The Struggle against Epidemics in Kazakhstan, 1900s–1930s

Introduction. Dangerous infectious diseases have always been part of human history. The pandemic associated with the spread of COVID-19 underscores the importance of studying experience of dealing with global epidemics. Research goals and objectives. This article attempts to analyze the problem of spread of infectious diseases in Kazakhstan and the history of dealing with epidemics. The history of combating epidemics in Soviet Kazakhstan covers a large spatial and temporal scale, so the chronological framework of the study is limited to the period up to the early 1930s. Materials and methods. Documents of the Central State Archive of Scientific and Technical Documentation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and published reports of the state institutions were used as the research sources. The narrative method selected as appropriate in approaching the issues of “real life” helped reconstruct the conditions that prompted the emergence and spread of epidemics in Kazakhstan, as well as examine the ways employed to combat them. The historical-genetic method was instrumental in shedding light on the essence and dynamics of the epidemic situation in Kazakhstan during the period in question, while the historical-comparative method was helpful in identifying the positive dynamics of the fight against infectious diseases in Soviet Kazakhstan. Results. The research was focused on the epidemic situations in Kazakhstan in the pre-revolutionary and Soviet periods. This involved a study of the formation and development of the system of anti-epidemic protection in the Soviet period, as well as of the main methods of combating infectious diseases employed by Soviet and republican government agencies. Conclusion. The research shows the effectiveness of vaccination, medical and sanitary education of the population involved, as well as of other additional measures in eradicating particularly dangerous infectious diseases.

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