Geriatrics and ageing in the Soviet Union : medical, political and social contexts

This open access book brings together an eclectic cast of scholars in related disciplines to examine ageing in the Soviet Union, covering the practice of geriatrics, the science of gerontology, and the experience of growing old. Chapters in the book focus on concepts and themes that analyse Soviet ageing in its medical, political and social contexts, both in the Soviet Union and internationally. Ageing was hardly a uniquely Soviet phenomenon: over the past fifty years, moreover, governments and societies have been dealing with steady increases in their ageing populations. Almost paradoxically, however, societal focus on this ageing population, its lives, and its social impact remains extremely limited. Compared to most sciences, gerontology is pitifully underfunded; geriatrics is amongst the least prestigious branches of medicine; and while the world’s population is growing undeniably older, great disagreement remains over what can and should be done in response. These were the same challenges that the USSR faced in the post-war decades (1945-1991), and the contributions included in this volume help to flesh out and contextualize the example of Soviet gerontology and geriatrics as one possible model of response. Geriatrics and Ageing in the Soviet Union captures the growing interest in this important subject, demonstrating the influence of ageing on Soviet science and society and the impact of Soviet gerontology and geriatrics at a global level. The book is available under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 licence on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Wellcome Trust and Liverpool John Moores University. Editors' Introduction Part I: Soviet Gerontology and Geriatrics 1. The Legend of Gilgamesh: Attempts towards its Fulfilment in Soviet Gerontology Vladislav Bezrukov (Institute of Gerontology, Ukraine) and Konstantin Duplenko (Kiev-Mohyla National University, Ukraine) 2. From the Collections of the Medical Museum: Duality in 1920s Soviet Ageing Research Maria Tutorskaya (Russian Medical Museum, Russia) 3. Ageing Minds and Bodies: Psychiatric Care for the Elderly People in the Post-War Soviet Union Aleksandra Brokman (Liverpool John Moores University, UK) 4. 'Dolphin Babies': The Late Soviet Project of Infant Swimming and the Creation of 'a New Superhuman Being Anna Ozhiganova (Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia) Part II: Designing Medical and Social Spaces for Elderly People in the Soviet Union 5. Age and City: Old Age and Urban Planning in Moscow and Kiev Botakoz Kassymbekova (Liverpool John Moores University, UK) 6. 'A Quiet Old Age': Designing Homes for Elderly People Susan Grant (Liverpool John Moores University, UK) Part III: Representation and Perception 7 The Right to a Personal File: Archiving the Lives of Soviet Pensioners Alissa Klots (University of Pittsburgh, USA) and Maria Romashova (Perm University History Museum, Russia) 8. The New Soviet Babushka: Popular Perceptions of Elderly Women after Stalin Danielle Leavitt-Quist (Harvard University, USA) Part IV: International Contexts 9. Ageing and Gerontology in the UK after 1945 Pat Thane (King's College London, UK) 10. The Burden of Old Age: The Fate of Elderly People in the Polish People's Republic Ewelina Szpak (Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland) 11. The Development of Museums of Medicine in Post-Soviet Countries and their Contribution to the History of Medicine Katarzyna Jarosz (International University of Logistics and Transport, Poland) Epilogue James Chappel (Duke University, USA) and Isaac McKean Scarborough (Liverpool John Moores University, UK) Index. "This open access book brings together an eclectic cast of scholars in related disciplines to examine ageing in the Soviet Union: the practice of geriatrics, the science of gerontology, and the experience of growing old. Chapters in the book focus on concepts and themes that analyse Soviet ageing in its medical, political and social contexts, both in the Soviet Union and internationally. Ageing was hardly a uniquely Soviet phenomenon -- in fact, it is perhaps the most universally human experience, faced and dealt with by all societies. Over the past fifty years, moreover, governments and societies have been dealing with steady increases in their ageing populations. Almost paradoxically, however, societal focus on this ageing population, its lives, and its social impact remains extremely limited. Compared to most sciences, gerontology is pitifully underfunded; geriatrics is amongst the least prestigious branches of medicine; and while the world's population is growing undeniably older, great disagreement remains over what can and should be done in response. These were the same challenges that the USSR faced in the post-war decades (1945-1991), and the contributions included in this volume help to flesh out and contextualize the example of Soviet gerontology and geriatrics as one possible model of response. Geriatrics and Ageing in the Soviet Union captures the growing interest in this important subject, demonstrating the influence of ageing on Soviet science and society and the impact of Soviet gerontology and geriatrics at a global level. The open access edition of this book is available under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 licence on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Wellcome Trust and Liverpool John Moores University."-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Contents 6 List of figures 8 List of table 9 Glossary 10 Note on transliteration 11 Notes on contributors 12 Acknowledgements 15 Introduction: Ageing in a Soviet context 18 Part 1 ­Soviet gerontology: Ageing as a field of scientific study 32 1 The legend of Gilgamesh: Attempts at its realization in Soviet gerontology Vladislav Bezrukov and Yurii Duplenko 34 2 Medical propaganda: Fairy tales and miracles of surgery Maria Tutorskaya 52 3 Winding up the clock of life: Soviet research into infant ‘mortality’ in the context of ageing bodies Anna Ozhiganova 68 Part 2 Care for older persons: Soviet geriatrics, spatial organization and social support 88 4 Ageing minds and bodies: Caring for older patients at a Soviet psychiatric hospital Aleksandra Marta Brokman 90 5 A comfortable old age: Designing care homes for older Soviet persons Susan Grant 108 6 Age and the city: Older persons in Soviet urban milieu and thought in the 1970s and 1980s Botakoz Kassymbekova 130 Part 3 Narratives of ageing, public and private 146 7 The modern babushka: Rethinking older women in late socialism Danielle Leavitt-Quist 148 8 The right to a permanent collection: Archiving the lives of Soviet pensioners Alissa Klots and Maria Romashova 166 9 Soviet life cycle and ageing: Through the lens of museums of medicine Katarzyna Jarosz 182 Part 4 International contexts 200 10 The burden of old age: The fate of older people in the People’s Republic of Poland Ewelina Szpak 202 11 Ageing and gerontology in Britain after 1945: The ‘menace’ of an ageing population Pat Thane 224 Epilogue: Socialist ageing in a global context James Chappel and Isaac Scarborough 242 Select bibliography 256 Index 261