[The metamorphoses of denationalization of 1993. Report II. The prices of medications as information]

Abstract

In the history of Russian pharmaceutical market, the year of 1993 became the year of both formation of rules of market relations and alteration of market landscape for changed conditions. The significant segment of state centralized purchases moved under responsibility of regional authorities and their health authorities. At that, authorizations of former three state organizations occupied with import purchases were distributed between new state companies of the Ministry of Health Care and commercial organizations and firms that entered pharmaceutical market. Pretty soon, this diversity gave rise both to competition for budget funds and Government experiments with market regulation. The traces of these clashes and attempts to make market manageable are found in the Ministry of Health Care archives and journal publications.The Report II uses informational potential of medications prices to decode rules of play in Russian pharmaceutical market with purpose to analyze distributions of power at playing table.

Keywords: 1993; Russian pharmaceuticals; economic history; history of markets; history of medicine; medication prices.