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Background. The article provides a general description of the activities of the mobile units of the Russian Red Cross Society (ROKK) and their role in organizing a system for ensuring the health of small ethnic groups in the Far East in the 1920s, an assessment of their activities in the framework of the Soviet national policy is given. Purpose. The article identifies and examines the importance of a mobile type of organizing medical and sanitary care for aborigines as the first stage in the formation of the Soviet health care system in remote regions. Materials and methods. The material for the study is the archival documents of the State Archives of the Russian Federation and the State Archives of the Khabarovsk Krai. The traditional methods of historical research were used through analyzing the material, such as chronological, historical-systemic and comparative-typological. Results. Due to the activities of the ROKK units, the data are significantly refined, and in some regions, statistics are obtained on the spread of various diseases, on the peculiarities of the lifestyle of indigenous peoples, primary medical care is provided to the indigenous population, and basic sanitary and hygienic skills and first aid techniques were trained. Practical implications. The scientific results of the research can be used in the educational process (in the form of textbooks, lecture courses) on ethnography, history of the Russian Far East, etc.