ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the encounter of Western ideals and principles with post-Soviet medicine. It begins with the story of Directly Observed Treatment with Short-course chemotherapy in Russia and the Baltic states: have these countries embraced World Health Organization's tuberculosis treatment strategy as also advocated by the Task Force? The chapter provides a general discussion of perceptions of Western health-care principles and procedures, as introduced by the Task Force and other similar initiatives, among project participants in the recipient countries. Among the questions to be asked are how Russian and Baltic project participants perceive the heavy emphasis on marginalised groups such as prisoners and prostitutes in the Task Force, and whether post-Soviet patriotism or anti-Western sentiments have impeded the implementation of Task Force projects. The heritage of Soviet medical science may influence perceptions of Western initiatives such as the Task Force in the post-Soviet area.
