On the history of medical rehabilitation: in Russia
The main stages in the development of medical rehabilitation are reviewed. Medical science's successes and the sharp increase in the number of people with disabilities in the 20th century as a consequence of numerous wars and conflicts led to the need to rethink society's attitude towards them, and the emergence of rehabilitation science as an independent field in medicine. In Russia, the creation of structures for providing rehabilitation assistance to the population began in the Soviet period (the 1970s). The problems of rehabilitating the incapacitated and disabled were initially considered through the lens of a particular medical model, according to which the disabled person was recognized as someone being unable to work. In the Russian Federation, since 1995, a state system of medical rehabilitation has been created, the development of which is largely determined by perfecting the legislative framework. The modern three-level model of rehabilitation and habilitation reflects changes in state policy in the social sphere, the purpose of which is not only to eliminate or compensate for functional disorders, but also to achieve the optimal level of biopsychosocial functioning of persons with disabilities and their active participation in the life of society.