Anatoly Kashpirovsky, Soviet TV psychotherapist, dies at 87

October 3, 2026 at 01:47 PM2 min

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Anatoly Kashpirovsky, the Soviet psychotherapist whose televised hypnosis sessions drew millions of viewers in the late 1980s, died on October 3 at age 87. His director Sergei Rudykh confirmed the death, saying Kashpirovsky passed away at 6:45 a.m. The cause was reported as acute heart failure.

Key Facts

Anatoly Kashpirovsky died on October 3, 2026, at the age of 87.
His director Sergei Rudykh said Kashpirovsky died at 6:45 a.m. that morning.
The cause of death was reported as acute heart failure by the Shot Telegram channel.
Kashpirovsky was born on August 11, 1939, in the village of Stavnitsa, Ukrainian SSR.
In 1993, Kashpirovsky was elected to the first State Duma of Russia as a member of the LDPR.

Death Announcement

Russian TV presenter Andrei Malakhov announced Kashpirovsky's death on his Telegram channel on October 3. Malakhov wrote: "Anatoly Mikhailovich Kashpirovsky is gone. Kingdom of heaven!" Kashpirovsky's director Sergei Rudykh confirmed the death to RIA Novosti and TASS. Rudykh said Kashpirovsky died at 6:45 a.m. at the age of 87. The Shot Telegram channel reported the cause of death as acute heart failure.

Television Career

Kashpirovsky gained nationwide fame in the late 1980s through televised psychotherapy sessions on Soviet Central Television. His program "Health Sessions of Psychotherapist Anatoly Kashpirovsky" aired twice a week from October to December 1989. During the broadcasts, Kashpirovsky claimed he could put seriously ill patients into a trance so they felt no pain even during complex operations. His methods drew criticism from doctors and scientists, and in 2024 the Russian Academy of Sciences called them "absolute pseudoscience."

Later Years

In 1993, Kashpirovsky was elected to the first State Duma of Russia as a member of the LDPR. He moved to the United States in 1995, where he worked with emigrants from the former USSR. Kashpirovsky later returned to Russia and continued to hold rare sessions and release water with "instructions." In October 2025, Russian media reported that Kashpirovsky was hospitalized in Moscow due to an exacerbation of cancer.