Kursk state medical institute: the first steps of formation

Relevance . One of the most important tasks of the modern education system is to improve the quality of graduate training. The degree of mastering the profession largely depends on the effectiveness of the educational process. The reform of higher education carried out in recent decades is clearly contradictory. The introduction of bachelor's and master's degrees with changing educational standards has led to a loss of achievements in personnel training. Therefore, an objective understanding of the experience of the organization of higher education is an urgent area of scientific research. The history of universities has always attracted the interest of researchers. But often, relying only on memories, the authors ignore archival documents containing clerical, administrative, methodological and personal information. The analysis of a wide range of sources based on the latest methodological approaches allows to avoid such errors. The purpose of the study is to comprehensively consider the organizational and material prerequisites for the opening, as well as to generalize the initial stage of the functioning of the Kursk State Medical Institute in the second half of the 1930s. Objectives : to reveal the historiographical features of the research topic; to characterize the main problems associated with the organization of higher medical education in the region. Methodology . The principles of objectivity and historicism were applied during the research. To solve the tasks set by the author, historical-genetic, historical-systemic, historical-comparative, typological, retrospective methods were used. Results . The study and generalization of sources and historiography made it possible to clarify the history of Kursk State Medical University at its initial stage, paying attention to the distortions and inaccuracies allowed in previous publications. Conclusions. Kursk Medical Institute played an important role in the training of medical personnel for the region and the country, especially in wartime conditions. The statements of individual authors about the personal participation of I.V. Stalin in solving a number of issues related to the opening of the university are not confirmed by documentary sources. In the early years of the institute's operation, significant educational traditions were laid, which were successfully implemented at subsequent stages of its activity.