The Typhus Epidemic and Its Impact on the Livelihoods of the Rural Population of Ukraine in 1919 – the 1920s

Abstract

The article examines the impact of the typhus epidemic on the livelihoods of the rural population of Ukraine in 1919 – the 1920s. The spatio-temporal dynamics of the spread of epidemic diseases across the territory of Ukraine are analyzed in the context of socio-political instability, military actions, and the destruction of the healthcare system. Based on eyewitness accounts, medical reports, and statistical materials, the study explores contemporary societal perceptions of the causes and scale of epidemics. An attempt is made to quantitatively assess morbidity and mortality among the rural population, and the socio-economic and demographic consequences of the typhus epidemic are outlined. The article concludes that the mass spread of epidemic diseases significantly affected the everyday life of the peasantry, labor resources, and traditional forms of economic activity, exacerbating crisis phenomena in the Ukrainian countryside during the first third of the twentieth century.