Military Medical Academy Not to Move

04.04.2012 The Kirov Military Medical Academy works on routine schedule. There are no any certain instructions to prepare for move to Gorskaya, a source in the academy told Central Navy Portal.

Directors and staff of the academy are aware of defense ministry's proposal to build so-called "medical Skolkovo" in Gorskaya, near St. Petersburg and concentrate there all clinics, lecture halls and residence of the academy's staff and trainees. "It is only a concept so far. Final decision has not been made yet and would unlikely be in the nearest future", said the source in the academy. "Now we work routinely. Officers and cadets are preparing for the Victory Day parade. The year-end exams are near at hand. If the academy ever moves, that is a long-term prospect", added the source.

The first who announced about transformation of Military Medical Academy into faculty of medicine within St. Petersburg State University and its transfer to a site near Gorskaya railway station was director of the Dzhanelidze First Aid Research Institute Sergei Bagnenko, Putin's heeler during presidential election campaign.

Numerous organizations and individual persons opposed the plan to withdraw the academy from St. Petersburg. Local scientific society declared inadmissibility of the Military Medical Academy's transfer to suburbs. As was said in the official statement, "withdrawal of the Military Medical Academy from historical urban environment may disturb harmonious multilateral scientific, medical, and educational work of this unique institution and will inevitably be a barbaric action".

Group of protesters held an information piquet on March 30 and bagged subscriptions against withdrawal of the city's oldest medical institution from St. Petersburg.

As of today, transfer of the Military Medical Academy is non-constructive idea, say competent experts. If a new academy is built in Gorskaya, transportation of patients would become problematic. Thanks to its central location, the academy has saved lives of many hopeless patients.

In private talks and on condition of anonymity, most employees of the academy express strong dissent from its withdrawal. They say, the main reason for such ambiguous idea is by no means defense ministry's intention to establish an up-to-date military medical center in one site but to grip expensive land plots in downtown St. Petersburg. Besides, construction of new academy is a quite costly project. The interviewees proved that by example of frustrated transfer of the Kuznetsov Naval Academy to Kronshtadt. Construction of new educational building and residential area was supposed to be in full swing now, but no works have been started there so far.