Historical Museum of the Development of the Public Health System in Ukhta

The idea to found this museum emerged in 1990 from several meetings of the ‘Club of Veterans of the Public Health System’ in the ‘Palace of Journalists’ (initiative of S.F. Sapolnova and A.V. Vologzhanina). The Historical Museum of the Development of the Public Health System in Ukhta is the only museum in the country dealing with the history of medicine and the public health system of the Gulag. The public health system of Ukhta is inextricably entwined with the history of the Gulag itself: all hired physicians were employees of the NKVD, whereas part of the medical staff were prisoners of the Ukhta-Izhemski Camp.

The Museum opened on 6 October 1995, by order of the head of the Ukhta Health Services. It is located in the First Uktha City Clinic in three halls with a total area of about 100 m 2.

The Museum’s exhibition represents all 16 medical institutions and units of the Ukhta Region. It also expounds the structure of the health system of the 26 single labour camp units that formed the Ukhta-Izhemski Camp, and presents over 200 biographies of leading physicians. The focus of the exhibition is on the fates of the medical staff, both prisoners and NKVD employees. Various showcases display personal belongings, medical instruments and propaganda material, such as books, brochures, and posters.

In 1991, a group of enthusiastic members of the local group of the Medical Worker’s Trade Union started collecting material for the archive. At present, the archive, called ‘Historical Archive of the Ukhta Public Health System since 1934’, contains about 4000 photographs, a collection of biographical material, including documents from private archives and copies of personal files of physicians from State archives and the information centre of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as about 200 items, such as personal belongings and instruments.