Traumatology institutions in the early years of the soviet state: a gap in the history of Russian traumatology and orthopedics

Background. The formation and development of industrial model for social processes and systems in the early twentieth century brought to life a novel form of organizing scientific activity via establishing research institutions. Objective. This study aimed to investigate the gaps in the history of traumatology institutions in the early years of the Soviet State. Materials and methods. We carried out a comprehensive analysis to retrieve the data from both State and institutional archives, as well as from the literature sources. The narrative analysis was chosen as the method of data interpretation. Most archive documents are made available to the scientific community for the first time. Our study covered the period of time from 1917 to 1930. Over 500 sources were analyzed. Results. We established that the first five traumatology institutions were founded in the following sequence: Saratov Traumatology Institute in 1919, Rostov Traumatology Institute in 1920; Astrakhan, Moscow Oblast, and Voronezh Traumatology Institutes in 1921. The concept of research institution was mainly designed to achieve the systematic augmentation of scientific knowledge and form a new employee type called a professional scientist. Conclusion. Discovering the history of establishing first traumatology institutions that provided healthcare services and conducted independent scientific studies led us to defining a new, previously unexplored institutionalization stage of Russian traumatology and orthopedics. In the early years of the Soviet State, research institutions facilitated the development and implementation of efficient medical technologies into healthcare practice.