Disability

Disability (from Latin invalidus - weak, infirm), permanent loss of work capacity. This general theoretical formulation in practice, in the insurance legislation of various countries, undergoes various modifications. Most often, a certain degree of permanent incapacity is established, at which the presence of disability is recognized. Thus, German insurance against disability requires loss of work capacity of not less than ²/3. Soviet legislation does not know of such a limitation. Incapacity is recognized as permanent in all cases when its restoration, given the current state of our knowledge and the current organization of medical assistance, appears unlikely. Thus, in this case, the actual practical possibilities of actual restoration of work capacity are taken into account. Hence it is understandable that people with the same health defects may at different times and in different places be recognized as disabled or not recognized as such. For example, with the expansion of the network of sanatoriums for pulmonary patients, a certain part of tuberculosis patients, previously classified as disabled, begins to be treated as temporarily incapacitated. With such an understanding of disability, the will of the patient to undergo treatment obviously acquires great importance. However, the practice of all countries does not recognize the right of the patient to refuse treatment, with the exception only of surgical treatment. Consequently, the presence of a disease that can be surgically removed, if the patient does not agree to the operation, will be considered as disability. Cases of disability are classified according to two criteria - degree of incapacity and its etiology. Determining the extent, or degree of disability, presents a very difficult task, which, given the current state of science, can only be resolved approximately. First, three main categories of disability are distinguished: helplessness, total disability, and partial disability. By helplessness is meant such a state of a person when he not only cannot engage in any regular professional work, but even cannot manage without outside help in his domestic life. Disability is recognized as total in cases when a person is unable to work professionally but does not need outside help in his domestic life. Persons who have retained the ability to work professionally only partially, not to the full extent, belong to the category of partial disability. The greatest difficulties arise in measuring partial disability. There are two systems for measuring it: the first is based on a percentage system for accounting incapacity, the second received in the USSR the name of rational classification. In the percentage system, the expert evaluates the degree of disability with a certain number, based on the assumption that full work capacity equals 100%. Therefore, here they speak of loss of work capacity of 20, 30, 50%, etc. Since there are ready tables in which various defects of the body are assessed at certain percentages of loss of work capacity, applying this system is relatively simple. However, many objections should be raised against it. Despite its external 'scientificity' (numerical measurement of a known phenomenon), it is actually devoid of any scientific justification. The figures on which it is based rely only on purely subjective assessments of experts, and existing tables represent a purely mechanical summary of these opinions. The arbitrariness of these opinions is evident from the fact that in different countries the same defects are assessed differently. For example, loss of the thumb of the right hand is assessed in the USA on average at 10%, in Germany at 20%, in France at 10-60%, in Austria at 16.8%, in Sweden at 10-25%. Furthermore, the percentage system is also contradicted by the fact that over time it becomes increasingly less accurate in practice. For example, 20-30 years ago in Germany, experts assessed incapacity with accuracy to tenths of a unit. They spoke of loss of work capacity of 23.5%, 33.3%, etc. Now they are satisfied with an accuracy of 5%, and often even 10%. The division of the entire range of assessments into several groups, with limits of 15-20%, is increasingly entering into practice in Western insurance legislation, and the expert is only required to assign a given case to one or another group. Thus, the accuracy of assessment is further reduced, whereas any truly scientific system of measurement of course evolves in the direction of increasing accuracy. Finally, the convenience of applying the percentage system is only apparent. Since we are talking about so-called 'simple injuries' (loss of fingers, limbs, eyes, immobility of joints, etc.), this system inevitably leads to the mechanical application of ready-made tariffs and thereby kills the independent thinking of the expert. When, for example, an expert has to deal with the absence of the right thumb of the hand of a skilled worker, one can directly take from the table a ready figure of 30-35%. Similarly, for example, immobility of the right shoulder joint is assessed in tables at 25-40%, blindness in one eye at 25-35%, etc. But in complex cases, when there is a combination of various injuries or when it comes to internal or nervous diseases, the percentage system gives no, not even approximately justified, points of support, and in these cases the individual arbitrariness of a single expert acquires decisive importance. For such diseases, the tables indicate very wide limits within which the expert can choose any figure. For example, little benefit to the expert can be given by the indication in the table that a chronic disease of lung tissue gives a reduction in work capacity from 10% to 100%, and a chronic disease of abdominal organs from 10% to 80%. The second system of measurement, the so-called rational classification, replaces the direct measurement of disability, as a task completely impossible to accomplish, with the classification of disabled persons into a series of groups depending on their probable fate in the labor market. When it is said, for example, that a given person, due to the health defects he has, will have to leave his profession and that he will be able to find application for his strengths in another profession of approximately the same qualification, this is the language of simple common sense, and the conclusion does not go beyond what can be foreseen (of course, given certain knowledge and experience). Avoiding great detail, which inevitably leads to stretching and arbitrariness, rational classification establishes only six categories (in the USSR - 'groups') of disability, corresponding to the main steps of gradual decrease in work capacity. In its original version (resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of December 8, 1921), the rational classification of disability had the following appearance. The 1st group of disability included persons not only unable to engage in any professional work but needing outside help to satisfy their own needs. The 2nd group included disabled persons unable to engage in any professional work but able to manage without outside help. If a disabled person is unable to engage in any regular professional work but can to some extent earn his livelihood by occasional and light work, then he belongs to the 3rd group of disability. The 4th group is accepted in cases when the disabled person cannot continue his previous professional activity but can switch to a new profession of lower qualification. If a disabled person must give up his previous profession but can find a new profession of the same qualification, then he is considered a disabled person of the 5th group. Finally, the 6th group includes disabled persons who can continue their previous professional work but only with reduced productivity. This original version of the rational classification was revised in 1925 and 1928, and in the current legislation of the USSR, groups 3, 4, 5, and 6 have the following formulation: 3rd group - disabled persons unable to work regularly for hire but able to earn their livelihood by occasional and moreover light work, if their disability must lead, according to the conclusion of medical examination bodies, to a reduction in earnings by more than 50%. 4th group - disabled persons able to continue work for hire with reduced work capacity, if their disability must lead, according to the conclusion of medical examination bodies, to a reduction in earnings approximately within the limits of 30% to 50%. 5th group - disabled persons able to continue work for hire with reduced work capacity, if their disability must lead, according to the conclusion of medical examination bodies, to a reduction in earnings approximately within the limits of 15% to 30%. 6th group - disabled persons able to continue work in their profession with reduced work capacity, if their disability must lead, according to the conclusion of medical examination bodies, to a reduction in earnings by no more than 15%. By its etiology, disability is general, traumatic, and professional. The concept of general disability is negative: it means that disability does not have a specific etiology, i.e., it is neither traumatic nor professional. Disability is considered traumatic in the case if it is caused by a previous accident; professional - if it is based on any specifically professional disease.

One type of general Disability is senile Disability, i.e., caused by senile changes (arteriosclerosis, marasmus). From the point of view of social insurance, senile Disability is strictly distinguished from old age: the latter is a demographic concept, while senile Disability is a medical concept. Old age means the presence of a certain age, conditionally accepted in a given legislation (usually 60, 65, 70 years); the state of working capacity plays no role in this. Senile Disability means the loss of working capacity caused by such changes in the organism that are considered in pathology to be characteristic of the period of the body's decline, and the age itself has no decisive significance. Data on Disability can serve as a good means for assessing the sanitary well-being of the population and its individual parts. In this sense, Disability is not inferior to such generally recognized sanitary indicators as mortality, morbidity, birth rate, physical development, etc. First of all, for such an assessment, the number of disabled persons can be used, which is annually separated from each thousand of the population group being studied. For example, if one profession gives annually 1/100 disabled persons, and another 2/100, then obviously in the second profession the workers' bodies wear out faster than in the first. However, since Disability is of various degrees, it is important to take into account not only the number of disabled persons, but also the amount of working capacity lost by each disabled person. Finally, the age at which Disability occurs is also important: for example, if one population group gives annually 1% of completely disabled persons at the age of 40, and another group the same percentage of completely disabled persons, but only at the age of 60, then obviously the situation in the first group is less favorable than in the second. If on the basis of data on the number of disabled persons, the degree of Disability and the age of its onset, one calculates how many units of working force are lost annually by each thousand persons of the population being studied, then a coefficient of disability, or wear, is obtained, which is an excellent measure of the effect of the environment on the health of the population. But data on Disability can also be used in another direction: thanks to them, the causes of Disability can be studied. The same degree of wear can in one population group depend on the degeneration of the heart and accompanying circulatory disorders, and in another-on tuberculosis. Statistical material developed in this direction illuminates not only the fact of harmful influence, but also its paths. This opens up great possibilities not only for assessing the harmfulness of the environment, but also for clarifying the mechanism of their action. All that has been said refers, mainly, to the field of professional statistics, since the material on Disability comes mainly in relation to the insured population, which includes first of all the population engaged in professional work. Therefore, until now Disability as an indicator of sanitary well-being has been used almost exclusively by professional hygiene and professional pathology. In conclusion, it is necessary to give some statistical data on Disability. In Germany in 1918, each thousand insured gave 6.41 disabled persons due to general disability (with loss of working capacity above 2/3), in 1919-8.21. In the USSR in 1925, the corresponding figure is 14.9 (disabled persons of the first three groups are taken into account-see above). At the same time, women give more cases of Disability than men, namely-19.9 against 13.0. With increasing age, disability increases in both sexes. Thus, according to the report of the Central Social Insurance Administration (Tsusstrakh), containing material for 1925, the age-specific coefficients of disability are as follows. Sex §3 4Д1 3,73 ал т ю co o o ю Я' ш pa Men Women 1.26 1.12 4.47 7.11 5.65 10.63 9.60 23.65 32.44 99.92 116.06 234.13 From this comparison, among other things, it is seen that up to 25-29 years the coefficient of Disability is higher in men, and later-in women. The average age of onset of disability according to the same data is for men 51.8, for women 50.0. The degree of disability is characterized first of all by the distribution of Disability by groups. Out of 100 disabled men, 7.8 are in the first group, 51.4 in the second, 40.8 in the third. In women the corresponding figures are: 4.4-42.5-53.4. A more accurate indicator of the intensity of disability is the above-mentioned coefficient of wear, which takes into account the total number of losses in the working force for a given mass of population. In 1925 in the USSR, per 1,000 insured, there were lost years due to Disability: in men-116.1, in women-226.1. This same indicator can also characterize the causes of Disability. It turns out that the greatest losses are caused by tuberculosis of the lungs: in men-31.8, in women-55.7. Second place is taken by myocarditis and arteriosclerosis: in men-10.7, in women-37.6. Organic diseases of the central nervous system gave men and women almost the same figure-9.0 and 9.7. On the other hand, hysteria and neurastenia predominate sharply in women: in men-3.5, in women-14.1. Chronic rheumatism gives 1.7 and 7.3, pulmonary emphysema-2.7 and 1.0, defects of limbs-3.7 and 2.7.-The question of providing for disabled persons is in close connection with social insurance. As for the question of the utilization of the labor of disabled persons, since Disability is not always complete, the natural thought is to use the remaining working capacity where it exists. There are two ways of utilizing the labor of disabled persons. The first consists in creating special institutions adapted for the work of certain categories of disabled persons. A well-known example in this respect can be the asylums for the blind with basket, brush, or other workshops. In the West, institutions for teaching work to disabled persons with missing fingers, hands, etc. have existed for a long time. Recently in our country too, the Central Social Insurance Administration (Tsusstrakh) has taken up the organization of experimental labor colonies and labor prophylactics for disabled persons. In addition, it should be noted that sometimes industrial enterprises, on their own initiative and under the influence of various motives, make attempts to use the labor of partially disabled persons. An example can be the Ford factories in America or Siemens in Germany, where a certain number of blind, armless, etc. work. Another way of utilizing the labor of disabled persons consists in mediation between disabled persons and the labor market. It is very difficult for a disabled person to find work, even if the remaining working capacity he has allows him to perform this or that work. Ordinary labor exchanges cannot cope with this task. Here knowledge of all the peculiarities that the labor of disabled persons presents, and of all the conditions under which this labor can and must be applied, is required. n. vigdorchik. Military Disability, permanent loss of working capacity as a result of wounds, injuries from combat chemical substances, disabilities and diseases received as a result of participation in military operations during military service or in connection with it. Due to the special importance of troops in the state's life and the special nature of their activity, military Disability was usually singled out by legislation as a special group compared with labor Disability. Already in ancient times, one can note the beginnings of various forms of state material assistance to disabled war veterans. In ancient Greece, the maintenance of disabled war veterans and their families was at the expense of the republic. In the Roman legions, disabled persons were allotted land plots and received a certain part of the military booty, in a later period-monetary maintenance. In the Middle Ages in France and England, the maintenance of disabled persons was entrusted to monasteries. In Spain, and later in other countries (England, Holland), pensions and one-time allowances were appointed for disabled war veterans. In France from the 16th century in relation to naval military personnel, patronage of disabled persons was carried out at state expense. Later the Invalid House (Hotel des Invalides) was established in Paris. In the early 19th century in France, and then in other countries, special disabled companies (companies) began to be organized, intended for soldiers who had lost fitness for combat service. These companies pursued the goal, on the one hand, to use the residual working capacity of disabled persons by appointing them to guard and various other internal service duties, and on the other hand, to give at least minimal material support. It should be borne in mind that the long, sometimes lifelong terms of military service led soldiers to a complete loss of family and civil domestic ties. Disabled companies remained in some countries (for example Prussia) until the beginning of the 20th century. In Russia, care for disabled persons received some legislative form under Peter I, who entrusted the Military Collegium to place disabled persons in monasteries and almshouses, as well as to give them lifelong maintenance 'according to garrison rates'. However, about two years later this measure was considered burdensome for the treasury, and restrictions followed on the categories of disabled persons entitled to state maintenance. Catherine II, having transferred large monastic wealth to the treasury, at the same time freed the monasteries from the maintenance of disabled persons, settling the latter in specially designated cities and appointing pensions. In the 18th century in Russia, following the example of the West, disabled companies also appeared.

Disability was differentiated into 3 categories based on preserved work capacity ('mobile', 'serving', and 'non-serving'), and accordingly, teams were organized. Disabled persons of the 1st category - 'mobile' - were assigned to service in hospitals, in the provisions, commissariat, and other departments, in fortresses, etc. Teams of disabled persons of the 2nd and 3rd categories were formed in county towns and existed until 1823. In 1862, disabled persons were renamed 'unfit for service', and with the disbandment of the internal guard corps, most disabled teams were disbanded (except for the guard teams, which lasted until 1880). From 1874, those unfit for combat service were retained in their units in non-combat positions, while those completely unfit were discharged from the army. The 1874 Military Service Act recognized the right to a pension, patronage, or placement in a charitable institution only for those disabled persons among the 'lower ranks' who became disabled during active military service or, even after being discharged to the reserve, but only as a result of wounds, injuries, or diseases received during active military service or training exercises. The provision for disabled officers attracted greater attention from government agencies. In 1814, on the first anniversary of the Battle of Kulm, a special 'Committee of August 18, 1814' was established, which later received the name of the Alexander Committee for the Wounded. Initially, this committee was tasked with 'receiving petitions and requests for providing possible assistance' exclusively to impoverished, maimed officers, without extending its activities to the 'lower ranks' (the latter were entrusted mainly to private charity). Subsequently, the Alexander Committee began to provide some, generally very small, assistance to disabled soldiers as well. The imperialist war, characterized by multi-million armies and the introduction of more advanced means of destruction, was accompanied by mass disability, the quantitative dimensions of which can be judged from the following data recorded in literature and official reports (see also Military Sanitary Affairs). Russian army. According to data from the Office of the Supreme Chief of the Sanitary and Evacuation Service, medical commissions of 9 military districts examined 4,738,218 wounded and sick persons during 1916, of whom 49% were left for additional treatment, 14% were recognized as subject to discharge for extended leave, 4.5% to complete discharge from service; the remaining 31.8% were recognized fit for non-combat or combat service or directed to recovering teams. German army. During 52 months of war, 2.7% of the total number of sick and battle casualties were recognized unfit for service (Hoffmann). French army. Of the total number of hospitalized sick and battle casualties, estimated at approximately 9 million, by April 1, 1920, 422,428 persons were on pension, i.e., 4.7% (Toubert). Of 100 wounded evacuated from the front, 9% were recognized completely unfit for military service (Toubert). U.S. Army. Of 100 wounded evacuated from the front, 10% were discharged from military service during the first 6 months, and 5% remained under treatment after 6 months (Fox Conner). Changes and improvements in the technique of destruction also affected the qualitative aspect of disability. The increase in the number of artillery wounds led to an increase in the number of more severe injuries and consequently more severe disabilities. The introduction of chemical warfare agents into military practice (see Chemical Warfare Agents) created a new group of disabled persons - victims of C.W. The number of disabled persons as a result of cold weapon injuries (bayonet, saber, etc.) relatively decreased. - To some extent, the nature of disability in the Russian army can be judged from the following preserved materials of Priyoryov, covering those admitted during a certain period to rear medical facilities - 3,239,595 wounded and sick (1,706,200 wounded and concussed, 1,533,395 sick). Discharged with complete recovery.....1,260,202 Discharged with incomplete recovery (chronic diseases, injuries) . 1,674,871 Transferred to other medical facilities ...... 288,324 Died . , ,.........,....... 16,198 According to the degree of loss of work capacity, those discharged and transferred to other medical facilities with chronic diseases and injuries were distributed as follows: with normal work capacity - 168,835; with partial loss of work capacity - 1,729,575; with complete loss of work capacity - 64,785. According to the prognosis for restoration of work capacity under the condition of rational subsequent treatment - complete restoration of work capacity - 1,374,237; partial - 537,915; hopeless - 51,043. Number of discharged disabled persons with incomplete recovery, chronic diseases, injuries. With limited movement...........482,700 Of which: Limited mobility, contracture, ankylosis . 307,762 Paralysis, paresis, neuritis..........126,344 Ununited fractures........... 43,594 With lesions of the central nervous system and sensory organs . . . . i...........210,574 Of which: Deafness } ^partial^ly..............

The growth in the number of disabled persons, especially traumatic ones, during the imperialist war required in all countries a revision of questions related to rational treatment, aftercare, prosthetics, vocational retraining, and further pension and labor provision. In the legislation of various countries today, there is no unified understanding of military disability, the methods and principles for determining it, or the norms and forms of provision for military disabled persons. French legislation, for example, since 1919, considers any permanent loss of fitness for military service due to diseases, injuries, or combat damage that developed and intensified during military service or in connection with it to be military disability. 'All diseases certified in a military man or sailor during the time of military service or within 6 months after his return to the homeland are presumed to have their existence or deterioration as a result of the hardships, dangers, or accidents of service,' states the French law of 1919. Recognition of military disability is linked to the granting of a state pension. In connection with this, the law on conscription into the army requires the precise determination of the health status of those being conscripted. 'The collection of medical examinations of each recruit aims to 84 determine his state of health upon entry into the troops as precisely as medicine allows, and to recognize whether he is capable of being a soldier.' In view of these requirements, the 'period of conscription,' i.e., the time necessary for all these measures with respect to each recruit, is set at up to 3 months, depending on the individual complexity of the diagnosis and prognosis. These provisions for military disabled persons, characteristic of other capitalist states (England, USA), are a necessary component of that policy of preparation for new wars which capitalist governments cannot but pursue. The true political meaning of the 'generosity' toward military disabled persons is especially clear if one compares it with the year-by-year reduction in the expenditures of capitalist states on other forms of social assistance to the working population (insurance for illness, unemployment, etc.). In the USSR, care for disabled war veterans is an inseparable link in the entire chain of state measures for the provision of the working population. The Soviet power from the first years of its existence paid great attention to the provision of disabled war veterans and their families. Already the legislation of 1918 (e.g., the decree of 31/X) contains a number of basic provisions for state provision for disabled war veterans. These provisions in subsequent years were significantly developed and deepened. Soviet law seeks to provide maximum opportunities for the restoration of the work capacity of disabled persons and their integration into productive labor, to provide a broad field for initiative, and to create favorable conditions for it. Soviet law links the forms and extent of state provision for disabled war veterans 1) with the establishment of the dependence of the loss of work capacity on causes related to military service, and 2) with the degree of loss of work capacity. The resolution of the first question with respect to rank-and-file and junior commanding personnel of the Red Army is technically significantly simplified and is carried out by social security authorities on the basis of establishing the fact of loss or reduction of work capacity during service in the army, as well as in cases where the loss or reduction of work capacity developed in connection with service within a year from the date of discharge from it; with respect to middle, senior, and higher commanding personnel, the same question is decided by military-medical commissions. The determination of the degree of loss of work capacity is carried out by medical-expert commissions under health authorities, consisting of a chairman - a representative of an inter-professional union association, three physicians, and a representative of the military department. These commissions, with respect to disabled war veterans, are guided by the same principles as with respect to disabled workers (see above). For disabled war veterans engaged in agriculture, four groups of disability are established. The right to state provision in the order of military disability is enjoyed by military personnel, Red partisans, Red Guards, food supply army men, persons who suffered in the struggle with counter-revolution and banditism, and state provision extends to their family members as well. The types and forms of state provision for disabled war veterans are: a) pensions and allowances; b) placement in institutions of social security, public health, and education; c) employment placement. For junior commanding and rank-and-file personnel of the Red Army, pensions and allowances are assigned by social security authorities. Other categories of commanding personnel of the Red Army are provided for in accordance with the 'Regulation on State Provision for the Regular Commanding Personnel of the Red Army' (decree of the CEC and Sovnarkom of the USSR of 19/III 1926). According to this law, the right to pension provision for disability is granted to commanding personnel of the Red Army upon their discharge from military service in cases of recognition of their disability a) with classification into the first three groups of disability, b) without classification into these groups of disability, even if their disability was not caused by reasons related to military service, but provided they have served in the Red Army for 10 years or more. The amount of pensions (as a % of the salary scale). Group I Group II Group III In the case of establishing a connection of disability with military service .... 100

25 Those who served in the RKKA for at least 10 years and were discharged from military service due to unfitness for it in cases where they were recognized as disabled without being assigned to the first three groups of Disability, are assigned pensions regardless of the causes that led to Disability, in the amount of 35%. - The employment of military disabled persons is carried out by a) placement in work in state, public and private enterprises; b) cooperation of disabled persons; c) organization of apprenticeships in cooperative artels; d) vocational training and retraining, etc. Cooperation of disabled persons is an organization of self-activity and is managed by the disabled persons themselves on an elective basis. Admission to cooperative artels is entirely voluntary. Cooperation of disabled persons enjoys significant benefits and advantages in tax matters, in relation to payment of public utilities, etc. The share contribution for a disabled person member of an artel is paid by the state. A newly joining disabled person retains the right to receive a pension for six months. In artels, vocational training of military disabled persons is organized on an apprenticeship basis, with the artel being paid by social security authorities for the remuneration for training. The system of independent disabled persons' cooperation, implemented in the USSR, in its scope and principled consistency has no precedents in either foreign or prerevolutionary practice. Vocational training and retraining of disabled persons is carried out, besides in artels, in special vocational-technical schools of the People's Commissariat of Social Welfare. For the entire period of training, military disabled persons receive maintenance at state expense; non-working members of their families dependent on them also receive state support during the disabled person's training. The same right is granted to dependents of military disabled persons if the latter are undergoing courses of study at workers' faculties, technical schools, and higher educational institutions of the USSR. Regarding the nature and pace of development of these forms of provision for disabled persons, the beginning of which was laid in 1918, the following data for the RSFSR speak: by 1920, 26 experimental and demonstration schools with 5,000 students, 229 workshops and agricultural colonies were already functioning. Subsequently, with the organization of disabled persons' cooperation, the network of these institutions somewhat decreased, as those trained in a craft or new profession found application for their labor in cooperative associations of disabled persons. By 1929, in the USSR there were 4,500 cooperative artels with 82,000 members and 14,000 enterprises. The average earnings of a disabled person reached 73-74 rubles per month. In place of local workshops, a network of special schools was developed, ensuring the training of qualified workers. By 1929, 4 schools (3 of mixed type, 1 vocational and accounting) and 1 agricultural technical school with 1,300 students had been formed. The existing experience of training, retraining, and cooperation indicates the possibility of involving disabled persons of severe degrees in labor processes. Thus, in 1929, the composition of cooperative artels was as follows: disabled persons of Group I - 3%, Group II - 27%, Group III - about 45%, disabled persons of Groups IV, V and VI - about 25%. In schools, disabled persons of the first four groups constituted about 70%. Many benefits provided for by the Code of Benefits for RKKA servicemen apply to military disabled persons. Medical assistance to disabled persons is provided free of charge in all health care institutions, in the first place, on a par with insured persons at the expense of state and local budgets. Prosthetics for military disabled persons is carried out at state expense in prosthetic institutions of the People's Commissariat of Health. Sanatorium-resort treatment of disabled persons at resorts of all-Union significance is also organized at state expense. In addition, resort beds are rented in significant quantities for military disabled persons at the expense of public organizations (committees for assistance to wounded and sick Red Army men, mutual aid funds, disabled persons' cooperation). In the matter of prosthetics and resort treatment of military disabled persons, a work-oriented approach is also implemented: prosthetics and resort beds are provided in the first place in cases where it is possible to restore work capacity and involve the disabled person in working life. Military disabled persons enjoy a number of other benefits and advantages. The most important of them: the right to receive targeted grants for the restoration of agriculture of disabled peasants, a 50% discount on railway tariffs, free travel on trams, significant tax benefits, the right to receive free labor assistance from peasant mutual aid societies (land cultivation, restoration of buildings, acquisition of live and dead inventory, etc.). Benefits are provided to military disabled persons and their children upon admission to educational institutions, preferential right to receive pensions, etc. During the Civil War and in the subsequent period, great importance was attached to the activities of the All-Russian Committee for Assistance to Wounded and Sick Red Army Men (Vserokomp), which organized Soviet public opinion around its tasks. This committee was established by a resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the RSFSSR of October 29, 1919. The committee was tasked with 'assisting the organs of Soviet power in providing assistance to wounded and sick Red Army men during the period of their treatment and evacuation by involving broad masses of workers and peasants, as well as party and economic organizations in this matter.' The committee was to assist in improving the organization of treatment, evacuation and maintenance of sick and wounded persons in medical institutions, participate in supplying persons discharged from medical institutions with clothing and footwear, and take care of satisfying the cultural and domestic needs of sick and wounded persons. Assistance to military disabled persons occupied a prominent place in the committee's activities. The committee was established under the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, its members were appointed by the government. Local organs of the committee were organized at local executive committees. The source of the committee's funds were funds allocated by the government and revenues from the committee's own business enterprises, lotteries, lectures, concerts, etc., arranged in its favor. By July 1920, 154 local committees (in regional, gubernatorial and uyezd centers) had already been established. In the subsequent period (1922-24), the attention of Vserokomp was focused on issues related to its participation in the after-treatment of sick and wounded persons of the Civil War, prosthetics of disabled persons and their material support. From 1925 onwards, the functions of Vserokomp expanded in connection with the disbandment of interdepartmental commissions for the service of demobilized persons and the transfer of functions to the committee for the service of military personnel being discharged from the army due to illness. At the center, Vserokomp's attention was focused on issues related to assistance to the military disabled person. The number of local committees increased to 500 in 1929, and the annual budget reached 3 million rubles. The extent and forms of assistance provided by the committees can be judged from the following data for 1928. For increasing pensions, for disabled persons' homes, training and other needs, including assistance to children ........... 665,000 rubles. For assistance to disabled persons in rural areas (for collectivization and for cooperation of disabled persons, for inventory, seeds, for purchase of livestock, etc.)........... 110,000 » For prosthetics............. 116,000 » For resort assistance and treatment . . . 165,000 » For allowances to demobilized Red Army men until they find work and for other allowances to them . ........... 140,006 * For allowances to disabled persons in various other cases (in case of disasters, when moving, in acute need, etc.)........ 125,000 » For strengthening the enterprises of the kompom committees (on which about 50% of disabled persons work). 445,000 » Total . .1,665,000 _r. The figure of 1,665,000 rubles covers only oblast, gubernatorial, and okrug committees, not including uyezd committees, which spent on similar types of assistance no less than 500,000 rubles. In order to expand the active participation of workers of the USSR in carrying out the tasks of Vserokomp, the society 'Friend of the Disabled and Red Army Man' was established. - The Five-Year Plan provides for further improvement of the situation of military disabled persons.

N. Zelenyev, Kh. Slobodyanskiy.