Darya Shipilova: key obituary facts
Is Darya Shipilova dead? Yes. Darya Shipilova died on October 2, 2026, at age 28.
Cause of death: Darya Shipilova's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Darya Shipilova known for?
Darya Shipilova was a Russian laboratory worker.
Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old Russian laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, died on October 2, 2026, under unclear circumstances.
She worked at the institute in Irkutsk, in Russia’s Irkutsk Oblast. Her death prompted concern about a possible case of pneumonic plague, though the circumstances of her death and any connection to the disease were not established in the information reported.
The regional outlet Lyudi Baikala said Shipilova had been hospitalized on September 29 in Shelekhov with severe pneumonia. Unverified reports offered different possible explanations for her illness, including a potential laboratory incident or travel to another region. A more specific account, carried in independent regional reporting cited by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and other outlets, said she had broken a test tube containing Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, on September 25. Russian authorities did not confirm that account. The available reporting therefore left unresolved whether her illness was connected to the institute or to a possible exposure. Shipilova’s surname is also transliterated as Shpilova.