To the Question of the Spread of Plague in Circassia in the first half of the 19th century [К вопросу о распространении чумы в Черкесии в первой половине XIX века]

The work considers the sanitary and epidemiological state of Circassia in the first half of the XIX century. The attention is paid to the causes of plague outbreaks in the region, as well as the factors that ensure its spread. There were used as sources the documents of the regional archive - the State Archive of the Krasnodar Krai (Krasnodar, Russian Federation), which were introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The documents of 5 funds were used in the work: Fund 249 "Office of the command (military) ataman of the Kuban Cossack army, Yekaterinodar, Kuban region, 1787-1917"; Fund 250 "Military Office of the Black Sea Cossack army, Yekaterinodar, 1794-1842"; Fund 324 "Yekaterinodar private quarantine, Yekaterinodar, 1801-1861"; Fund 329 "Yekaterinodar exchange yard of the Black Sea Cossack army, Yekaterinodar, 1830-1846"; Fund 687 "Ust-Labinsk barter yard of the chief trustee of Caucasian barter relations with the Highlanders". The principle of historicism is of great importance in the work, thanks to which the outbreaks of plague on the territory of Circassia were considered in the context of the current historical situation throughout the Caucasus. In the course of the work, general scientific methods were also used: logical, classification, factor analysis, etc., as well as such special research methods as comparative, statistical and typological. During the work, the general scientific methods were also used: logical, classific, factor analysis, etc., as well as such special research methods as comparative, statistical and typological. In conclusion, the authors state that outbreaks of plague on the territory of Circassia were not uncommon, they were recorded in 1796, 1801-1802, 1820, 1822-1823, 1830, and 1835-1836. Both in Georgia and in Circassia, the population's protective reaction to the outbreak of the plague was flight from the epidemic area, which contributed to the spread of the plague to new areas not yet covered by it. It was possible to minimize the risk of infection with the plague of the region in Circassia only by quarantine measures on the Black Sea coast for all visitors. However, it was impossible to do it at that stage of development of Circassian society due to its decentralization, as well as a high degree of dependence on trade with the Ottoman Empire. Copyright © 2021 by Cherkas Global University.