ANDIJAN EARTHQUAKE OF 1902 ACCORDING TO THE PHOTO ARCHIVE OF THE EARTH SCIENCE MUSEUM

The Andijan earthquake of 1902, as the brightest and most catastrophic seismic event of the early 20th century, has been studied for 120 years. Discovered in D.N. Anuchin’s photo archive (the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University), a series of photo studies (and accompanying information for them) made by the famous researcher S.A. Melik-Sarkisyan immediately after the Andijan disaster, can be considered as the most complete, authentic and objective visual series of primary photographic documentation of the consequences of the earthquake. High-quality photographs capture urban buildings of residential (both Russian and native types), religious, military, transport and other purposes, changes in their structures and destruction are traced in detail. More negative consequences of the earthquake are noted for residential buildings in the «native» part of the city, destroyed almost to the ground due to poor-quality building materials and design flaws.