There is an old, with a wonderful architecture and a beautiful history, a house in Zhytomyr. Many people do not know about its existence, except parents have sick children, because they are forced to come here to a secluded cozy corner of the city for the help of doctors. Today there is a children’s city hospital, and in the past – the provincial ophthalmologic center

At the beginning of the 20th century, the number of ophthalmic diseases in Volhynia increased significantly. The low level of culture and hygiene of the population, neglect of sanitation led to the fact that eye diseases, especially trachoma (chronic infectious diseases of the eyes) were ill with whole families, streets, settlements. The spread of infectious diseases in the province was closely linked with the social situation of the population. The situation became threatening, and acquired signs of an epidemic. Provincial and Zhytomyr city authorities were forced to seek solutions to the problem.
At that time, the head of the provincial nobility was Prince Volodymyr Volkonsky, who, among other cases, was taking care of the health of the population of the province. Probably humane character, humanity and personal sincere qualities have prompted him at this time to become a benefactor.
In 1912, an ophthalmologic hospital was built and equipped in Zhitomir at its expense.
In 1910, for the construction of Prince Volkonsky donated Volyn Zemstvo 231 thousand 900 rubles, of which 61 thousand 900 in cash. The hospital was officially named after its name for an impressive unselfishness and charity act. Part of the money, 170 thousand rubles, was in securities. They were an intact fund, the percentage of which the medical institution provided to the population of Volyn province free ophthalmic care.
In 1907 Volodymyr Volkonsky was elected a deputy of the State Duma from the congress of landowners of Volyn, because of which the care of the hospital was dealt with by his native sister Nadiya, who, in turn, complemented the equipment, and soon, at his own expense, provided construction at the hospital of St. Panteleimonivska church, as St. Panteleimon is considered to be the patron saint of patients and doctors.
The church, its rector and servants were kept on interest from 5 thousand rubles of the church fund, which also created the princess Volkonsky. The temple icon of St. Panteleimon was brought from the Monastery of Panteleimon of Athos, where it was commissioned by monks icon painters.
Volodymyr Volkonsky, two years after the opening of his hospital, died in St. Petersburg at the age of 48, and his sister, Nadezhda, after the Bolshevik coup was carried out in France, where he ended his life in 1940, reaching the 80th anniversary.
From the date of the opening of the Volkonsky hospital on October 20, 1912, Sergiy (Sarkis) Mikhailovich Ter-Harutyunyan, assistant head physician of the medical faculty of the University of Kyiv, was appointed chief doctor, who worked here for 45 years unchanged until the last days of his life.
Serhiy Ter-Harutyunyan is an outstanding personality, the founder of the ophthalmologic service in Volhynia, an outstanding figure in medicine, and in Soviet times he was awarded the highest award of those times – the Order of Lenin. He was a student, colleague and friend of the famous scientist, surgeon, inventor, poet and artist Volodymyr Filatov, founder of the Odessa Institute of Eye Diseases and tissue therapy.
For the first time in the history of ophthalmology, Filatov performed an operation of transplantation of the cornea of ​​the eye, which initiated an entire era in eye surgery, and his best student, Ter-Harutyunyan, successfully used the methodology and experience, which, in his subsequent work, turned his vision back to many blinded.
When the Filatov clinic in Odesa was treated by patients from Volyn, Kyiv region, Western regions of Ukraine, Filatov sincerely convinced them that in the Zhitomir doctor Ter-Harutyunyan would provide less effective and skilled assistance, he would complete a surgical operation thoroughly.
Dr. Ter-Harutyunyan lived with his wife, Barbara, in the hospital’s room, where he was allocated rooms at the time of Volkonsky’s time.
Initially the hospital had 15 chambers, which accommodated 20 beds. In addition to the chief physician of Ter-Harutyuniants practicing a paramedic Y. Romanchuk and a nursing assistant O. Sidletsky, two sisters of the womb and seven servants. In 1915, in a report from the Zemsky Council on the results of a three-year work, the chief physician reported that 5,430 patients who applied for medical assistance were admitted. Agree, impressive!
Sergey Mikhailovich was well-equipped with diagnostics and operational equipment, trained and trained the profession of young ophthalmologists. For many years he headed the scientific-methodical society, taught at educational institutions, had many scientific papers and reports. The successful work of the ophthalmic hospital was facilitated by close professional and friendly relations with a well-known doctor in Gerbachevskyi in Zhytomyr. Sergei Mikhailovich died in 1957.
Ter-Harutyunyan trained a whole galaxy of ophthalmologists – Zhytomirans who successfully continued his case both in Ukraine and abroad: the couples of Kotelinskyi in Australia, doctors N. Baltremus, E.Kaminska, V.Perchuk received recognition in Israel, A.Tarenko – in the USA. But the photos depicting our countryman, unfortunately, are not successful. I wonder if there are photos of Sergei Mikhailovich from his students?
This is the story of a home that has survived from the noble and committed people of Zhytomyr people.
Sergey Sobchuk, a member of the National Union of Regional History of Ukraine
Anna Sobchuk, co-author
Translated by Aliona Matushevich