The article is devoted to I.V. Bertenson, the famous Russian hygienist and public figure, organizer of health care, a staunch follower of N.I. Pirogov. I.V. Bertenson made a significant contribution to the development of hospital hygiene in Russia. He combined the management of the first barrack hospital in Russia with the Petersburg provincial medical inspector s post. A "School for the education of medical assistants" and a free clinic for visiting patients were also established on his initiative. I.V. Bertenson was one of the founders of the journal "Archive of forensic medicine and public hygiene" and the first editor of the "Bulletin of the Russian Red Cross Society." In connection with the beginning of the cholera epidemic in the capital in 1866, Bertenson created one of the cholera shelters. A close friend, the first biographer editor of books N.I. Pirogov. Member of the international sanitary congresses and a member of many medical societies. © 2021 Izdatel'stvo Meditsina. All rights reserved.