Infant and child mortality in rural areas of the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic during the Great Patriotic War

The article examines the change in mortality rates among children in rural areas of the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic during the Great Patriotic War. The paper compares the infant mortality rate in the village with the general indicators in the republic. The age-related mortality rates of children under the age of 7 for 1943 and 1944 are also analyzed. In addition, the causes of infant mortality are being investigated. An analysis of the scientific literature shows that the problem has not been sufficiently studied. The main sources of data were information on the number of deaths by age and gender, as well as the number of births between 1941 and 1945. One-time reports on the sex and age composition of the rural population were used to determine the age-related mortality rates of children under 7 years of age. Infant mortality rates were calculated using the Raatz formula, which takes into account 1/4 of those born in the previous year and 3/4 of those born in the current year. The study revealed that the infant mortality rate in rural areas of the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic decreased by almost 4 times from 1940 to 1945. In 1942, there was an increase in the infant mortality rate. This was due to the evacuation of the population from the western regions of the country and the spread of infectious diseases. However, since 1943, this indicator began to decline. During the war, the proportion of children under one year of age among all those who died decreased by 4.3 times, and children aged 1 to 5 years – by 2 times. However, in 1943-1944, the proportion of children aged 1 to 5 years old among all those who died increased again. This is due to the deterioration of the health and living conditions of the population in rural areas. Boys predominated among the dead, especially in 1945. The main causes of death in children were gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases. The proportion of acute infectious diseases decreased.