The prosecutor's office sent the case of the former rector of the Northern State Medical University to court for embezzlement

The regional office of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation reported the initiation of a criminal case in mid-June 2025. At that time, the name of the university and the name of the defendant were not disclosed.

According to the investigation, from December 2023 to September 2024, "wishing to exclude the expenditure of personal funds and employee funds to pay for the services of a lawyer," Lyubov Gorbatova used funds from the medical school. Thus, as the Investigative Committee believes, the former rector caused damage to the university on an especially large scale.

During the investigation, the Northern State Medical University filed a civil suit to recover damages from Gorbatova. By court order, her property was seized.

Lyubov Gorbatova has headed the medical school since 2012. In April 2025, it became known that Nadezhda Bylova, who held the position of vice-rector for international activities at the N.I. Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, was appointed acting rector.

In July 2025, the Russian Ministry of Labor presented for the first time the ratings of domestic universities and colleges by the level of graduate employment, formed in eight areas of training, including "healthcare and medical sciences". The rating was created on the basis of Rosobrnadzor data on three parameters. In the areas of bachelor's and specialist's degree training in "healthcare and medical sciences", a total of 28 places were determined, which were taken by 47 universities (some educational organizations shared places). The leader was Northern State Medical University with a final index of 1.29.