Formation of the Concept of «Medical Police» in the Russian Empire

The purpose of the article is to highlight the process of formation of the concept of «medical police» in the Russian Empire. Based on a number of sources, the authors reveal the concept of «medical police», analyze the stages of the formation of the system of sanitary, epidemiological and veterinary surveillance in Russia in the 18th century, and show the role of the police in ensuring the prevention of epidemics and epizootics. The object of the research is the state policy in the field of health care in general and in the field of sanitary, epidemiological and veterinary surveillance in particular. The subject of the research is the normative legal acts regulating the implementation of sanitary and police measures in the Russian Empire in the period under review, the materials of periodicals, and archival documents. Within the framework of the research methodology, using historical-legal, comparative-legal and comparative-historical methods, the analysis of the activities of the police to ensure sanitary-hygienic, sanitary-epidemiological and veterinary standards was carried out. According to the authors, the idea of ensuring these norms with the help of strict police supervision ultimately led to the formation of the concept of «medical police» as a set of measures taken by the state to preserve «people's health» during the reign of Catherine II. Since the beginning of the 19th century, this concept has become the basis of state policy in the field of health care in the Russian Empire.