Media narratives in the social history of medicine: the case study of the 1949 Khabarovsk trial

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Abstract

In the article, the authors explore media narratives of the tribunal held in December 1949 in Khabarovsk over Japanese doctors recognized as war criminals involved in the development and use of bacteriological weapons, as well as conducting medical experiments on humans that are incompatible with the norms of morality and ethics of medicine. The purpose of the article is to explore the Khabarovsk process in the broad context of the social history of science using domestic archival materials, published memoirs of eyewitnesses and participants in the process, as well as periodic publications (mainly regional) as the main historical sources. A comprehensive study of this plot made it possible, through the analysis of media narratives, to supplement historiography with materials from the Far Eastern region, which allowed us to select not only the historical context, but also to restore little-studied aspects of informing Soviet society about the Khabarovsk process, to identify international resonance for this event.

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About the authors

O. S. Nagornykh

Privolzhsky Research Medical University

Author for correspondence.
Email: aldan12@yandex.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1520-1502
Scopus Author ID: 57202028493
ResearcherId: AAO-4811-2021

кандидат исторических наук, доцент

Russian Federation, Nyzhny Novgorod

N. P. Shok

Privolzhsky Research Medical University

Email: Shok.nataliya@gmail.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0713-7507
Scopus Author ID: 57193203383
ResearcherId: K-6360-2016

доктор исторических наук, профессор

Russian Federation, Nyzhny Novgorod

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