THE FIGHT AGAINST THE EPIDEMIC DESEASES IN TAURIDIAN PROVINCE IN 1860–1890S

Abstract

The paper characterizes the level of the development of medicine in the Russian Empire in 1860-th — 1890-th on the basis of information from the Tauridian Province, marks the main diseases that doctors and paramedics had to deal with, provides specific facts and statistic data. Its main task is to show by concrete examples that medical personnel often had to resist infections almost alone, endanger their lives and health on a diary basis, come into contact with the inertia and indifference of the majority of ordinary people. It making an attempt to identify the causes of high mortality of the population, to show particular measures, which had been taken by physicians for reducing of the catastrophic consequences of epidemics. The publication highlights the methods of combating various acute diseases, tells about numerous achievements that the Tauridian medical staff managed to succeed. Among the innovations that were widely implemented in practice at the end of the XIXth century were vaccination against smallpox, involvement of female medical personnel in inoculations and patient care, measures for isolation infected people in separate spaces, regular disinfection of individual houses and entire settlements, the appointment of special trustees to monitor the sanitary condition of streets and courtyards. The beginning of the 1890-th was marked by the creation of special coordinating institutions (the Tauridian Medical Council and the Sanitary Bureau) in Simferopol under the Tauridian Provincial Zemstvo Authority, which facilitated the collection and processing of statistical data, preparing annual reports and the implementation of measures to combat diseases throughout the region. The scientific value of the research is emphasized by the integration of rarely used materials from the documents of the Crimean Republic State Archive, being almost not introduced into the view point of researchers.