Zemstvo medicine in fighting epidemics in the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries (based on materials of the Vyatka province)
Introduction . The article is devoted to the study of the zemstvo anti-epidemic work. The ability to understand the social factors and consequences of epidemics in the past and in the present makes the study relevant. Purpose of the study . The article aims to investigate the activities of the zemstvo and its medical staff for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases among the population of the Vyatka province in the 1860-1910s. Materials and methods . Published materials and documents of the funds of the zemstvo administrations of the Central State Archive of the Kirov region and the Central State Archive of the Udmurt Republic are the basis of the article. The author uses a historical and systematic approach to identify the relationship between the development of health care in the region, zemstvo efforts and the local population culture. Research results, discussion . The study reveals the results of the zemstvo's activities to ensure the availability of medical care, create a sanitary organization, and conduct preventive and anti-epidemic measures. The author refers to ethnographic descriptions, reports of zemstvo doctors and administrations and shows the attitude of the population to medical and anti-epidemic measures, the features of its economic and everyday culture that contributed to the spread of infectious diseases. Conclusion . The author concludes that despite the certain success achieved by the zemstvo in the prevention and control of epidemics, the zemstvo community was dissatisfied with its results. The reason for this was the inability to cover the entire population with vaccinations and other necessary measures, both due to the lack of zemstvo resources, including human resources, and the lack of awareness among the population of the Vyatka province of the need to comply with anti-epidemic measures.