BLOG by Gersende Reynal
In November 2023, Alisher Latypov’s article, “Islamic Tibb and Soviet Medicine: Trajectories, Resiliency and Appeal of Indigenous Medical Practitioners in Central Asia, 1921–199,” was published in the online edition of Central Asian Affairs. This article is also part of the research project Socialist Medicine, funded by the European Research Council (ERC). The paper represents an exciting and valuable addition to the existing body of literature on Central Asian history, as well as a significant contribution to the fields of history of medicine and colonial history. Alisher Latypov’s research is the first to provide an overview of the transformation process of healthcare in Central Asia, focusing on its various aspects and manifestations throughout the existence of the Soviet Union.
The article commences with a reference to physician Izzeddin Seiful’muliukov, identifying his work as the only representation of Soviet research on the appeal of tabibs, indigenous practitioners of Islamic Tibb. The publication of Seiful’muliukov ‘s research and its immediate censure occurred within the context of a broad repression conducted by the Soviet State against indigenous practitioners. Latypov situates the beginning of the systematic oppression of tabibs in late 18th-century Tsarist Russia. He identifies a shift from "tolerant and cautious views" to a demonising portrayal of tabibs. From the 1920s onwards, the Soviet Union government introduced in Central Asia a series of anti-tabib measures ranging from propaganda to outright persecution to construct the state healthcare’s legitimacy. Other scholars have previously argued that the establishment of the Soviet healthcare system as the Soviet Union’s dominant system can be seen as part of the Soviet administration’s politics of cultural uniformisation. Building upon this, Alisher Latypov takes the discussion further by arguing in this research that the Soviet administration used repression to appropriate indigenous medical knowledge and construct Soviet medicine into a narrative of traditional legacy.
He examines the consequences of this process at both the local and global levels. The repression of its practitioners and the destruction of manuscripts resulted in a significant disruption to the production and circulation of Islamic Tibb literature. By the end of the Great Purge in the late 1930s, the practice of indigenous medicine had been banned and the existence of tabibs virtually erased from the official historical record. In examining selected narratives, Latypov demonstrates how tabibs individually adapted their practice to circumvent the ban. He analyses how the prohibition of indigenous medicine led to a structural reorganization, transforming the commerce and circulation of medical supplies and the destinies of tabibs.
Throughout the entire existence of the Soviet Union, the local population continued to seek out the services of tabibs. Latypov explains this phenomenon, citing both the appeal of tabibs and the inadequacy of the Soviet healthcare system. Due to the uneven geographical implementation of clinics, the bureaucratisation of Soviet healthcare system and the lack of resources, access to healthcare was rendered exceedingly difficult for the local population. Conversely, tabibs represented a familiar, trusted, and easily accessible option. Furthermore, a shared common culture, language and codes enhanced trust between tabibs and their patients. However, the absence of doctor-patient interactions in Soviet clinics further complicated their exchanges. Finally, the abilities and the quality of care provided by tabibs, which had been long established by locals, had previously also been acknowledged by Soviet authorities and practitioners.
In his research, Latypov explores the intricate dynamics between Soviet and indigenous practitioners. Although indigenous medicine was in principle demonised and reproved, Soviet physicians themselves occasionally sought the assistance of tabibs to cure them when Western medicine was unable to. The author suggests that this duality gave way to the hybridization of Soviet and traditional medicines towards the end of the Soviet period. The case studies presented in the article demonstrate how traditional medical knowledge was appropriated by the Soviet Union and incorporated into "modern" Soviet medicine through a reworking and transformation process. Consequently, Latypov concludes the article by questioning the image of modernity typically associated with the Soviet period in Central Asia, considering that Soviet medicine itself was a product of the intertwining of traditional and Western medicines.
Read the full article here (open access): Latypov, Alisher. Islamic Tibb and Soviet Medicine: Trajectories, Resiliency and Appeal of Indigenous Medical Practitioners in Central Asia, 1921–1991. Central Asian Affairs (published online ahead of print 2023).
BLOG by Gersende Reynal
In November 2023, Alisher Latypov’s article, “Islamic Tibb and Soviet Medicine: Trajectories, Resiliency and Appeal of Indigenous Medical Practitioners in Central Asia, 1921–199,” was published in the online edition of Central Asian Affairs. This article is also part of the research project Socialist Medicine, funded by the European Research Council (ERC). The paper represents an exciting and valuable addition to the existing body of literature on Central Asian history, as well as a significant contribution to the fields of history of medicine and colonial history. Alisher Latypov’s research is the first to provide an overview of the transformation process of healthcare in Central Asia, focusing on its various aspects and manifestations throughout the existence of the Soviet Union.
The article commences with a reference to physician Izzeddin Seiful’muliukov, identifying his work as the only representation of Soviet research on the appeal of tabibs, indigenous practitioners of Islamic Tibb. The publication of Seiful’muliukov ‘s research and its immediate censure occurred within the context of a broad repression conducted by the Soviet State against indigenous practitioners. Latypov situates the beginning of the systematic oppression of tabibs in late 18th-century Tsarist Russia. He identifies a shift from "tolerant and cautious views" to a demonising portrayal of tabibs. From the 1920s onwards, the Soviet Union government introduced in Central Asia a series of anti-tabib measures ranging from propaganda to outright persecution to construct the state healthcare’s legitimacy. Other scholars have previously argued that the establishment of the Soviet healthcare system as the Soviet Union’s dominant system can be seen as part of the Soviet administration’s politics of cultural uniformisation. Building upon this, Alisher Latypov takes the discussion further by arguing in this research that the Soviet administration used repression to appropriate indigenous medical knowledge and construct Soviet medicine into a narrative of traditional legacy.
He examines the consequences of this process at both the local and global levels. The repression of its practitioners and the destruction of manuscripts resulted in a significant disruption to the production and circulation of Islamic Tibb literature. By the end of the Great Purge in the late 1930s, the practice of indigenous medicine had been banned and the existence of tabibs virtually erased from the official historical record. In examining selected narratives, Latypov demonstrates how tabibs individually adapted their practice to circumvent the ban. He analyses how the prohibition of indigenous medicine led to a structural reorganization, transforming the commerce and circulation of medical supplies and the destinies of tabibs.
Throughout the entire existence of the Soviet Union, the local population continued to seek out the services of tabibs. Latypov explains this phenomenon, citing both the appeal of tabibs and the inadequacy of the Soviet healthcare system. Due to the uneven geographical implementation of clinics, the bureaucratisation of Soviet healthcare system and the lack of resources, access to healthcare was rendered exceedingly difficult for the local population. Conversely, tabibs represented a familiar, trusted, and easily accessible option. Furthermore, a shared common culture, language and codes enhanced trust between tabibs and their patients. However, the absence of doctor-patient interactions in Soviet clinics further complicated their exchanges. Finally, the abilities and the quality of care provided by tabibs, which had been long established by locals, had previously also been acknowledged by Soviet authorities and practitioners.
In his research, Latypov explores the intricate dynamics between Soviet and indigenous practitioners. Although indigenous medicine was in principle demonised and reproved, Soviet physicians themselves occasionally sought the assistance of tabibs to cure them when Western medicine was unable to. The author suggests that this duality gave way to the hybridization of Soviet and traditional medicines towards the end of the Soviet period. The case studies presented in the article demonstrate how traditional medical knowledge was appropriated by the Soviet Union and incorporated into "modern" Soviet medicine through a reworking and transformation process. Consequently, Latypov concludes the article by questioning the image of modernity typically associated with the Soviet period in Central Asia, considering that Soviet medicine itself was a product of the intertwining of traditional and Western medicines.
Read the full article here (open access): Latypov, Alisher. Islamic Tibb and Soviet Medicine: Trajectories, Resiliency and Appeal of Indigenous Medical Practitioners in Central Asia, 1921–1991. Central Asian Affairs (published online ahead of print 2023).
This website is part of a project that has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 949639)
This website is part of a project that has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 949639)