Anti-epidemic activities of the Kursk province zemstvo: the middle of XIX – beginning of XX centuries

Simonyan Rimma Zorikovna

The article is devoted to the analysis of one of the most important activities of the Kursk province Zemstvo, aimed at prevention (sanitation) and the fight against epidemics. Kursk Zemstvo carried out anti-epidemic activities, mainly at the expense of the zemstvo budget, which was insufficient for preventive measuresand it was also not enough to deal with the effects of epidemics. The state appropriations began to arrive in the zemstvo budget only at the beginning of the XX century and were insignificant. Thus, without significant state support, all attempts of the Kursk province Zemstvo to create a clear system of anti-epidemic measures have not been properly developed. The creation of a sanitary organization in the province was a step forward in the prevention of infectious diseases, but its early closure due to lack of funds prevented the further development of health education of the population of the province, and the development of preventive direction in the fight against epidemics. The article concludes that all the initiatives of the Kursk provincial Zemstvo on the prevention of infectious diseases and the fight against the consequences of epidemics were quite progressive for their time, but the lack of funds of the zemstvo budget and the lack of state support did not lead to the desired result. Infectious diseases in the early twentieth century, still, remained one of the main causes of mortality of the province.

Keywords:kursk province, zemstvo medicine, infectious diseases, epidemics, sanitary measures, anti-epidemic activity.