М. ЗОЩЕНКО "ИСТОРИЯ БОЛЕЗНИ"

The story "The Medical Record" was written in 1936, and was first published in the magazine "Crocodile" in 1937-1938. The author came up with this story after the hospital visits, where he was due to a serious illness. He was astonished by the cold and heartless attitude of the medical staff towards the patients, while proclaiming concern and care. It took him a few days to complete this short story, but there were certain difficulties with the publication.
The publishers did not want to take the risk of putting out such a sharp satirical story, which in 1937 could have cost them not only their jobs, but also their lives or a decade in the camps. It was only after Zoshchenko was granted approval by high-ranking officials that he went to the Crocodile magazine with all the necessary papers, and subsequently the work appeared in his general collection.