MEDICAL PRACTICES OF THE RUSSIAN NORTH: HERBAL MEDICINE IN KENOZERYE

Abstract

Kenozersky National Park is a unique, specially protected area included in the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves. This largely explains the preservation of a wide variety of plants growing here, many of which are listed in the Red Book. The folk healing practices common in Kenozerye contribute very productively to maintaining the health of the local population. Proven by many years of use, they remain in the traditional practice of local herbalists, are widely used by rural residents, and are also put into industrial production: they are sold in the form of herbal collections at kiosks of tourist sites of Kenozerye and in the form of individual phytopreparations in pharmacies of the Arkhangelsk region. The remoteness from big cities and the lack of proper medical care in the past and present contributed to the fact that the inhabitants of this region actively used the healing properties of medicinal plants. The article discusses the history of the study and use of the flora of Kenozerye. Based on field materials collected from local herbalists in the summer of 2021 in the village of Morchikhinskaya on lake Lekshmozero, the phytotherapeutic properties of some medicinal plants are analyzed.