DOI 10.31554/2222-9175-2019-35-10-55-65
HEALING THE “REBELLIOUS HEART OF ASIA”: SOVIET MEDICS IN XINJIANG DURING THE MUSLIM UPRISING OF 1931–1934
Bashkuev V. Yu.
In continuation of the theme of the Soviet-Xinjiang relations in the interwar period. This article shines a spotlight on a very understudied subject of the selfless work of Soviet physicians and nurses in Xinjiang amidst the horrors of the Muslim uprising of 1931–1934. At the peak of military confrontation, when Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, was under siege, Soviet medics helped the city’s defenders and civilians operating the wounded and supplying those in need with drugs and first-aid materials. By doing so, they won the trust of the local Muslim and Chinese population and provincial government. The activity of the Soviet physicians and nurses during the uprising of 1931–1934 laid a foundation of the further Soviet assistance to Xinjiang in building its own healthcare.
