People's Doctor of the USSR () was an honorary title granted to doctors of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

; it was established on 25 October 1977 by

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...

and its creation was officialized on the n°44/1977 issue of

Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet () was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). These soviets were modeled after the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, establ ...

's official journal. Its regulation was later modified and completed by the Supreme Soviet's decree of 22 August 1988. It was conferred by the Supreme Soviet's presidency on behalf of the Ministry of Health. A diploma of the Supreme Soviet's presidency was given to those who were appointed ''People's Doctor'' jointly with the medal and its concerning certificate. The title could be bestowed to individual medical doctors and nurses but also to health care structures as general hospitals,

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

maternity ward Childbirth, also known as labour, parturition and delivery, is the completion of pregnancy, where one or more fetuses exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section and becomes a newborn to the world. ...

s or

preventive medicine Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, is the application of healthcare measures to prevent diseases.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental health a ...

centres. The awarded people or structures were selected for their worthwhile contributions to public health improvement, for their peculiar skills and expertise and for having proved abnegation and high moral qualities in their duties fulfilment. Following the

Dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

in 1991, the title did not disappear. On 30 December 1995, by a decree of the Russian presidency, it was created the new title of '' Meritorious Doctor of the Russian Federation''.

Design

The medal was made of

tombac Tombac, or tombak, is a brass alloy with high copper content and 5–20% zinc content. Tin, lead or arsenic may be added for colouration. It is a cheap malleable alloy mainly used for medals, ornament, decoration and some munitions. In older ...

and its shape was roughly quadrangular (22.5 x 23.5 mm). The central part was occupied by the inscription "Народный врач СССР" (''People's Doctor of the USSR'') on three lines and below, on the left, the Bowl of Hygieia medical symbol and, on the right, a

bay laurel ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. According to Flora Cretica (Kleinsteuber Books, 2024, ISBN 978-3-9818110-5-6) the stem can be 1 ...

branch. Symbols and inscriptions were embossed, with convex letters. The medal was suspended to a single red silk fringe (18 mm x 21 mm) to whom it was attached by a metallic buckle bearing the

hammer and sickle The hammer and sickle (Unicode: ) is a communist symbol representing proletarian solidarity between industrial and agricultural workers. It was first adopted during the Russian Revolution at the end of World War I, the hammer representing wo ...

symbol.

Design

References

See also