Elizaveta Glinka
BMJ 2017; 356 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j676 (Published 07 February 2017) Cite this as: BMJ 2017;356:j676
- Ned Stafford
- Hamburg
- ns{at}europefn.net
ITAR-TASS/Alamy
On Christmas Eve 2016, Elizaveta Glinka—an advocate for homeless people, terminally ill patients, and children suffering the horrors of war—boarded a Russian military transport plane in Moscow bound for Syria. Her mission was to deliver medical supplies, equipment, and gifts to Tishreen University Children’s Hospital in Latakia, Syria.
Glinka, founder and executive director of the charitable foundation Fair Care, had been on numerous missions before, including to Syria and to areas of Russia hit by floods and forest fires. She had also travelled to the Donbass region of Ukraine to evacuate injured children so they could receive medical care in Russia.
State prize
Just over two weeks before the flight Glinka had been awarded the state prize of the Russian Federation, among Russia’s top civilian prizes, in recognition of her charity and humanitarian work. In a speech after receiving the prize from Russian president Vladimir Putin, Glinka said: “We never are sure that we will return alive because war is hell on Earth. I know what I am talking about. But we are sure that kindness, compassion, and mercy are more powerful than any weapons.”
Mikhail Metzel/TASS/PA
Around midnight on Christmas Eve, the military plane on which Glinka was travelling—a three engine Tupolev Tu-154—made a refuelling stop at Sochi International Airport in southern Russia. …
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