The fight against social diseases in the 1920s: a case study of Nizhny Novgorod territory and the Autonomous Tatar Socialist Soviet Republic

The study reveals the regional circumstances of the fight of the government and the community against the sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis as a public health hazard in the Nizhny Novgorod Territory and the Autonomous Tatar Socialist Soviet Republic (ATSSR) in the 1920s. The research is based on national and regional archives and local periodicals. The author identifies the social and economic reasons for the widespread social diseases, the collaborative arrangements of the authorities and the society to overcome them. Data on the health situation in ethnic regions are introduced. It was concluded that in the 1920s, the regions under review had the similar environment for the mass spread of social diseases due to the extreme transition period. They struggled with social diseases in the same way. Besides, the state collaborated effectively with the society to overcome such diseases.