May 2022, he was blown up by a Grad projectile, partially lost both feet and received multiple wounds to his back and abdomen. During the time spent in military hospitals waiting for prostheses, Sergei managed not only to relearn how to walk, but also to get a new profession.
"Of course, it was hard at first. But when you walk on your own for the first time, the feeling is great: you understand that everything is possible. The main thing is not to lose heart, to believe in yourself, "the contractor emphasizes. - In the hospital, in order not to waste time, I received additional education, took a training course as a personal trainer, watched lectures online. Now I'm on vacation, but I'm already coaching some of the guys I know."
Sergey was lucky with prostheses - he was ordered Hong Kong prostheses from the Ministry of Defense, with them it is imperceptible that the young man has any injuries at all. During the rehabilitation, the contractor has already learned to walk without support, squat, stand on one leg - he almost completely restored all the functions of his legs. According to Sergey himself, he did not have any problems with obtaining rehabilitation funds.
"I was given a military medical commission in a military hospital, the doctors themselves submit the lists. Then I received a call from the Social Fund, from the Pension Fund - they did everything on disability themselves. For payments - for disability, for a veteran - I submitted some documents through the "State Services", and in other cases they contacted me and told me where and what to bring. That is, representatives of the Social Fund and the Pension Fund themselves showed interest, "says Sergey.
In the near future, the contractor plans to complete the paperwork and go to serve in the military registration and enlistment office in the Altai Territory. According to Sergey, his athletic character helps him not to give up - the young man was engaged in powerlifting even before military service. And after being wounded, Sergei revised his attitude to many things.
"Something I did not appreciate, and now I began to pay attention. I thought that I would have time - now I understand that it is important to live here and now. Before the NWO, I was actively involved in sports, powerlifting - I think thanks to this I turned out to be more stable psychologically. It helped me cope, "summed up the interlocutor of RT.