Sanitary-epidemiological measures of the authorities in the system of pilgrimage of Russian Turkestan Moslems (1865-1917)

The paper considers problems of struggle of authorities of Russian Turkestan with epidemiologic threats in the region. Only with establishment of imperial authority in Turkestan the organized struggle of Russian physicians against different epidemics began. However, it had a limited success because of an inert sanitary-and-hygienic way of life of local population. Attempts to improve it encountered resistance of Muslim clergy. The authority were against free movement of the population, including pilgrimage to sacred places in Russian Turkestan and Moslems’ hadj to Mecca as pilgrims often were messengers of viruses of dangerous diseases. Although nationalist engaged historians from Central Asia countries approve that the Russian authority forbade pilgrimage on political grounds, it is falsification. Ziaurat and hadj of Turkestan Moslems quite often were interrupted, and it was far not for the political reasons, but on more prosaic circumstances - according to medical-epidemiological situation.