Formation and development of healthcare system for indigenous minorities of the Russian Far East as a factor of ethnodemography (1920-1980s)

The article examines the formation and development of health care for the indigenous minorities of the Far East during the Soviet reforms. From the standpoint of theoretical and methodological developments of social history, the demographic situation and accessibility of medical services for small ethnic groups of the region during the pre-Soviet and studied periods are considered. An analysis of medicalization as a factor of ethnodemography is presented. Based on statistical data, the inconsistency of the thesis of the “extinction, threat of disappearance of indigenous minorities” with historical reality is revealed. In connection with the President of the Russian Federation’s assignment to the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs to develop a Concept for the Development of Indigenous Minorities of the North, Siberia, and the Far East for the period up to 2036, the need to abandon the traditionally established understanding of their “otherness” is justified. Conclusion dwells upon the fact that ethnic minorities living in the region are integrated into the demographic structure of the Russian population and, in several key characteristics, differ little from the rest.