On the origins of the concept of 'latent schizophrenia' in Russian psychiatry

Abstract

In the mid-twentieth century in the Soviet Union, latent schizophrenia became an important concept and a matter of research and also of punitive psychiatry. This article investigates precursor concepts in early Russian psychiatry of the nineteenth century, and examines whether - as claimed in recent literature - Russian and Soviet research on latent schizophrenia was mainly influenced by the work of Eugen Bleuler.

Keywords: Dementia praecox; Eugen Bleuler; Russia; Sergei Korsakov (Korsakoff); Soviet Union; Victor Kandinskii (Kandinsky); history of psychiatry; latent schizophrenia; nosology; punitive psychiatry.