Olga Aleksandrovna Goncharova,
Doctor of Historical Sciences, Gorno-Altaisk State University, Gorno-Altaisk, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Nadezhda Nikolaevna Lozhkina,
Doctor of Historical Sciences, Gorno-Altaisk State University, Gorno-Altaisk, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Organising Epidemic Disease Control in Gorny Altai in 1920s
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2024-3-15
In conditions of revolutionary disturbances and the civil war Russia encountered uncontrolled development of different infectious diseases. One of the most dangerous ones in 1920 was the typhus that affected up to two thirds of the population in Siberia. Due to the particular national specifics of Oirot Autonomous Oblast, its level of life of the indigenous population under conditions of disintegration of tribal relations, the lack of roads and of transportation unity of settlements, as well as due to the deficit of medical staff, the epidemic disease control lasted until the mid-1920s. In many villages the number of cases of bursting out the infection reached 80 %. It was emergency authorities who were first in charge of the control of spreading the diseases. The regional bodies of power organized distribution of provision from funds of the Narkomzdrav. The most affected villages were helped by anti-epidemic squads. Since the very first days of the struggle with the epidemics by recommendations of the Siberian emergency boards of typhus prevention the local population not only received treatment, but was also involved in the public hygienic education, which was provided with the help of mobile propagandists and workers of special moving yurtas. When Oirot Autonomous Oblast was founded, stationary centers and transportable service units joined the common preventive work against spreading of the epidemics on the regular basis. Thanks to the growth of the budget for the health care sector of the oblast, there were stationary centers with 5–10 beds to receive infectious patients in late 1920s. The portable forms of medical assistance became possible not only thanks to the funding from the state government, but also by efforts of the local budget. This made the epidemic control more efficient. Now the oblast could afford more regular medical workers and giving education to its own medical staff. Since the mid-1920s the public sanitary education had become permanent. The hygienic cleaning of local villages was incorporated into the plan as part of “clean weeks”. Even the public actively joined the sanitary awareness campaign. Komsomol raids “to bring the new lifestyle”, publications in newspapers on the topics of hygiene contributed to the fulfilment of the anti-epidemic tasks.
Publishing: 28/06/2024
The article has been received by the editor on 09/02/2024
How to cite: Goncharova O.A., Lozhkina N.N. Organising Epidemic Disease Control in Gorny Altai in 1920s // Historical Courier, 2024, No. 3 (35), pp. 197–207. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2024/ISTKURIER-2024-1-15.pdf]
Links: Issue 3 2024
Keywords: Gorny Altai; civil war; epidemics; healthcare; public health education