Abstract
The chapter covers the relevant aspects of education and training of medical specialist to work in the northern territories remote from the administrative centers. The chapter reveals the problem of insufficient basic training in forensic medicine for the specialists living and working in geographically isolated areas of the Arctic zone of Russia. The author outlines the contradictions between the provisions on forensic medical training, declared educational standards, and requirements of the criminal procedures set by the Russian legislation. In the case of circumpolar territories in Russia, the author attempts to elaborate possible ways of solution of the specified problems.
TopBackground
The year 1653 is the starting point in the medical and demographic studies of the Arctic. In February 1653, Pierre-Martin de Lamartine, a French surgeon, departed from Copenhagen as a member of the Danish expedition of the Northern trading company, visited Norway, Lapland, and the North of Russia. His voyage resulted in a report containing rich ethnographic material (Kasparyan, 2013).
The Arctic zone of Russia is located along the coast of the Arctic Ocean, particularly, the Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, and Chukchi seas. It is Russia’s longest maritime border of 19,724 km. The land area of the Arctic zone is 18% of Russia’s territory, or 3.1 million km2 (Kamenetsky, 2015). According to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation “On Land Territories of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation” (President of the Russian Federation, 2014), Russian Arctic includes:
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Murmanskaya Oblast;
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Nenetsky Autonomous District;
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Chukotsky Autonomous District;
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Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous District;
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Vorkuta municipal district (Komi Republic);
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Allaikhovsky district, Anabar national (Dolgan-Evenk) district, Bulunsky district, Nizhnekolymsky district, and Ust-Yansky district (Republic of Sakha (Yakutia));
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Norilsk and Taimyr Dolgan-Nenets municipal districts, Turukhansk district (Krasnoyarsky Krai);
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Arkhangelsk, Mezensk municipal area, Novaya Zemlya, Novodvinsk, Onezh municipal area, Primorsk municipal area, Severodvinsk (Arkhangelskaya Oblast);
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Territories and islands located in the Arctic Ocean specified in the Decree of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) “On the Declaration as the Territory of the USSR of the Lands and Islands Located in the Arctic Ocean” (Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, 1926) and other regulation documents of the USSR.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Remote Areas of Russia: The settlements of the Russian Federation that are hard to reach and remote from administrative centers.
Qualification of a Worker: A level of knowledge, skills, professional skills, and experience of an employee.
Arctic Zone of Russia: The northern tip of the European and Asian parts of the Russian Federation located along the coast of the Arctic Ocean.
Forensic Medical Examination: A procedural action consisting of research and giving an opinion by a forensic expert on the issues within the competence.
Professional Standard: A characteristic of qualification, which is necessary for an employee to carry out particular professional activity, including certain job functions.
Educational Standard: A level of requirements to a particular direction of pedagogical activity revealing the content, means, methods and forms of training, as well as a control of the educational process.
Forensic Medicine: A section of medicine which studies the use of special knowledge in the medical and biological scientific field in order to establish legally significant circumstances.