David Yakovlevich Dorf
Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.
Summary
David Yakovlevich Dorf (1869–1920) was a prominent Russian public physician and activist during the early 20th century. He was a key figure in the Pirogov Society and a vocal opponent of the tsarist autocracy, later becoming a notable critic of the October Revolution.
Encyclopedia article (1928–1936)
DORF, David Yakovlevich (1869–1920), one of the most popular public physicians in the era of 1905–16. Upon graduating from the university in 1892, he worked in the zemstvo hospitals of Moscow Governorate and actively participated in the Pirogov Society. In 1905, at the Pirogov "cholera" congress (Moscow), at the final session, he presented the congress resolution, which invited all Russian physicians to "organize for an energetic struggle hand-in-hand with the working masses against the autocratic-bureaucratic regime for its complete elimination." The resolution, which ended with the slogan "Down with the autocracy," was unanimously adopted by the congress. From this moment began the "wandering" period of Dorf's life (Butyrka prison, exile to Arkhangelsk Governorate, abroad; upon his return—administrative non-confirmations in office, etc.).
During the war, Dorf worked in the Zemstvo Union; in 1917, he was elected to the Moscow City Duma. After the October Revolution, he was a most active leader of that group of physicians of the Pirogov Society which sharply rebelled against the October Revolution. The last years of his life he worked in cooperative organizations.
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Cite this page
“David Yakovlevich Dorf.” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.com/article/david-dorf/