Development of health care of Siberia in the 18<sup>th</sup> — first half of the 19<sup>th</sup> century was closely connected with economic and political development of the Russian state. Before the medical personnel emergence in Siberia its population received medication only in the form of folk remedies. Development of its territory, insanitary conditions of life of Siberians, constant contingent of exiled to the indigenous people, and severe climate contributed to the spread of such diseases as smallpox, syphilis, and others.<br>
The first medical institutions of Siberia were military hospital and infirmaries. In the days of reign of the Empress Anna Ioannovna, the city medical care started developing, and thanks to an initiative of the industrial enterprises owners — medical care for miners. After the establishment of the Public Charity Orders in Siberia, hospitals under their jurisdiction began to function in Tobolsk, Irkutsk, and Tomsk. A worthy contribution to the development of local medical institutions was made by donators Tolstopyatov, Bednyagin, Chupalov, and others. However, deficiency of financing, hospitals, and the medical personnel couldn’t adequately satisfy the needs of Siberian inhabitants in medical care.<br>
The purpose of the article is to analyse the condition of public health, causes of morbidity and mortality of the population, as well as the process of medical care development in Siberia the turn of the 18<sup>th</sup> century by means of a historical and genetic method.
