“The people have a positive attitude to medicine...” (Medical Inspectors in the Formation of Medical and Sanitary Affairs in the Provinces of Pre-Revolutionary Russia)

Abstract

The problem of the history of public administration in the field of medicine and healthcare has never lost its relevance. The Health project has become one of the priority national projects of the last decade. The epidemic that began in 2020 has exacerbated many long-standing problems of Russian medicine: a shortage of medical personnel and medical institutions, insufficient material security of doctors, etc. As a result of the clumsily carried out “optimization” and contradictory actions during the epidemic, the level of confidence of the people and society in the activities of modern health care organizers has fallen. The topic of the state of health care, sanitary and epidemic safety, the role of the state in solving these pressing issues has firmly entered the public discourse, aroused interest in considering historical experience with all its achievements and losses. A significant place in the state administration of medicine and healthcare has always been occupied by specific people — government officials who have made a noticeable and real contribution to the development of health care.The management of medical and sanitary affairs in the provinces of the Russian Empire was carried out by medical inspectors (the position was established in 1865), as a rule, highly qualified doctors with extensive and diverse practical experience. The materials of the Russian State Historical Archive (St. Petersburg) and local archives allow us to make a typical portrait of this category of managers. In the funds of the Medical Department and the Main Medical Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, cases have been postponed in which the official activities and biographies of medical inspectors are characterized. The article examines the main activities of medical inspectors, assesses their contribution to the formation and development of healthcare and medicine in pre-revolutionary Russia. Along with the study of forms and methods of solving medical and sanitary-epidemic problems of the regions by inspectors, the personal qualities of the best managers, which have become the basis for the success of their activities, are also highlighted.