The origins, formation, development and achievements of russian pediatrics (historical and medical review: XVIII–XIX–XX centuries)

Introduction. The article presents the results of historical and medical research devoted to the study of the origins of Russian scientific and clinical pediatrics, its formation and development during the XVIII–XIX–XX centuries. The relevance of this study lies in the fact that it allows us to draw historical lessons from the past, which can be used to address a range of modern medical, social, and demographic issues. The previous experience and professional knowledge of prominent Russian pediatricians provide an opportunity to make breakthroughs in certain areas of child health care and plan the development of new scientific fields in ХХI century pediatrics. The purpose of the study is to establish the main stages of the development of pediatrics as a scientific and clinical discipline and medical specialty in Russia, to determine the role of the state in creating a national system of child health protection, to show achievements in the field of pediatrics and the importance of pediatric education. Materials and methods. During studying the origins of Russian pediatrics, its formation, and development, the following research methods were used: problem-chronological, system-genetic, and comparative analysis. To highlight the problem, chapters of monographs, articles from scientific journals and collections based on archival data, and other materials were studied. Results. The conducted historical and medical review suggests that in the XVIII century there was an urgent need to provide medical care to the pediatric population, but pediatrics as an independent medical discipline did not yet exist. The origin of practical pediatrics in Russia is associated with the organization of Imperial orphanages and the opening of the first children’s hospitals. Thanks to the organization of Foster homes in Russia, a system of medical and social support for children was created and the beginning of the state system of children’s healthcare in our country was laid. During the 19th and 20th centuries, scientific and clinical pediatrics and a medical specialty developed in Russia. In the Soviet Union, the system of child health protection with the priority role of the state and the organization of pediatric faculties in medical universities was recognized by WHO in 1978. It has provided the most child-oriented and accessible health care to the children’s population and has made a significant contribution to the development of world medicine. Congresses of pediatricians in the Russian Empire, as well as in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia, were extremely important in the development of Russian pediatrics. They have always determined the right vector of scientific research and practical healthcare, contributed to improving the skills of pediatricians, improving the quality of medical care, and reducing child morbidity and mortality. Conclusion. By the end of the twentieth century, national pediatrics had become a modern, efficient, high-tech, highly specialized branch of clinical medicine. Russian pediatricians, who have repeatedly made world-class breakthrough discoveries, have made a significant contribution to the development of pediatrics.

1. Academic University. In: The Great Russian Encyclopedia (2025) Volume 1. Moscow: Scientific Publishing House "The Great Russian Encyclopedia", p.332.

2. Moscow University. In: The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1974) Volume 17. Third edition. Editor-in-chief A. M. Prokhorov. Moscow: Publishing house "Soviet Encyclopedia". 44–45.

3. Military Medical Academy. In: The Great Medical Encyclopedia (1959), second edition. Chief editor A. N. Bakulev. Volume 5. Moscow: State Publishing House of Medical Literature, 902–906.

4. Medicine. In: The Great Medical Encyclopedia (1960), second edition. Chief editor A. N. Bakulev. Volume 17. Moscow: State Scientific Publishing House "Soviet Encyclopedia", 268.

5. Albitsky V.Yu., Mikirtichan G. L., Sher S. A. (2018) Maternal and infant health in the Russian Empire and its role in the formation of Soviet child health protection. The history of medicine. V., 2, 113–122.

6. Mikirtichan G.L., Suvorova R. V. (1998) History of Russian pediatrics. St. Petersburg, 156 p.

7. Albitsky V.Yu., Baranov A. A., Sher S. A. (2013) The history of the Scientific Center for Children's Health of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences (1763–2013). Moscow, Pediatrician Publishing House, 468 p.

8. Albitsky V.Yu., Sher S. A. (2018) The origins of the formation of the state system of child health protection in Soviet Russia (1917–1930). Under the scientific editorship of A. A. Baranov, M., 224 p.

9. Borodulin V.I., Albitsky V.Yu. (2022) Requiem for Hippocratic Medicine, or the Clinic of the twentieth century as the final stage of classical medicine in Russia (based on the model of therapeutic and pediatric clinics). Issues of modern pediatrics. 21, 3, 315–325.

10. Byakina V.P., Zimin I. V., Kondrashkina L.G. (2009) 250 years of higher medical school in Russia. Scientific notes of Pavlov St. Petersburg State Medical University. XVI (1), 5–7.

11. Albitsky V.Yu., Namazova-Baranova L.S., Sher S. A. (2017) The Union of Pediatricians of Russia (Historical sketch of 1927–2017). Moscow: Pediatr, 204 p.

12. Molchanov V.I. (1960) Basic information on the history of the development of Russian pediatrics. In the book. Propaedeutics of childhood diseases. Under the general editorship of Yu. F. Dombrovskaya. M..

13. Mechnikov Ilya Ilyich (1960) In: The Great Medical Encyclopedia. Second edition. Chief editor A. N. Bakulev. Volume 18. Moscow: Gos. Scientific publishing house "Soviet Encyclopedia", 234–240.

14. Mechnikov Ilya Ilyich (2012) In: The Great Russian Encyclopedia. Volume 20. Moscow: Scientific publishing house "The Great Russian Encyclopedia", 196–197.

15. Sher S.A. (2017) Contribution of A. A. Kisel and G. N. Speransky to the formation and development of the All-Union Society of Pediatricians. Russian Pediatric Journal. 20 (3), 184–188.

16. Albitsky V.Yu., Sher S. A. (2022) The Soviet system of child health protection (Pre-war decade: 1930–1940). Under the scientific editorship of A. A. Baranov. Moscow: Pediatrician, 176 p.

17. Preventive pediatrics (2015) A guide for doctors. Edited by A. A. Baranov, L. S. Namazova-Baranova. 2nd edition, revised and expanded. Moscow: Pediatrician, 744 p.

18. Sher S.A. (2024) Features of scientific and practical assistance to children and medical pediatric education during the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945). Materials of the XXI scientific conference with international participation "The contribution of Russian medicine to the fight against Nazism in the Great Patriotic War and the resurgent neo-Nazism." Moscow, November 15, 2024, 204–212.

19. Albitsky V.Yu., Baranov A. A., Sher S. A. (2020) Child health protection during the Great Patriotic War. Issues of modern pediatrics. 19 (1), 13–19.

20. Albitsky V.Yu., Sher S. A. (2024) The Soviet system of child health protection. Post-war decade: 1946–1956 Under the scientific editorship of A. A. Baranov. Moscow: Pediatrician, 192 p.

21. Golfeld A.Ya. (1970) Essays on the history of pediatrics of the USSR. Moscow: Medicine, 184 p.

22. Albitsky V.Yu., Polunina N. V., Sozinov A. S., Abrosimova M.Yu. (2015) On the 85th anniversary of the beginning of pediatric education in Russia. Kazan Medical Journal. 96 (4), 692–696.

23. Kuzmicheva A.T., Sharlay I. V. (1978) Childhood infectious diseases. M.: "Medicine", 512 p.

24. Lashkevich V.A. (2013) The history of the creation in 1959 of a live vaccine from attenuated strains of A. Sabin and the idea of eradicating polio. Questions of virology. 58(1), 4–10.

25. Efimova A.A. (1969) Specific prevention of tuberculosis in children. Moscow: Medicine, 339 p

26. Sher S.A. (2011) The history of smallpox vaccination in the Imperial Moscow Orphanage. Problems of social hygiene, healthcare organization, and medical history. 4, 58–61.

27. Albitsky V.Yu., Sher S. A. (2025) The Soviet system of child health protection in the era of the thaw: 1956–1966. Under the scientific editorship of A. A. Baranov. Moscow: Pediatrician, 160 p.

28. Vaccines and immunoprophylaxis in the modern world (2021). A guide for doctors. Edited by L. S. Namazova-Baranova, N. I. Briko, I. V. Feldblum. Moscow: Pediatrician, 648 p.

29. Studenikin M.Ya., Ladodo K. S. (1991) Nutrition of young children. L., "Medicine", Leningrad branch, 176 p.

30. Practical guide to neonatology (2008) Edited by G. V. Yatsyk. Moscow: Medical Information Agency LLC, 344 p.

31. The main trends in the health of the Russian child population (2011) Edited by A. A. Baranov, V. Y. Albitsky. Moscow: Union of Pediatricians of Russia, 116 p.

32. Namazova-Baranova L.S. (2025) From the history of pediatrics. Pediatric pharmacology. 22 (1), 6-11.