A vistior's view on homœopathy in Leningrad, USSR

Abstract

When walking on the busiest central street of Leningrad, Nevsky Prospect, you could not miss the bright blue 'Homeeopathic Pharmacy' sign which, to my knowledge, did not exist some five years ago. That's where I started my search for details on homceopathy in this 4.5 million city on the river Neva, just off the coast of the Gulf of Finland. After spotting a leaflet on AIDS hanging on a notice board in the pharmacy, labelled 'for general distribution', I ventured to one of the many queues to ask for one to take home. The pharmacy was very busy, with some 4-5 sections, but the medicines were handed out quite quickly once it was clear what the customer wanted. Creams, ointments, syrups of all sorts were handed over the counter, and there were many curious visitors like myself just browsing through and wondering. I asked for printed information on hom0eopathic medicines, or hom~eopathic physicians, on books, AIDS, anything that would be handed out. I was met with an astonished look, not so much due to my accent, but my request for 'free' information in a country where even the things that you pay for are often scarce. I was directed to a large notice board with addresses to some five larger homoeopathic polyclinics (out-patient departments, really, as large as hospitals sometimes) in the Leningrad area. I chose the largest one, on Praga Street in the outskirts of the city. When I finally went there some days afterwards, I was given a warm welcome and presented with a large bouquet of gladioli, but more of this later. Judging by the literature before the October Revolution 1917, homoeopathy had enjoyed special protection under the benevolent eyes of Tsar Alexander II (1855-1881). A 'Home Medical Guide in Homoeopathy' was written by the Head Physician of the then existing HomGeopathic Hospital in Leningrad, P. Solovjev, 'in memory of the late Emperor '? Old pictures of the hospital with its various clinics and laboratories can be seen in books which seem to have been in good use before the Revolution. A monthly journal, 'Homoeopathic Physician', 2 existed at that time, too, under the editorship of Hemming (Scottish connection?). The October Revolution marks a turning point in everything; when asking for homceopathic books at a library, I was met with a question 'Do you wish books before or after the Revolution?' The largest public library with scientific and specialized departments got its name from the Russian writer Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin. It's right on Nevsky Prospect and open to readers with a special pass only. 'Propusk is the word for the magic pass which is needed in so many places in this closed society. You actually need to keep one with you in order to get back to your hotel in the evening! The Saltykov-Shchedrin Library turned out to be my hide-away from busy city life during one month in Leningrad. I relaxed by writing letters and studying faces of serious scientists as they worked under magnificent crystal chandeliers in an environment where a visit of the Queen would not be out of place. In spite of the very scarce collection of hom0eopathic literature, my visit there was made very worthwhile by Ekaterina Nikolajevna Budakova at the International Exchange Section of the Library. She supplied me with important names, addresses and phone numbers to continue my explorations. Older books from 'before the Revolution', when hom0eopathy flourished, are available after special permission at the Library of the House of Medical Workers on Rakova Street, which has a nice little reading room where you'd feel as if you were sitting in a lord's private study. A reader is met here with patience and interest, which is otherwise so unusual in customer-client contacts in the Soviet Union. This little reading room became another welcome breathing place for me away from the hectic city streets, where the heat of 25-27~ persisted almost all July! The First All-Russian Congress of Followers of Hom~eopathy, which took place in St Petersburg (as Leningrad was called before the