Gennady Onishchenko is a famous domestic epidemiologist who is currently a deputy of the State Duma. He became popular at the position of chief state sanitary doctor, which he held from 1996 to 2013. He has the degree of Doctor of Medical Sciences, the title of professor, academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences.
Official biography
Gennady Onishchenko was born in 1950 in the small village of Chargyn-Tash in the territory of modern Kyrgyzstan. He received his higher education at the Gorky Medical Institute in Donetsk, which he graduated in 1973. The hero of our article has a specialist diploma in sanitation, hygiene and epidemiology. In his youth he was fond of sports, has the title of candidate master of sports in weightlifting.
After high school, Gennady Onishchenko worked in the Ministry of Railways of the Soviet Union. First, as an epidemiologist, and then in managerial posts at various levels.
In 1982, in the biography of Gennady Onishchenko, significant changes occurred when he became the chief sanitary doctor of the metro. The following year he was appointed head of the central sanitary and epidemiological station of the Ministry of Railways of the Soviet Union.
Gennady G. Onishchenko took part in the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident. In 1988, he was appointed deputy head of the main department of quarantine infections of the Ministry of Health.
In the Chechen war
When the First Chechen War began, Gennady Onishchenko served as deputy chairman of the State Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision. According to the journalists who covered the events in the republic in detail, he spent 140 of the first 280 days in the republic. In 1994, there was already an outbreak of cholera in Chechnya, it was believed that he did not allow it to recur, and it was precisely our hero who stopped the spread of polio and other infections articles.
Together with Onishchenko, a small but well-trained and equipped army of doctors and medical specialists arrived in Chechnya. They were engaged in the restoration of sanitary and epidemiological stations, reanimated the service, which was destroyed not only by war, but by the devastation and confusion that reigned in the region over the past few years.
Once in Grozny, doctors learned about the consequences of the 1994 cholera epidemic. In total, about a thousand people were ill, and the exact number of deaths is unknown, since Chechnya refused the help of Russian doctors. Information appeared about the threat of anthrax, the activation of three deadly plague foci at once. Onishchenko’s team also had to fight a number of other more standard infections - dysentery, hepatitis, diphtheria, and had vaccination campaigns.
In Chechnya, Onishchenko was somehow abducted by Chechen fighters. The car coming from Mozdok to Grozny was stopped on the highway. Presumably, the hero of our article was saved by the fact that he was without weapons, and in the passport it was indicated that his nationality was Ukrainian. In addition, the doctor had an amazing endurance and composure. As a result, the bandits took away money, a car and documents, leaving Gennady Grigoryevich with a driver on the road.
Chief Medical Officer
Onishchenko became the acting head of the State Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance in the summer of 1996. In many ways, it is believed that he received a high position after successfully carried out work in the Chechen Republic. Already in October, he simultaneously became First Deputy Minister of Health.
At the same time, the first time in his post Gennady Grigorievich Onishchenko was almost invisible to the public. He began to regularly get into the information space only in 2000, starting to make resonant statements and proposals. In particular, he proposed tightening state control over the advertising and production of beer.
In 2003, his statements appeared in the media about the threat of SARS, and since 2004 he regularly warned the population about the threat of a bird flu pandemic.
In March 2004, he received a new position of Gennady Onishchenko. Retaining the post of chief state sanitary doctor, he headed the department of Rospotrebnadzor. According to the new staffing, one official now had to combine both of these posts.
Prohibition policy
The public began to show increased attention to the biography of Gennady Grigorievich Onishchenko in the mid-2000s, when his department began a prohibitive policy with regard to goods and products from other states. Many believed that in this case, Rospotrebnadzor acts as a political tool, since all sorts of violations were invariably found in products from those countries with which relations with Russia have recently deteriorated.
It all started in the spring of 2006, when Rospotrebnadzor introduced a ban on the import of Moldovan and Georgian wines into Russia. Then it was stated that they do not meet sanitary standards. Georgia recognized that a large number of fakes are found on the Russian market, having opened a number of criminal cases against local factories.
In the summer of 2009, a ban was imposed on the import of dairy products from Belarus due to the fact that manufacturers did not reissue documents in accordance with the new requirements of the technical regulation for milk.
Anti-smoking
At his post, Onishchenko was remembered by many for the proposal of radical measures to combat smoking. In particular, he insisted on the ban on the sale and production of cigarettes throughout Russia.
Explaining that it is not worth introducing such restrictive measures immediately, but doing this gradually as part of the implementation of a special program.
Later, he proposed introducing provisions in the forthcoming anti-smoking law to ban the demonstration of the smoking process in programs for children.
Swine flu
In 2009, Onishchenko was at the forefront of the fight against the swine flu epidemic in Russia. The chief sanitary doctor recommended that the regional authorities limit the holding of mass events, insisted on closing international communications with countries in which outbreaks of swine flu were observed.
He strongly recommended that the Russians opt for Russian resorts in order to avoid the likelihood of the spread of the virus.
In the summer of 2011, another prohibitive initiative of Rospotrebnadzor appeared. This time, it concerned the import of vegetables from Egypt, where an intestinal infection was detected.
In the autumn of that year, Onishchenko came up with the initiative to introduce sudden inspections at catering establishments, which, in his opinion, should improve the quality of service.
GMO attitude and conflict with Roshen
Onishchenko repeatedly made scandalous and resonant statements as the head of Rospotrebnadzor. For example, in the summer of 2012, he suggested starting to use genetically modified organisms in breeding crops. This initiative was sent to the State Duma, but the decision was never made.
Interestingly, in 2015, he radically changed his position. Noting that in Russia it is necessary to create special control systems for the circulation of such products.
In the summer of 2013, it became known that a ban was introduced in Russia on the import of confectionery products of the Ukrainian company Roshen. It turned out that the products do not meet the declared parameters, and the products themselves have many complaints about their quality and safety. Then there were active rumors about a "trade war" between Russia and Ukraine.
In autumn 2013, a ban on the import of Lithuanian milk was introduced.
Resignation
In October 2013, Gennady Onishchenko was dismissed. Moreover, at first this was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets, noting that the term of office of the chief sanitary doctor has expired, Anna Popova will become the new head of the department.
In response to this, Onishchenko called Golodets "a strange character" who does not make any decisions, refusing to confirm rumors about his departure. Later, Dmitry Medvedev’s spokeswoman, Natalya Timakova , said the prime minister did not sign Onishchenko’s resignation order.
The next day, the head of government nevertheless officially dismissed Onishchenko, according to some information, including due to problems with his controllability.
Work in Parliament
After the resignation, Onishchenko was Medvedev's assistant until 2016. Then he took part in the primaries for the elections to the State Duma from the United Russia party, winning the Tushino district in Moscow.
As a result, he became a deputy Gennady Onishchenko. He joined the federal parliament of the seventh convocation. Now the position of Gennady Grigorievich Onishchenko is the first deputy chairman of the Committee on Education and Science in the State Duma.
Among his latest resonant initiatives is a proposal to euthanize unclaimed stray dogs, a complete ban on the sale and use of spinners in Russia.
In April 2018, he became one of the initiators of the bill on measures to counter the unfriendly actions of the United States and other states. In particular, he proposed introducing restrictions on the import of drugs from abroad. The bill has been criticized.