The medical community in Russia in the 18th century

The article addresses the issue of the formation of the medical community that is relevant from the viewpoint of studying modernization processes in Russia. Having inherited the rudiments of a medical organization from the preceding period, in the 18th century, the state forced to solve staffing problems of the developing healthcare system. The paper discusses the key policies in this area: involvement of foreigners in the Russian service, training of national experts, retention of personnel. The author concluded that in the 18th century, the gradual consolidation of medical features began, medical community was formed and it became the participant of the modernization processes. Its basic characteristics were a relatively high level of education, integration into the state bureaucracy, hierarchical structure, social and ethnic heterogeneity, value system consistent with the spirit of the Enlightenment era and the humanistic nature of the medical profession.