The Jews' contribution to the pharmacy of a Siberian city in the second part of the 19th - early 20th centuries based on Tomsk archives

The authors describe the Jews' contribution to Tomsk pharmacy in the second part of the 19th - the beginning of the 20th centuries. The issue is considered to be urgent because of particular Russian laws about the Jews, as well as the research of the healthcare system in Siberia. To study Russian laws on the Jews and pharmacy, the authors have researched the laws of the Russian Empire in the 19th - early 20th centuries such as the Medical Regulation, which includes the healthcare system laws of the Czarist-era and other separate rules about the Jews in the Russian Empire, for instance, the Supreme Order of January 19, 1879. According to the sources, the authors come to a conclusion that despite the lack of special laws to prohibit the Jews to open chemist shops in Siberia, they had obstacles to do it. It was connected with the laws and guidance notes of the Ministry of Internal Affairs which limited the settlement of the Jews in Siberia. However, the lack of well-educated people in Siberia and requirements of the healthcare system led to a flexible policy on the Jews and on the opportunities for them to open chemist shops in Siberia. In the second part of the 19th -early 20th centuries, six chemist shops and four drugstores were opened in Tomsk; therefore, the problem to find chemists, their assistants and apprentices was so urgent that their salary was quite high. According to archives and statistics, there were Jews among owners, chemists, assistants and apprentices in Tomsk chemist shops despite the Russian laws. The flexibility of policy on the Jews in medicine is particularly noticeable in the period of Alexander II, when some liberalization of the laws on the Jews in the Russian Empire is observed. During the reign of Alexander III, despite the strict official policy on the Jews, they were included in the healthcare system in Siberia. To sum up, it could be noted that the financial situation and the healthcare system requirements influenced pharmacy in Siberia greatly and led to an increase in the number of chemist shops here in the 19th - early 20th centuries. The same process could be observed in Tomsk, too. The result of the growing need in medical specialists was a flexible policy on national minorities in Siberia, for example, the government allowed the settlement of Jews who had medical education in Tomsk. Due to this fact, Tomsk became a city with a multinational population, and it is possible to see the Jews contribution to Tomsk pharmacy.

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