УДК: 94(470.57)«1917/1941»

EDN PHSXKR

 

Original article

 

Infant Mortality in the Village in the 1920s — 1930s (a Case Study of the Bashkir ASSR)

 

Isyangulov Sh. N.

 

Abstraсt

Introduction. The article examines infant mortality in rural areas of the Bashkir ASSR in the 1920s — 1930s in comparison with similar indicators for the entire population. For the first time in historiography, infant mortality rates were determined in the village and throughout Bashkiria from 1926 to 1940, mainly on the basis of unpublished sources.

Materials and methods. A review of the literature showed that the problem has not been studied enough. The main sources were published and archived statistical sources. Infant mortality rates are calculated according to the Rats Formula: 1/3 of those born in the previous year and 2/3 — in the current year.

Results and discussion. The calculated infant mortality rates show that as early as 1924 there was a significant decrease in death rate compared to the pre-revolutionary period. One of the reasons for this phenomenon could be a decrease in the birth rate during the Civil War and the famine of 1921 — 1922. The low level of infant mortality in the village is also explained by national, primarily Bashkir and Tatar women, traditions of child care, which included, among other things, long breastfeeding and late introduction of complementary foods. The highest rates of infant mortality in rural areas were among peoples who in the past professed Orthodoxy, primarily Russians. Among former Muslims (Bashkirs, Tatars) and pagans (Mari, Udmurts) it was much lower. At the same time, in the late 1930s, almost all peoples (except Russians) in the village experienced an increase in the infant mortality rate. This circumstance was most likely caused by the involvement of women in social production, after which they began to pay less attention to their newborn children, being engaged in collective farm work.

Conclusion. There was no radical change in the evolution of infant mortality in Bashkiria during the period under review. The interweaving of various factors continued to contribute to the preservation of the infant mortality rate in the village in the pre-war period at a high level.

Keywords: infant mortality; Bashkiria; pre-war period; infant mortality rate; village; city

For citation: Isyangulov ShN. Infant Mortality in the Village in the 1920s — 1930s (a Case Study of the Bashkir ASSR). Bulletin of the Research Institute of the Humanities by the Government of the Republic of Mordovia. 2024;16(1):97—108. EDN PHSXKR

 

REFERENCES

 

1. Avdeev A. Infant Mortality and the History of Maternity and Childhood Protection in Russia and the USSR. Historical Demography. Collection of Articles. Moscow;2008;14:13—72. (In Russ.)

2. Azhigulova AI. Infant Mortality in the Southern Urals in the Second Half of the 1930s: Causes, Dynamics. Modern Scientific Thought. 2022;(4):102—107. (In Russ.)

3. Aralovets NA. The Urban Family in Russia: 1927 — 1959. Tula;2009. (In Russ.)

4. Vannah EF, Kotz MI. The Movement of the Population of Ufa in 1923. Bulletin of the Bashkir People’s Commissariat of Health. 1924;(1—2):34—47. (In Russ.)

5. Verbitskaya OM. Russian Rural Family in 1897 — 1959: Historical and Demographic Aspects. Moscow;Tula;2009. (In Russ.)

6. Volkov AG. Reproduction of the Population of the USSR. Moscow;1983. (In Russ.)

7. Hickel EI. Health and Statistical Information on the Ufa Gubernia. Essay on the Movement of the Ufa Gubernia Population in 1897 — 1911. Ufa;1916. (In Russ.)

8. Golubtsov GV. The Experience of Studying Child Mortality in Bashkiria. Ufa;1933. (In Russ.)

9. Zhiromskaya VB. Demographic History of Russia in the 1930s. A Sight into the Unknown. Moscow;2001. (In Russ.)

10. Zhiromskaya VB, Aralovets NA. Russian Children in the Late XIX — Beginning of the    XXI Century: Historical and Demographic Essays. Moscow;2018. (In Russ.)

11. History of Bashkortostan. 1917 — 1990s. Ufa;2005. (In Russ.)

12. Kvasha EA. Infant Mortality in Russia in the XX Century. Sociological Research. 2003;(6): 47—55. (In Russ.)

13. Kenigsberg MM. Collection of Medical and Statistical Works on the Orenburg Gubernia. The Sanitary Condition of the Orenburg Gubernia According to the Data of the Natural Movement for the Three Years 1897 — 1899. Orenburg;1901. (In Russ.)

14. Kornilov GE. Evolution of Infant Mortality in the Ural during the First Half of the XX Century. Ural Historical Journal. 2014;(3):80—89. (In Russ.)

15. Merkov AM. Population Health and Methods of Its Study: Selected Works. Moscow;1979. (In Russ.)

16. Merkov AM, Makhmutzyanova NS. Reproduction of the Population of the Bashkir ASSR (Based on Mortality Dynamics Materials). Study of Population Reproduction. Moscow;1968;14: 268—284. (In Russ.)

17. The Population of Russia in the XX Century: Historical Essays. Moscow;2000. (In Russ.)

18. Ptukha MV. Essays on the Statistics of Population. Moscow;1960. (In Russ.)

19. Rashin AG. Population of Russia for 100 Years (1811 — 1913). Statistical Essays. Moscow;1956. (In Russ.)

20. Sifman RI. On the Issue of the Causes of the Decrease in Child Mortality during the Great Patriotic War. Lifespan: Analysis and Modeling. Moscow;1979:50—60. (in Russ.)

21. Suleimanova RN. From the History of Maternity and Infancy Protection in Bashkortostan. Compatriot. 1999;(9):125—133. (In Russ.)

22. Suleimanova RN. Protection of Maternity and Infancy in Soviet Russia of the 1920s: Regional Experience. Woman in Russian Society. 2022;(1):98—107. (In Russ.)

23. Sultanguzhina GU. Mother and Child in Bashkiria in 1920 — 1930. The BSU Bulletin. 2008;13(1): 123—125. (In Russ.)

24. Hisamutdinova RR, Azhigulova AI. Infant Mortality in the Southern Urals in the 1930s. Modern Studies of Social Issues. 2017;9(4):92—106. (In Russ.)

 

The article was submitted 02.01.2023; approved after reviewing 29.11.2023; accepted for publication 06.12.2023.

 

Information about the author:

Shamil N. Isyangulov, Senior Researcher of Department of Modern History of Bashkortostan of the Institute of History, Language and Literature of the Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (71 Oktyabrya Avenue, Ufa 450054, Russia), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5691-5566, Scopus ID: 57221677332, isangul-schamil@mail.ru

 

Conflict of interest: the author declares that there is no conflict of interest.

 

The author read and approved the final version of the manuscript.