Medicines for the Soviet Masses during World War II

by Mary Schaeffer Conroy

Overview

This book covers in detail three important topics concerning Soviet medicine in the World War II era. First, it examines Soviet healthcare during World War II in terms of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and the medical/surgical instruments available. Second, the book is a study of how a mid-level sector of the Soviet economy performed in 1938 (the last peace-time year), during the first two years of the war, and during the Great Patriotic War. Third, through interviews with Soviet citizens and information in pharmacology journals, this study unpacks the use of narodnaia meditsina—a popular form of homemade medicine that pharmacists and physicians used to compensate for wartime shortages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761840091
Publisher:	University Press of America
Publication date:	03/03/2008
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.04(w) x 9.06(h) x 0.81(d)

About the Author

Mary Schaeffer Conroy is Professor Emerita of the University of Colorado at Denver. She received her Ph.D. in Russian history from Indiana University.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Figures and Tables
Part 2 Preface
Part 3 Acknowledgments
Chapter 4 Introduction
Part 5 I: On the Eve: 1938
Chapter 6 Sickness in Soviet Health Care
Part 7 II: The First Phase of World War II: 1939 to June 22, 1941
Chapter 8 War! Medical Hardware
Chapter 9 Vaccines and Pharmaceuticals during the First Two Years of World War II
Chapter 10 At the Apteka during the First Two Years of World War II
Chapter 11 Pharmacologists Investigate Narodnaia Meditsina and Phages during the First Two Years of World War II
Part 12 III: The Great Patriotic War: June 22, 1941-1945
Chapter 13 Production of Pharmaceuticals during the First Two Years of the Great Patriotic War, 1941-1943
Chapter 14 Points of Light? Production and Foreign Assistance, 1943-1945
Chapter 15 At the Apteka during the Great Patriotic War
Chapter 16 Narodnaia Meditsina during the Great Patriotic War
Chapter 17 Reforming the Pharmacy Sector: Ideas from Below and Their Fate
Part 18 Bibliography
Part 19 Index

Editorial Reviews

For those with an interest in Soviet medical care or a general interest in the history of pharmaceuticals... this book is crucial. Conroy's meticulous reasearch and skillful use of archival material, interviews, and Soviet and western journals make for a very rich text.... It is certainly a must read for those interested in the history of Soviet medical care.

Slavic Review - Jeffrey Jones

It offers fascinating glimpses from an unusual angle of how ordinary Soviets survived the war.. .. Her scholarship has moved beyond a straightforward economic history of the pharmaceutical industry to the experience of ordinary Soviet citizens during the war and, specifically, to the use of alternative remedies. The book is therefore a mix of economic history and empirical work on everyday experience.

The Russian Review

For those with an interest in Soviet medical care or a general interest in the history of pharmaceuticals... this book is crucial. Conroy's meticulous reasearch and skillful use of archival material, interviews, and Soviet and western journals make for a very rich text.... It is certainly a must read for those interested in the history of Soviet medical care.--Jeffrey Jones "Slavic Review, Summer 2010 "

It offers fascinating glimpses from an unusual angle of how ordinary Soviets survived the war. . . . Her scholarship has moved beyond a straightforward economic history of the pharmaceutical industry to the experience of ordinary Soviet citizens during the war and, specifically, to the use of alternative remedies. The book is therefore a mix of economic history and empirical work on everyday experience.--The Russian Review, Winter 2009

From the Publisher

It offers fascinating glimpses from an unusual angle of how ordinary Soviets survived the war. . . . Her scholarship has moved beyond a straightforward economic history of the pharmaceutical industry to the experience of ordinary Soviet citizens during the war and, specifically, to the use of alternative remedies. The book is therefore a mix of economic history and empirical work on everyday experience.

Winter 2009 The Russian Review