Crimean marine quarantines over the 19^th century in the system of the state sanitary quarantine service

The article examines the history of the development of Russian marine quarantines during the 19^th century. It is based on the management and activities of the sanitary institutions of the Azov-Black Sea region, concentrated mainly on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula. The sources for the study were decrees and orders of the authorities of the Russian Empire in the sanitary and quarantine sphere, as well as documents from the Russian State Historical Archive (St. Petersburg) and the State Archive of the Republic of Crimea (Simferopol) with materials from the offices of the Kerch and Feodosiya quarantine districts. Archival data from the funds of the Medical Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the creation and reorganization of the Crimean marine quarantines and their personnel were used. The studied array of documents is unique in its diversity and contains information about the purposes and functions performed by the sanitary and quarantine authorities on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula. The starting point of the emergence of the state sanitary quarantine service in Russia was the adoption of the most important regulatory document – the “Charter of Border and Port Quarantines” dated July 7, 1800. Its appearance was preceded by a whole series of decrees of the XVIII century on the introduction of quarantine regulations and the opening of the first “quarantine houses”; but these single measures did not solve the problem as a whole. There was a difficult epidemiological situation in Crimea, which was due, firstly, to the revival of international trade and the entry of many foreign ships into Crimean ports; secondly, climatic conditions favorable for the spread of infectious diseases – warm and humid weather. For the first time, the considered procedure for keeping ships under observation and disinfecting them in Crimean quarantines has significantly reduced epidemiological risks for the population. It is shown that the legislation on sanitary and quarantine institutions was repeatedly changed and tightened during the 19^th century. New medical data and methods of combating epidemics appeared, and the means of sanitary and hygienic treatment of ships and crews were improved, which significantly reduced the risk of infection entering the territory of the Russian Empire and minimized the consequences of epidemics. The task of the central authorities was to stop epidemics on the state borders and prevent their spread to the “inner” provinces of the Russian Empire. To this end, the simplest sanitary facilities were first set up in Crimea – quarantine outposts, which over time became quarantine districts with a complex management and subordination structure, with their own staff, funding and special forces – quarantine guards.

Contribution:
Borshchik N.D. developed the basic concept of the article, systematized and analyzed archival documents and printed sources, prepared and edited the text, compiled a scientific reference apparatus, and formulated the main research results.
The author is responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding. The study was carried out at the expense of a grant from the Russian Science Foundation, project “Customs system of the Crimean Peninsula in the System of State Administration of the Russian Empire (Second Half of the 19^th Century)”, no. 24-28-01285, https://rscf.ru/project/24-28-01285/

Received: August 6, 2025 / Accepted: October 15, 2025 / Published: April 17, 2026

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