ANo^mberPhia9ri^'  }     Pharmacy  in  the  Russian  Army.  755 
Units  for  the  Supply  of  Medical  Equipment. 
There  are  two  classes  of  units  corresponding  to  the  British  ad- 
vanced depots  of  medical  stores — field  dispensaries  and  temporary 
dispensaries.  A  temporary  dispensary  has  no  fixed  establishment, 
whereas  a  field  dispensary  is  under  a  glavni  farmatsevt,  ranking  as 
a  lieutenant-colonel  with  a  captain  as  second  in  command,  one  to 
two  junior  pharmacists,  and  a  large  staff  of  feldshers  and  at- 
tendants. 
A  special  feature  of  these  field  dispensaries  is  an  instrument- 
repairing  shop,  with  a  foreman  cutter  and  trained  instrument  re- 
pairers. Until  the  revolution  the  army  medical  factory  at  Petro- 
grad  was  the  most  important  and  extensive  of  its  kind  in  any 
country. 
It  consisted  of  a  pharmaceutical  laboratory,  a  surgical  dressings 
mill,  and  a  surgical  instrument  factory.  The  latter  was  in  charge 
of  a  medical  officer  of  the  highest  rank,  with  surgeon-colonels  in 
charge  of  each  section.  The  medical  officers  were,  however,  largely 
ornamental,  and  the  real  work  of  the  factory  was  carried  on  by 
pharmacist  officers. 
The  Red  Cross. 
Before  the  war  the  Russian  Red  Cross  was  perhaps  the  best 
organized  and  wealthiest  of  all  the  European  Red  Cross  Societies. 
In  addition  to  the  usual  private  sources  of  revenue  of  such  bodies 
it  was  heavily  endowed  by  the  State.  The  Society  had  the  monop- 
oly of  the  sale  of  picture  postcards.  It  received  a  percentage  tax 
on  public  and  private  entertainments,  and  also  the  revenue  from  the 
sale  of  stamps  on  railway  tickets  and  of  surcharges  on  telegrams. 
It  was  very  active  in  peace-time  and  carried  out  important  relief 
duties,  such  as  sending  detachments  to  work  among  the  Russian 
fishermen  on  the  north  coast  of  Norway  and  among  the  islands  of 
the  Arctic  Ocean,  but  its  chief  work  was  the  organization  and  main- 
tenance of  lay-communities  known  as  the  "  Sisters  of  Mercy  of  the 
Red  Cross."  It  employed  a  large  number  of  pharmacists,  as  the 
Red  Cross  supplied  practically  every  form  of  medical  formation. 
The  Red  Cross  units  worked  side  by  side  with  those  of  the  regular 
medical  service  in  the  most  forward  positions.  Pharmacists  with 
the  Russian  Red  Cross  had  all  the  privileges  of  their  comrades  with 
the  regular  army.    Under  the  Republican  regime  the  pharmacist 
