In 1954, a Soviet laboratory synthesized aminazin, the Soviet equivalent of Largactil, the commercial name of chlorpromazine. This talk will analyse the conditions for the production of aminazin and the multiple uses of neuroleptics: its prescription in hospitals in order to allow patients to return to society; the introduction of “supportive therapies” outside the hospital walls to limit recidivism; and the implementation of “forced care” to silence “protesters.” This recourse to neuroleptics certainly echoed the ideological orientations of the regime, between valuing the social utility of individuals and sanctioning political dissent. By making possible the advent of a new regime of control over the body, these drugs gave psychiatrists the possibility of playing a new political and social role, which they had long been claiming.

Gregory Dufaud is a historian of the Soviet Union. His research initially focused on nationality policy, before expanding to include the history of science and technology as well as medicine. His book A History of Soviet Psychiatry was awarded the Jean Garrabé Prize of L’Évolution psychiatrique in 2021. He is currently finishing a book on late socialism.