[The Soviet-Chinese cooperation in production of penicillin in the 1950s].

The article considers, on the basis of analysis of archival documents, issue of Soviet-Chinese cooperation in field of production of penicillin in the 1950s. The main attention is paid to history of construction of penicillin plant in Shijiazhuang. It is demonstrated that it was carried out on preferential terms for China and it was under special control of the USSR government. The building of plant was bound by great difficulties conditioned by range of project, specifics of production conditions in China, special requests of customer, necessity to manufacture non-standard equipment. The implementation of this project of enormous humanitarian significance was at the same time manifestation of concurrence between the USSR and the USA for geopolitical and ideological influence in East Asia.

[The participation of the USSR in development of penicillin industry in the Eastern Europe].

The article considers on the basis of analysis of archival documents issue of rendering assistance by the Soviet Union to the countries of Eastern Europe to organize production of penicillin. It is established that by the mid of 1950s, modern powerful plants were launched in Bulgaria, Romania and Czechoslovakia by the forces of Soviet engineers . Their construction was carried out on preferential terms for countries-customers. The mutually beneficial cooperation in sphere of production of antibiotics carried out and with other countries of this region. It is demonstrated that the USSR, performing task of enormous humanitarian significance in conditions of the Cold War, simultaneously implemented another goal - formation of loyalty of population of these countries and organization of coalition of friendly states on its Western borders.

[The mysterious Soviet producer].

The article, using published materials on the history of the Soviet scientific technical intelligence and declassified documents of the Russian archives and the CIA archive, considers issue of the producer applied to start the production of penicillin in the USSR. Currently, dosage of published information, limitation of archival data and specificity of foreign sources makes it impossible to clarify this issue once and for all. However, the article presents number of arguments indirectly indicating likelihood of launching into production penicillin strain procured in the USA by intelligence agent S. M. Semenov.

[The international cooperation in organizing penicillin production in the USSR].

The article considers interaction of the USSR with foreign scientists and international organizations in the process of mastering production of penicillin and establishment of penicillin industry. The analysis of archival documents demonstrated that despite influence of unfavorable foreign policy factors, various forms of this interaction were one of the decisive conditions of establishment of large-scale antibiotic production in the USSR by the end of the 1940s.

[Nikolai Mikhailovich Borodin: the little-known person involved in the USSR penicillin project].

The progress in development of the Soviet penicillin industry in the late 1940s was associated with implementation of foreign experience. The article, on the basis of analysis of declassified archival documents, demonstrates that one of the initiators of development of industry on the basis of foreign technologies was N. M. Borodin, doctor of biological sciences. N. M. Borodin, while on scientific assignments in England, provided the USSR with important scientific and technical information and producers for production of penicillin and streptomycin. It is established that familiarity of N. M. Borodin with arrangement of scientific research and organization of antibiotics production abroad resulted in his plan of developing the Soviet penicillin industry that was noted by the USSR leadership.

[The E. Chain Memorandum: the new documents and facts].

In the article, for the first time are introduced into scientific circulation declassified materials of the Russian State Archive of Economics that confirm the fact that in 1948 professor E. Chain of Oxford University provided the Soviet Union with technical documentation and producers for production of penicillin and streptomycin. The archival documents reveal the circumstances of conclusion of contract with E. Chain, its conditions, indicate causes of the problems with payment for his service and demonstrate the reaction of E. Chain himself and the representatives of the departments involved, allowing us to speculate about motives of their actions.

[In memory such power is hidden].

The article demonstrates, using a concrete example, how important the testimony of a contemporary is as a source of historical research. The testimony of this kind, supplementing archival materials, is capable to refute commonly accepted concepts and to bring the researcher nearer to understanding the real development of events. Thus, the letter of our former compatriot, whose life was saved in January 1942 by virtue of penicillin, urged author on further scientific research, that resulted in reconsideration of conception of time and circumstances of organization of first deliveries of antibiotic to the USSR. Also. the explanation was given to certain facts related to the history of its development and organization of production in our country.

[The "Penicillin Project" of the he United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration as a factor of aggravation of the Soviet American relations].

The analysis of the declassified documents of the Russian State Archive of Economics and the State Archive of the Russian Federation made it possible to establish that the project of the United Nations Relief and Reconstruction Administration was not a priority in the USSR for supplying equipment for penicillin factories to the two Soviet republics. Of greater interest was the acquisition in the United States of expensive high-performance plant equipped with the latest machinery, albeit for cash payment. This prioritization affected time-frame and implementation progress of the UNRRA penicillin project and facilitated manipulation on part of the United States. In aggregate with distrust of the USSR in quality of the supplied equipment and the hope for alternative sources of obtaining necessary scientific and technical information, this resulted in loss of interest to this project. The turned out situation affected correspondingly on the attitude of the Soviet Government to the UNRRA missions operating on the territory of the Soviet Republics and to the leadership of the organization itself and contributed to the further exacerbation the of Soviet-American relations.

[The international participation in organization of production of antibiotics in the USSR: "The penicillin project" of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (1946-1947)].

On the basis of declassified materials from the Russian State Archive of Economics and State Archive of the Russian Federation, for the first time, the history of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) project for the supply of penicillin factories in the post-war years to two republics of the USSR - Ukraine and Belarus is considered. It is shown that the project initially had political significance, since the demonstration of humane intentions served to strengthen the political authority of the United States. However, despite the declaration, the Anglo-American leadership of UNRRA approached the implementation of the project formally and hardly planned its completion. This was expressed in non-compliance with requirements for completeness of equipment, violation of delivery deadlines, constant attempts to reduce and contain them, in non-supplying adequate technical documentation and specialists for setting up production. The delay in the delivery time of equipment resulted in its rapid moral obsolescence. The modernization of partially supplied factories was impeded by embargo on the export of advanced industrial equipment from the United States having strategic importance. The incompleteness of the project contributed to further split in international relations.

[The penicillin support of medical institutions in the USSR during second half of 1940s].

The article, on the basis of declassified archival documents, considers the issue of centralized state distribution of penicillin in the USSR in the second half of 1940s. The mechanism of determining the need in medication using special coefficient is presented. It is demonstrated that in conditions of acute shortage, this approach became an attempt to ensure physical accessibility of medication for patient. However, by the end of 1940s, when acute shortage was overcome, free state supplies created preconditions for mismanagement and misuse at national and local levels, that affected timing and volume of supplies of antibiotic to medical institutions, as well as quality of medication supplied to patient. The district hospitals of provincial towns occurred in the worst condition. The article presents the facts testifying that penicillin supply solved not only health problems, but also domestic and foreign policy problems of the post-war USSR.

[The state regulation of penicillin price in the USSR in the second half of 1940s].

The article considers, on the basis of analysis of declassified archival documents, issue of the Soviet government regulating price of penicillin in the second half of the 1940s in conditions of continuing drug shortage. The factors that affected formation of selling and retail prices of antibiotic are considered. Based on the calculation of cost of treatment of a number of nosologies in different age groups and comparing it with the level of income of the population, the conclusion is derived that real availability of antibiotics for population in the USSR was achieved by early 1950s.

[The organization of industrial production of penicillin in the USSR].

The article on the basis of analysis of declassified materials of the State Archive of the Russian Federation covers the history of the organization of industrial production of penicillin in the USSR in second half of the 1940s. The analysis of the documents demonstrated that existed huge gap between health needs of the antibiotic and actual quantity of its production by the end of 1945. This raised the question of organizing its large-scale production. The Soviet Government tried to solve the problem in the least expensive way i.e. through using available industrial areas for the development of penicillin production, refusing to buy ready-made penicillin plants abroad, maximal application of resources of international organizations. The problem of mastering advanced technologies of antibiotic production, as well as development of national equipment for penicillin plants was mainly solved through efforts of intelligence service activities. Due to organizational, technological, foreign policy causes, the development of new penicillin plants was delayed for a long time. The amounts of penicillin production by existing enterprises did not cover the needs of health care in the antibiotic.

[The problem of initial stage of mass production of penicillin in the USSR].

The article analyzes the problems of initial stage of mass production of penicillin in the USSR on the basis of documents of the State archive of the Russian Federation. The analysis covered declassified documents of the funds of the Narkomzdrav of the USSR, the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the A. M. Gorky All-Union Institute of Experimental Medicine (VIEM). The secret correspondence of the People's Commissar of Health Care with the Government, with the Head of the Department of Biochemistry of Microbes and experimental production laboratory of VIEM Z. V. Ermolieva, with Directors of plants for organization of production of penicillin is analyzed. The transcripts of meetings and orders of the People's Commissar of Health Care are considered. It is demonstrated that development of production facilities and provision of health care with antibiotics was an extremely difficult task. Its solution was complicated by many factors such as the inaccessibility of advanced methods of deep fermentation, general technological backwardness, organizational problems associated with specificity of management and public decision-making. It is established that during 1944 the main producer of penicillin was the laboratory of VIEM and serial production of penicillin at the Karpov enterprise and plant of endocrine drugs in Moscow began only in late 1944, and amount production was were extremily not enough. In this situation, in early 1945, G. A. Miterev, the People's Commissar of Health Care, raised the question of buying plants for the production of penicillin in the United States. However, the final decision was not taken by the government. The attempt to devote part of the resources of the Central Military Sanitary Department of the Red Army for ensuring public health with antibiotic failed. In 1945, enterprises of the People's Commissariat of Meat and Dairy Industry were involved in the production of penicillin. At all enterprises of the USSR in the end of 1945, production of antibiotic was carried out by surface fermentation and liquid penicillin was produced, except for the A. Mikoyan Moscow meat-packing plant, where the production of drug in dry form was established. The outdated technologies and limited scale of production determined lower productivity of enterprises, which did not allow to cover the needs of health care even approximately.

[The history of development of the Soviet penicillin: fabrication and facts].

The history of creation of penicillin in the USSR remains a topic of little-studied, but overgrown with a large number of factual inaccuracies and myths. With the opening of access to previously classified materials of the State archive of the Russian Federation, it became possible to dispel many of them, to cover the events, confirming the facts documented.

[The Narkomzdrav of the Russian Socialist Federal Republic Organizational Input into Struggle with Social Diseases During 1920s].

The organizational input into struggle with social diseases became one of priority directions of functioning of the Narkomzdrav of the Russian Socialist Federal Republic during 1920s. The legal foundation base was developed. The network of medical organizations was organized. The scientific research and education activities were implemented.

[N.A. Semashko, the First People's Commissar of Health Care].

The article is devoted to 100th anniversary of organization of the Narkomzdrav of the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic. The input of N.A. Semashko, the People's Commissar of Health Care, is presented concerning organization of the state central board of the national medical sanitary business, organization of the Soviet health care system and development of its major principles. The archive sources were involved to through light upon other aspects of activity of N.A. Semashko, including struggle with arrests of physicians during the Civil War, circumstances of his displacement from the position of People's Commissar of Health Care, work as a director of the Institute of health care organization and history of medicine.

[The Reforming of Organizational Structure of the RSFSR Narkomzdrav in 1930s].

In 1930s, in conditions of forced reconstruction, the issue was arisen related to increasing of efficiency of management of all branches of National economy, health care included. During the prewar decade, the RSFSR Narkomzdrav underwent in 1935 and 1939 two large reorganizations related to transition from functional model of management to branch model of management and then to territorial branch model. During this time, seven replacements of people's commissars of health care occurred. However, even in the eve of the war there were no clear concept of optimal model of organization of the main control board of health care.

[The Functioning of the Departments (Prikaz) of Public Charity in the Area of Medicinal Support of Population].

The organization of curative institutions and their medicinal support was one of the main tasks of the departments (prikaz) of public charity. With this purpose hospital pharmacies were organized as pharmacies with free trading of medicinals to population oriented both to supplying prikaz institutions with medicinals and returning of income from selling medicinals to citizen. The medicinal support of prikaz hospitals was strictly regulated and restricted by strict financial limits. So, the prikaz institutions had no significant success in development of free trade of medicinals.

[First municipal sanitary stations in Russia: history and main activities (to the 125th anniversary since foundation)].

First municipal sanitary stations in Russia were founded in 1891 in the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg. They were financed by municipal public self-governments. With performing essential laboratory tests and studies, stations were an important element of the organization of sanitary inspection in cities. In the article there is considered the history of the creation offirst sanitary stations and main directions of their activity: control in the sphere offood trade and in the sphere of municipal water supply.

[THE IMPROVEMENT OF CITIES AND SANITARY CONTROL IN RUSSIA IN LATE XIX--EARLY XX CENTURIES].

The article considers activity of municipal self-governments of Russia concerning support of sanitary epidemiological well-being of cities in the late XIX--early XX centuries. The acuteness of problem of sanitary conditions of urban settlements particularly became visible in post-reform period due to increasing of number of urban population, alteration of setup and rhythm of life in cities, appearance of new forms of worker's daily chores. Al this, against the background of underdevelopment of communal sphere aggravated epidemiological situation in cities. The impulse to improvement and development of sanitary control was made by the city regulations of 1870 presenting to town authorities the right to deal with sanitary issues. The significant input into improvement of cities was made first of all at the expense of construction of water supplies and sewerage and support of sanitary control of these spheres of municipal economy. Under town councils of many cities the sanitary commissions were organized to support permanent sanitary control in town. The development of town sanitation followed the way of specialization. The housing and communal, trade and food, school and sanitary and sanitary and veterinary control were organized.