Publish or Perish: The Scientific Publications of Women Physicians in Late Imperial Russia

Abstract

Women physicians in late 19th century Russia emerge just as the Russian professions begin attempting to achieve some degree of autonomy from bureaucratic interference. Women took advantage of this discourse to portray themselves as competent professionals dedicated to bettering the lives of Russian people. Quite often these attempts to justify their work in the profession also motivated them to publish their scientific findings so that they could be viewed as legitimate scholars and physicians. This article concentrates on six women physicians, Elizabeth Drentel'n, Aieksandra Ekkert, Maria Pokrovskaia, Evgeniia Serebrennikova, Anna Shabanova, and Maria Volkova who provide illustrative case studies for what many other women physicians were doing. Women physicians published on a wide variety of topics, from women's and children's health to various types of cancers and infectious diseases. A few also used their medical training to advocate for wornen's political and social rights.