Seventh-day Adventists in Siberia have joined with local medical and public organizations to improve the health of citizens in Irkutsk, Russia.

Church leaders who participated in a recent citywide health fair received praise for their presentations on smoking, obesity, and other topics. “Your program gets the highest marks for being informative,” said Sergei Ivanov, a representative of the regional Rotary Club, which helped to organize the event.

The health fair featured slide presentations, medical lectures, consultations, blood pressure checks, and mental health information. Adventists also distributed materials on natural health, childrearing, and family.

“I feel that our people need to be educated about a healthy style of living,” said Ivanov. “All of us badly need education, but doctors don’t have the opportunity to provide it because people come to them when they are already sick.”

Viktor Kozakov, president of the church in eastern Russia, responded to Ivanov’s remarks by offering Adventist cooperation in future health education initiatives. “We as a church are occupied with feeding people spiritually, but we also have the ability to contribute to the physical health of our society,” he said. “As a church, our main health goal is prevention. I feel there is no substitute for what Adventists can offer in this field.”

While Russia faces unique health challenges due to poverty and insufficient medical facilities, the major causes of death are related to lifestyle, as in Western countries. Some experts suggest that the problems of alcoholism may be especially severe in Siberia.

Irkutsk, a major transportation and administrative center for central Siberia, is located north of Mongolia near Lake Baikal. The city is also home of the each headquarters for the East Russian Union Mission, the largest Adventist union territory in the world.