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Anatomic scientific school of Tonkov is one of the established scientific and scholar schools in Russian medicine. The school has reached its rise at the period when Vladimir Nikolaevich Tonkov headed the department of anatomy at the Academy of Military Medicine, however, the scientific and life journey of that great anatomist is intimately related to the department of anatomy of the medical faculty at the Emperor’s Kazan University, where V.N. Tonkov was admitted at a hard time for the department. The situation has changed with his arrival. V.N. Tonkov was a talented scientist and scholar. He has founded the basis of a new scientific field in studying vascular system, anthropologic studies, that were traditional for the department, were continued. The certain merit of V.N. Tonkov was the foundation of the study museum at the department. Vladimir Nikolaevich headed the department of anatomy for 10 years (1905-1915). It was in Kazan where the famous anatomic Tonkov’s scientific school, honoured by its followers, alumni of Emperor’s Kazan University, who had grown up within its walls, got an outstanding education and left alma mater as a professor to honor the native university in other cities of Russia. From all of the V.N. Tonkov’s students, only V.A. Popov and K.M. Yakhontov did not leave the Kazan University. Both died in Kazan, being staff members of the department of anatomy. Honored scientific researcher and academician A.D. Speransky, the head of the department of anatomy of Omsk Medical Institute professor B.N. Bazhanov, the head of the department of anatomy of Saratov Medical Institute professor V.I. Bik had started their scientific career as students of V.N. Tonkov. They have always noted that they belong to the Kazan anatomic scientific school headed by Tonkov. K.V. Romodanovsky and I.S. Malinovsky, also students of V.N. Tonkov, have contributed to the development of medical education in the Universities of Siberia. The first head of the department picked out from the Emperor’s Kazan University alumni for its centennial history was the student of V.N. Tonkov, Nikolay Dmitrievich Bushmakin, who later participated in creation of medical faculty in Irkutsk University, and of Khabarovsk Medical Institute.

In 1888 the first in Siberia Tomsk University was established. The decision regarding its establishment was taken in 1878 by the Russian Emperor Alexander II, but was implemented 10 years later by the Emperor Alexander III. The difficulty in founding the Siberian University was, above all, the hard task of forming the teaching faculty group to work at a distance from the European part of Russia. The crucial role in the establishment of Tomsk University was played the staff members of the Imperial Kazan University. Since Tomsk University was originally established only within the Medical Faculty, the staff members of the Medical Faculty of Kazan University were of the highest demand. The staff members of the Imperial Kazan University played a crucial role in the formation of scientific schools, the educational process and university traditions in Tomsk.