The article is devoted to the history of higher medical education of the Petrograd just before and during the First World War. The topical issue is the lack of information concerning this period of the history of Russian medicine and medical education, and the history of development of domestic medicine during the First World War, the centenary of which is celebrated this year. On the basis of a wide range of published and archival sources the authors show the basic vectors of development of medical education and exploring the role of St. Petersburg as one of the leading academic medical centres in the country.