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The recent history of Russian medical libraries is presented here with special reference to the most important Moscow libraries. The problems and successes of the Central Medical Library in Moscow and the Russian State Library will be described in more detail. In Russia access to international specialist literature has long been more or less restricted, which has disadvantages for practice and research. The lack of literature was partially compensated for by Russian-language editions, some of which were compilations from foreign sources that contained translations of different quality and were sparsely illustrated. Today, thanks to internet resources, these obstacles are gradually being overcome. However, free internet sources cannot fully address the persistent shortage of paper issues of handbooks and journals. According to the author, the Russian librarianship should develop with more international cooperation, following the pattern of Western European neighbors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]