Life and socio-political views of F.F. Yanitsky (1852–1937)
Keywords:
F.F. Yanitsky, zemstvo medicine, military field surgery, the First World WarAbstract
The article focuses on F.F. Yanitsky, a notable figure in the Russian intelligentsia, who served as a zemstvo (district) physician, a privy councilor, a doctor of medicine, and the chief of the army medical unit for the Southwestern Front. He was also a military field surgeon, participating in the Russo-Turkish War (1877‒1878), the Russo-Japanese War (1904‒1905), and the First World War. Additionally, Yanitsky was an epidemiologist and the author of several scientific works in medicine.
Yanitsky’s approach to disease, patient care, and treatments was aligned with the ideas of N.I. Pirogov, particularly regarding the importance of prevention and sanitation, as well as the views of other prominent doctors of his time. He continually sought to enhance his knowledge and skills, and in 1892, he was seconded to the Imperial Military Medical Academy for two years to complete his doctoral thesis. By 1894, he had earned recognition as a doctor of medicine and was conferred the title of military surgeon.
As an epidemiologist, Yanitsky played a crucial role in expeditions to combat various epidemics, including diphtheria, cholera, plague, typhoid, gastrointestinal diseases, and typhus. His outstanding military service and contributions to the fight against infectious diseases earned him numerous orders, medals, and distinctions.
The article also explores the influence of the political context on Yanitsky's views, noting that his life and career were deeply intertwined with the history of his country. It delves into his family and cultural ties, social views, and attitudes toward his career and the political events during the transitional period between two eras. The article draws on documents from the archive of the Solzhenitsyn House for the Russian Diaspora.
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References
Yanitsky F.F. Sanitarno-istoricheskiy ocherk Kavkazskogo
voenno-vremennogo № 16 gospitalya. Meditsinskiy sbornik
Kavkazskogo meditsinskogo obshchestva (A historical
sanitary outline of the Caucasus provisional military
hospital No. 16. Medical collection of Caucasian Medical
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Pirogov N.I. Nachala obshchey voenno-polevoy khirurgii
(Beginnings of General Military Field Surgery). Мoscow,
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Mudrov M.Y. Slovo o sposobe uchit’ i uchit’sya meditsine
prakticheskoy ili deyatel’nomu vrachebnomu iskusstvu pri
postelyakh bol’nykh. Izbrannye proizvedeniya (A word on
the method for teaching and learning medical practice or
activity in the medical arts at the patient’s bedside. Selected
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Yanitsky F.F., Yanitskaya E.L. Gigienicheskoe sostoyanie
shkol Lokhvitskogo uezda Poltavskoy gubernii. Trudy 2-go
S”ezda zemskikh vrachey Poltavskoy gubernii (Hygienic
condition of schools in the Lokhvitsky county in Poltava
province. Proceedings of the 2nd Congress of zemstvo
district doctors of Poltava province). Poltava, 1883. [in
Russian]
Yanitsky F.F., Yanitskaya E.L. Istoricheskiy ocherk
-letiya zemskoy meditsiny Lokhvitskogo uezda
Poltavskoy gubernii. Zemsko-meditsinskiy sbornik. Izdan
Pravleniem S”ezda vrachey v pamyat’ N.I. Pirogova.
Vyp. VI. (A historical outline of the 25th anniversary of
Zemtsvo district medicine of the Lokhvitsky county in
Poltava province. Zemstvo medical collection. Issued
by the Board of the Congress of doctors in memory of
N.I. Pirogov. Vol. VI). Poltava, 1893. [in Russian]
Yanitsky O.N. Semeynaya khronika. 1852‒2002 gg.
(Family chronicle. 1852‒2002). Мoscow, 2002. [in
Russian]
Genritsi A.A. Vospominaniya o perezhitykh mnoyu
kholernykh epidemiyakh (Memories of surviving cholera
epidemics). Мoscow, 2002. [in Russian]
Yanitsky O.N. Pravo na imya (The right to a name).
Otechestvennye zapiski (Domestic notes). 2014; 3 (60).
[in Russian]
Yanitsky F.F. Materialy dlya issledovaniya dobrokachestvennoy rzhanoy muki po sposobu opredeleniya
rastvorimykh azotistykh veshchestv, v ney soderzhashchikhsya. Dis. na soiskanie stepeni doktora
meditsiny. (Materials for the study of benign rye flour
by the method of determination of soluble nitrogenous
substances contained in it. Dissertation for the
degree of doctor of medicine). St. Petersburg, 1894.
[in Russian]
Yanitsky N.F. Vrach Fedor Feodos’evich Yanitskiy. Zhizn’
i deyatel’nost’ (Doctor Fedor Feodosevich Yanitsky. Life
and work). Мoscow, 1973. [in Russian]
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