Status of homeopathy in contemporary Russia: autonomy or integration?

Abstract

A new diversity has appeared in Russian medical practises after a long period of isolation from many world currents in the Soviet period. Although alternative medicine survived in underground and unofficial medical activities in the Soviet era despite the disapproval of the authorities, it is only with the reforms of the 1990’s that a new stage in its development began. However, this expansion of alternative medicine in Russia has not received a corresponding growth in the understanding of this area within the larger medical and scientific community. This article aims to trace signs of professionalization of alternative medicine in Russia, with a special focus on homeopathy. This is done with reference to the profession of sociology and includes a review of both neo-Marxist and neo-Weberian approaches to the study of professionalization. Within the classic framework of the conceptual triad of ‘State-Profession-Market’, the main tendencies of the development of homeopathic medicine as a profession are examined. This provides an examination of how alternative medicine in Russia interacts with mainstream practices and compares with developments in the European Union. On this basis, various strategies of professionalization are outlined of which two main groups emerge in Russian homeopathy. The first concerns ‘Social Closure’, largely used by the apologists of the classic school. The second refers to ‘Integration’, the position held more by representatives of the clinical approach. The results show homeopathy is not yet a consolidated profession in Russia and lacks the recognition of the wider medical profession. Much must be done to ensure the standardization of homeopathic medicine and to achieve this new links with the state and existing medical institutions must be developed. However, it appears the autonomous role of the market in Russia is providing possibilities for future development, as demand for homeopathy as an alternative medicine grows amongst those people who cannot find a solution to their ailments in traditional, mainstream medicine.