Russia (bbabo.net), - In the summer of 1965, cholera entered the USSR from Afghanistan. It was a shock: it was believed that the terrible disease was finally expelled from the Soviet Union along with the Romanian occupation forces in 1944. However, in the early 1960s, the VII pandemic began in the world, a deadly infection swept through the settlements of Afghanistan, which directly bordered on the USSR. In early November 1960, the commander of the Turkestan military district, General I.I. Fedyuninsky reported to the Minister of Defense, Marshal R.Ya. Malinovsky on the need to introduce quarantine for up to 6 days for all persons arriving from Afghanistan, as well as temporarily stop the import of food and other goods1. Decisive measures taken by the military administration that autumn prevented the penetration of a terrible disease into the USSR.
But five years later, cholera hit Afghanistan and neighboring Iran with renewed vigor. To ensure the safety of its citizens, the Soviet leadership took an unpopular but most effective measure - total quarantine. The Soviet-Afghan and Soviet-Iranian borders were closed, severe quarantine measures were taken in the Karakalpak ASSR and the Khorezm region of the Uzbek SSR, where outbreaks of cholera were detected.
The closure of borders and the temporary cessation of trade dealt a terrible blow to the economies of Iran and especially Afghanistan, which was literally cut off from the world by Soviet quarantine on the one hand and the Indo-Pakistani military conflict on the other. Ambassador to Kabul S.F. Antonov repeatedly reported to Moscow that the quarantine "has a serious danger of undermining our prestige and trust"1. So, on September 9, he reported in a cipher telegram:
“The economic situation in the country, especially the situation with fuel, is getting worse day [...] A large number of cars accumulate at gas stations, gasoline is speculated, it comes to fights. Now the difficulties are the Soviet Union, which, under the pretext of cholera, which does not exist in Afghanistan, stopped the supply of oil products and other vital goods to Afghanistan and thereby disrupted the economic life of the country"2.
To speed up the opening of borders, Eastern politicians deliberately underestimated the statistics of morbidity and mortality. On September 7, the Afghans officially announced that cholera had left their country. However, these assurances ran counter to the reports of a group of Soviet doctors in the northern provinces of Afghanistan.
The Soviet leadership had to maneuver for a whole month between security considerations and state prestige. Finally, on September 14, 1965, under pressure from Eastern "friends", the restrictions on the border of the USSR with Iran and Afghanistan were lifted. By this time, quarantine measures have borne fruit - the disease has receded.
In the USSR, 583 cases of cholera infection were detected, 84 people died. The relatively small number of victims is the result of successful sanitary and epidemiological measures, the main of which remained strict quarantine. And yet this pandemic showed that infectious diseases in the 20th century finally moved from the field of medicine to the sphere of big politics.
No. 1. Protocol Resolution of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU
dated August 10, 196538. About measures to prevent the spread of the cholera epidemic
1. To approve the draft resolution of the USSR Council of Ministers on measures to spread the cholera epidemic (attached) submitted by the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MMF, Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the KGB under the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Ministry of Health [...]
Appendix to the Decree of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU
Secret
Council of Ministers of the USSR
Decree
[10] August 1965 Moscow, Kremlin
About measures to prevent the spread of the cholera epidemic
1. In connection with the threat of bringing cholera into the USSR from Afghanistan and Iran, temporarily (until the need expires) stop all movement of the population, animals and goods by horse-drawn, automobile, rail, water and air transport between Iran, Afghanistan and the USSR.
To oblige the Ministry of Civil Aviation (comrade Counters) to temporarily, until further notice, stop flights of aircraft of all airlines on international airlines Moscow - Kabul, Tashkent - Kabul and Moscow - Tehran (with the exception of special flights); The Ministry of the Navy (comrade Bakaev) to stop voyages between the USSR and Iran on the Caspian Sea, and the Councils of Ministers of the Uzbek SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Turkmen SSR, Tajik SSR and Armenian SSR - to stop navigation of ships along the border rivers with Afghanistan and the use of water on these rivers.
2. To oblige the KGB under the Council of Ministers of the USSR (comrade Semichastny) to ensure the implementation of measures related to the temporary closure of the Soviet-Afghan and Soviet-Iranian borders.3. Instruct the USSR Foreign Ministry to notify the governments of Afghanistan and Iran about the adoption of quarantine measures in the Soviet Union on the Soviet-Afghan and Soviet-Iranian borders in order to prevent the introduction of cholera, and also to inform about this through Comrade Antonov, King of Afghanistan, Mohammed Zair Shah, Soviet Ambassador to Afghanistan, on vacation in the Crimea.
4. To oblige the Council of Ministers of the Uzbek SSR (comrade Kurbanov) to organize strict quarantine in the Khorezm region and the Kara-Kalpak ASSR, allocating contingents of the Ministry of Public Order for this.
Oblige the Ministry of Defense of the USSR (comrade Malinovsky) to allocate at the disposal of the Council of Ministers of the Uzbek SSR the necessary number of military contingents to ensure strict quarantine in the Khorezm region and the Kara-Kalpak ASSR.
5. To oblige the Council of Ministers of the Uzbek SSR (comrade Kurbanov) to prohibit the movement of the population, animals and goods by all means of transport between the Khorezm region and the Kara-Kalpak ASSR and other regions of the Uzbek SSR and other republics of the Soviet Union.
Entry into the Khorezm region and the Kara-Kalpak ASSR and exit from this region and the Autonomous Republic during quarantine to other regions of the Uzbek SSR and the Soviet Union can be carried out only with the permission of the Extraordinary Government Anti-Epidemic Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan and the Council of Ministers of the Uzbek USSR.
6. To oblige the Council of Ministers of the Uzbek SSR (comrade Kurbanov) and the Ministry of Health of the USSR (comrade Gusenkov) to ensure the implementation of a set of necessary medical, preventive and anti-epidemic measures in the territories of the Kara-Kalpak ASSR and the Khorezm region of the Uzbek SSR.
7. Appoint Comrade A.I. Burnazyan, Deputy Healthcare of the USSR, as the Extraordinary Plenipotentiary of the Council of Ministers of the USSR for carrying out anti-epidemic measures to combat cholera in the Uzbek SSR.
Chairman
Council of Ministers of the USSR Union A. Kosygin
Manager
Council of Ministers of the USSR M. Smirtyukov
API. F. 3. Op.18. D. 209. L. 33-34.
No. 2. Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR
dated August 14, 1965 Moscow, KremlinIn order to provide the Council of Ministers of the Uzbek SSR with practical assistance in eliminating the cholera epidemic in the Kara-Kalpak ASSR and the Khorezm region:
1. Permit the Council of Ministers of the Uzbek SSR to borrow sanitary, economic and medical property from the mobilization reserve of the republic's healthcare organization at the rate of deploying hospitals for 5,000 beds.
Before September 1, 1965, the Council of Ministers of the Uzbek SSR must inform the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Ministry of Health of the USSR of the list and quantity of property borrowed from the mobilization reserve.
The Council of the National Economy of the USSR to provide, at the request of the Council of Ministers of the Uzbek SSR, the allocation in 1966 of funds to replenish the mobilization reserve with the said property.
2. To allocate to the Council of Ministers of the Uzbek SSR 6 million rubles from the reserve fund of the Council of Ministers of the USSR for the maintenance of temporary epidemic beds and the implementation of special anti-epidemic measures.
3. Allow the USSR Ministry of Health to cover the costs of maintaining epidemic teams sent by the Ministry, as well as the cost of bacterial preparations and the costs of their delivery to their destinations, at the expense of general appropriations (including wages) according to the estimate of the USSR Ministry of Health.
Chairman
Council of Ministers of the USSR A. Kosygin
API. F. 3. Op. 18. D. 209. L. 38.
No. 3. From the note of the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR V. Kuznetsov, Chief Sanitary Doctor of the USSR Yu. Danilov, Chairman of the KGB V. Semichastny and First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR A. Grechko
September 11, 1965Secret of the Central Committee of the CPSU
September 7 this year Prime Minister of Afghanistan Mohammed Yusuf, referring to the personal request of the king and the instructions of the government, through the Embassy in Kabul turned to Comrade Kosygin A.N. with an urgent request to lift the quarantine on the Soviet-Afghan border in the next few days and to fully restore Afghanistan's ties with the USSR (special N 576 from Kabul).
Yusuf also requested that the Soviet Union purchase fresh fruit in Afghanistan, which Afghan producers are unable to export to India and Pakistan due to the military conflict between these countries. At the same time, Yusuf told the USSR Charge d'Affaires that "there are no more cholera diseases in Afghanistan."
September 1 this year Iranian Prime Minister Hoveid turned to Comrade Kosygin A.N. with a letter in which he asks for instructions on the speedy opening of the Soviet-Iranian border for traffic and the transport of trade goods. Hoveid's letter states that the cholera situation in Iran is "quite normal and there is no cause for concern."
According to available data, the cholera epidemic in Afghanistan and Iran has not yet ceased, including in the provinces of these countries bordering the Soviet Union. There is also evidence of a weakening of the attention of the Afghan and Iranian authorities to combat the outbreak of cholera.On the other hand, the closure of the border with the USSR has a negative effect on the economic situation of Afghanistan and Iran, which prompts the governments of these countries to ask the Soviet side to open the border, although the danger of the spread of the cholera epidemic has not yet been removed.
Taking into account the serious economic difficulties that have arisen in Afghanistan, it would be possible to open the Soviet-Afghan border in the coming days, subject to strict observance of the established quarantine regime, especially since the measures taken by decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU, including the temporary closure of the Soviet-Afghan and Soviet Iranian border, gave positive results. At the same time, it is desirable to reduce the movement of goods and people from the territory of Afghanistan to the territory of the USSR and the transit of goods coming from Afghan territory to a minimum within the next one and a half to two months and to carry out subject to enhanced quarantine measures agreed by the interested parties with the USSR Ministry of Health.
As for the opening of the Soviet-Iranian border, we can return to this issue after the delivery of goods from the USSR, already permitted by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 1721 / rs of August 25, 1965.
In response to the relevant requests of the Afghans and Iranians, decisions were made to allow urgent cargo to pass to Afghanistan and Iran from the Soviet Union. At the same time, it should be noted that the transportation of goods to Afghanistan and Iran, according to the decisions already taken, is carried out slowly, which causes dissatisfaction in the government and business circles of these countries.
There is also a need to continue deliveries of goods to Afghanistan for the construction of a number of facilities being built with Soviet assistance, it is required to supply in the near future about 15 thousand tons of materials for extinguishing a fire at a gas well in northern Afghanistan, etc. The termination of normal trade operations of the USSR with these countries, especially with Afghanistan, can also harm our interests, since it can be used by Western countries to enter the commodity markets of Afghanistan and Iran, which have been mastered in recent years by Soviet foreign trade organizations.
According to the Embassy in Kabul, as a result of quarantine, work has been reduced at facilities being built in Afghanistan with our help, which has led to the dismissal of Afghan workers. All this caused undesirable moods for us in the ruling circles and among the population of Afghanistan. In addition, the season of mass deliveries under the concluded trade agreements and contracts to the Soviet Union from Iran and Afghanistan of a number of goods needed by our national economy (cotton, wool, hides, etc.) is currently beginning. In addition, due to the temporary closure of the border from Afghanistan, about 200 Soviet workers and specialists who took part in the completed construction of the Kushka-Herat-Kandahar highway cannot return to the Soviet Union. The dispatch of 259 Soviet specialists to Afghanistan to work in accordance with the concluded contracts is also delayed.
Considering all this, the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the USSR Ministry of Health, the KGB under the USSR Council of Ministers and the USSR Ministry of Defense consider it expedient to carry out the following:
1. Report on behalf of Comrade Kosygin A.N. to the Afghan Prime Minister that the Soviet Government, taking into account our mutual interests and the need to provide appropriate assistance to friendly Afghanistan, instructed its competent authorities to consider the question of opening our common border for traffic and cargo in the next few days.
2. Send on behalf of Comrade Kosygin A.N. to the Iranian Prime Minister an appropriate response letter, as well as to convey to the governments of Afghanistan and Iran the opinion of Soviet medical specialists regarding the outbreak of cholera epidemic currently observed in this region. At the same time, make it clear that, in our opinion, in the mutual interests of our countries and peoples, each of the parties, at its discretion, can and should take additional measures aimed at preventing the further spread of this dangerous outbreak.
3. To instruct the Commission of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on Foreign Economic Relations within three days to prepare proposals on organizing the fulfillment of our deliveries to Afghanistan and Iran, on cargo turnover and transit operations with these countries and on the secondment (return) of Soviet specialists to these countries, subject to strict observance of the established quarantine regime and other anti-epidemic measures [...]
V. Kuznetsov
Y. Danilov
V. Semichastny
A. Grechko
September 11, 1965
API. F. 3. Op. 29. D. 41. L. 63-66.
No. 4. From the protocol resolution of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU
dated September 14, 196574. About cancellation of restrictions on the state border of the USSR with Afghanistan and Iran.
1. Recognize as invalid the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of August 10, 1965 N 611-228 in the part concerning the restrictions established on the state border of the USSR with Afghanistan and Iran.2. To oblige the Ministry of Health of the USSR, the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Councils of Ministers of the Uzbek SSR, the Armenian SSR to ensure that the necessary quarantine measures for the sanitary safety of the USSR are carried out when communication across the borders of the Soviet Union with Iran and Afghanistan is restored.
3. To oblige the Ministry of Foreign Trade and the State Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR for Foreign Economic Relations to take urgent measures to ensure mutual deliveries of goods to Afghanistan and Iran in accordance with the agreements concluded, including transit [...]
API. F. 3. Op. 18. D. 367. L. 49-50.
1. API. F. 3. Op. 29. D. 41. L. 86.
2. Ibid.
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