“The future Pirogov”, “the scientific seed”, and “the harmful book”: the first decade of Yaroslavl Medical Institute

The article studies the history of the foundation of Yaroslavl State Medical Academy, with a detailed review of its war and post-war periods. It is pointed out that the institution had to face certain difficulties at the early stages of implementing its educational and research processes. In this context the author provides the first reference in the national historiography to the fact of the publication in 1946 of the book “Abortion” written by Ya.I. Rusin, professor of the Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology. This monograph was sharply criticized in the national and local press as “a politically harmful book”. The article focuses on the official “analysis” of the book, which was typical of ideological campaigns being underway in the USSR during the last post-war years of Stalin’s regime. The author shows that professor Ya.I. Rusin’s justified effort to trace the history of abortion from ancient time to the present and his treating it as an indispensible measure was termed in the partisan press and medical community as “a gap in Marxist-Leninist instruction”. The analysis of contemporary research literature and statistical data shows that now professor Ya.I. Rusin’s book does not look “harmful” or “ideologically wrong”, but on the contrary, it testifies to the author’s honest and principled stance and profound knowledge of the problem. In conclusion the article gives account of professor Ya.I. Rusin’s afterlife.