9-Doctor Exam - what really happens

The kind of exam mentioned above is done in order for your translator to be able to get you through this hoop by securing the signatures needed - the doctors are not actually trying to find anything, they are going through the motions so that they can claim they carried the exam out, then they affix their authorization to the forms and receive the small bribes and any fees they agreed on in advance. The public health system in Russia and in other post-communist countries has a lot of problems, chief of which is endemic corruption that leads to these kinds of "exams." People have to pay doctors off there for anything, including conducting exams that are needed to receive a disability status. It is very sad because a lot of people cannot afford to pay for medical care and are instead left waiting. My friend's labor and delivery was "prepaid," but a woman in her ward had not done that and she was left with no care, screaming and in terrible distress, all night long until the last minute, when all the other babies had been born.