One of the co-founders of the journal “Detskaya khirurgiya” is the Union of Pediatricians of Russia, an inter-regional public organization created on the voluntary basis to consolidate the efforts of the specialists involved in practical, educational, and research activities in the field of pediatrics. The activities of the Union are governed by the applicable laws of the Russian Federation and its Charter endorsed in 1994, amended and restated in February 1999. The Union organizes its activities based on the principles of self-administration, election of governing bodies, and collective leadership. The supreme body of the Union of Pediatricians of Russia is the Conference convened at least once every 4 years. In the periods between the Conferences, the activities of the Union are governed by the Executive Committee chaired by professor A.A. Baranov, full member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences.
To-day, the Union of Pediatricians of Russia has 64 regional branches that bring together almost 100,000 medical professionals including pediatricians, researchers, health officials, pharmacologists, social workers, and other specialists – all those who devote their knowledge and efforts to the protection of children and adolescents’ health.
The main activities of the Union of Pediatricians of Russia as an organization of medical professionals are directed toward the solution of the current scientific and practical problems pertaining to the improvement of the child’s health, in the first place such as prophylaxis and treatment of socially significant diseases of childhood, the development of new technologies and standards to be employed in pediatrics, optimization of the quality of life of the children in this country.
One of the principle areas of the Union’s activities is the professional education of the pediatricians. The Union organizes congresses of pediatricians, scientific and practical conferences, workshop sessions that greatly contribute to the exchange of experience and advanced professional training of the medical specialists. These meetings are held annually not only in Moscow, the capital of Russia, but also in many other centres including those located in the peripheral regions of the country (Novosibirsk, Tomsk, Sankt-Peterburg, Stavropol, Khanty-Mansiysk, etc.). A number of meetings arranged by the Union of Pediatricians of Russia are held in the form of schools in the framework of the system of continuous professional education. The participants of such schools are entitled to relevant certificates including internationally recognized ones, e.g. such as those issued by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCEM).

The Union of Pediatricians of Russia carries out its educational activities taking advantage of the most innovative approaches and up-to-date technologies.
The publishing activities are a priority for the Union. They include the publication of the seminal works concerning the fundamental problems of pediatrics, scientific-educational and popular literature for the patients and their relatives as well as periodicals.
The Union of Pediatricians of Russia is the founder of several scientific and practical journals including the peer-reviewed ones, such as “Voprosy sovremennoy pediatrii (The Current Problems in Pediatrics)”, Pediatricheskaya farmakologiya (Pediatric Pharmacology}”, “Voprosy diagnostiki v pediatrii (The problems of Diagnostics in Pediatrics)”. Moreover, the Union of Pediatricians of Russia is a co-founder of the journals “Detskaya khirurgiya (Pediatric Surgery)” and “Rossiyskiy pediatricheskiy zhurnal (The Russian Pediatric Journal)”.
The Union of Pediatricians of Russia is an active member of the European and International Pediatric Associations. It fruitfully cooperates with WHO, UNICEF, and specialized international societies including ESPGAN, EUSUHM. ERS. IPNA, and EAPS. During many years, The Union of Pediatricians of Russia has been engaged in the meaningful participation in various international projects and programs designed to promote the progress in the implementation of many international initiatives in the fields of neonatology, prophylactic vaccination, pediatric surgery, nutrition for healthy and ill children, etc.