Lifestyle of Stavropol citizens and the medical care of urban population in the 1920s

Abstract. Introduction. This article shows the role of medicine in the evolution of everyday life of Stavropol residents based on the analysis of the activities of city health authorities and the nature of health education and medical care for the city population in the 1920s, which changed the way of life of citizens in subsequent times.
Materials and Methods. The article analyzes official documents of local governments based on the approaches of historical anthropology, interdisciplinarity and contextuality, as well as methods of such research fields as the history of everyday life and new local history. The object of the study is the locus as a local community of urban residents.
Analysis. The paper analyzes the infrastructure of the regional health care system and its personnel base during the study period. The analysis of the problem within the city of Stavropol is based not only on the regional, but also on the all Russian context. It was in the 1920s that the general nationalization of medical institutions and pharmacies was carried out, and private practice and traditional autonomy of doctors were replaced by the social status of a “Soviet employee”, reflecting the formation of the state monopoly on any social policy and practice. The article highlights in detail the activities of the local leadership to resolve one of the acute problems of the region – an unfavorable epidemic situation. In 1920, there was a sharp increase in the incidence of cholera, so all institutions, educational institutions and public organizations were mobilized to fight this “enemy”. One of the directions for the elimination of the epidemic was the proper sanitary condition of Stavropol. Using the example of the state of public urban areas, the problems of the sanitary condition of the city and its features after the civil war are revealed. The work of local authorities to restore sanitary order and organize sanitary education among citizens and peasants coming from nearby villages is shown. The authors revealed the process of evolution of everyday life of citizens under the influence of the reorganization of the health care system, as well as through the prism of combating epidemics.
Results. One of the most important results of the activities of the new authorities was the creation of a public health system, the main principles of which were proclaimed centralization in the hands of the state, free of charge, accessibility. The authors focus on the organization of forms and methods of work adapted to local conditions. This complex of transformations is shown in the context of the real everyday life of Stavropol. At the same time, a new healthcare structure was also changing urban daily life.

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