Medical Care in Ural Mining Industry during First Half of Eighteenth Century: Organization, Practice, and Social Control

S. N. Kopyrina; K. A. Ulanov

doi:10.24224/2227-1295-2026-15-2-421-439

Medical Care in Ural Mining Industry during First Half of Eighteenth Century: Organization, Practice, and Social Control

S. N. Kopyrina, K. A. Ulanov

https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2026-15-2-421-439

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Abstract

This study investigates the mechanisms for organizing medical care within mining enterprises on the Urals region during the first half of the eighteenth century, as well as the regulatory framework governing workers' behavior through medical practices. An analysis is conducted using archival materials such as regulations issued by the Berg-Kollegium, reports from factory administrations, and medical journals. It demonstrates that the establishment of hospitals, mandatory medical examinations, and activities led primarily by professional physicians like Johann I. Sprinzel ensured a stable model of healthcare provision while simultaneously fulfilling disciplinary roles. The findings reveal how medical inspections became instruments to detect malingering, monitor workloads, and regulate legal statuses among employees. Illnesses were not merely seen as physical afflictions but also integral components of administrative practice. Additionally, measures such as funding medicine via deductions from wages, additional collections (“one kopeck per ruble”), and fines for breaches of labor discipline contributed to an economically sustainable system supporting hospital operations aligned with the administrative goals of the mining authority. Ultimately, it concludes that medical assistance in the Ural mining industry combined European therapeutic standards with social control functions, serving as a mechanism akin to “medical policing” aimed at safeguarding state interests in workforce management.

Keywords

Ural mining industry, history of medicine, managerial practices, institutionalization of medicine

About the Authors

S. N. Kopyrina

Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin
Russian Federation

Sardana N. Kopyrina, PhD in History, Senior Lecturer, Department of Documentation, Archival Science and History of Public Administration

Yekaterinburg,

K. A. Ulanov

Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin
Russian Federation

Kirill A. Ulanov, PhD in History, Associate Professor, Department of Documentation, Archival Science and History of Public Administration

Yekaterinburg,

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Review

For citations:

Kopyrina S.N., Ulanov K.A. Medical Care in Ural Mining Industry during First Half of Eighteenth Century: Organization, Practice, and Social Control. Nauchnyi dialog. 2026;15(2):421-439. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2026-15-2-421-439

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