Support The Moscow Times!

Russian Journalist Reveals HIV Diagnosis On World AIDS Day

Journalist Pavel Lobkov Pavel Lobkov / Facebook

A well-known Russian journalist has come out publicly as being HIV positive on World Aids Day.

During a broadcast of the “Hard Day's Night” program on Tuesday night, Pavel Lobkov, 48, a presenter at the liberal Dozhd TV television channel revealed he was diagnosed with HIV in 2003.

Lobkov said he had found out he had been infected with the disease after undergoing a compulsory health check in order to get medical insurance.

“I walked into the infectious diseases department. There was a thick file, on which was written, with a red marker 'HIV+',” he said during the broadcast. “With the expression of a Soviet Buddha the doctor said: 'You've been scrapped from the medical insurance program, because you have been diagnosed with HIV. Your case has been passed on to the Moscow health committee, where you will be put on a list. All the best, goodbye!'”

Lobkov described the incident on the evening of World AIDS Day which is held on Dec. 1.

The infectious disease is still a societal taboo in Russia but the number of registered HIV-positive patients in Russia has reached almost 1 million, according to figures presented last month by the head of Russia's Federal Center for Fighting AIDS, Vadim Pokrovsky.

Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said earlier that Russia's HIV epidemic could spiral out of control by the end of the decade if treatment for the life-threatening virus is not expanded, the TASS news agency reported in October.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more