Annotation. The review article is devoted to the healthcare system of Iceland, which demonstrates some of the best indicators of public health in the world at relatively low costs for a developed European country. The successful experience of Icelandic healthcare is important for Russia, on the one hand, due to the proximity of this country to many Russian regions in terms of climatic and geographical location, demography and territorial development. On the other hand, the success of Iceland's healthcare is closely linked to the development of a model, in many ways similar to the Soviet model of Nikolai Semashko, which Russia has abandoned. The authors believe that Iceland's experience can be used in the modernization of regional healthcare systems in Eastern Siberia, the Far East and the Arctic, as well as Russian healthcare in general.
Keywords: Iceland; N. A. Semashko; healthcare system; population health indicators; principles; scientific school.