“Weeks” of fight against venereal diseases and prostitution in the USSR in the 1920s

The article is devoted to a review of mass campaigns and state policy of fight against venereal diseases and prostitution in the Soviet Union of the 1920s. During this period, special attention has been paid to educational activities aimed at informing and involving workers in coping with legacy of the “old world” and forming social solidarity in addition to research work and the establishment of follow-up monitoring system. Educational activities were combined into special “weeks of fight against venereal diseases and prostitution”, which included rallies and discussions, concerts and stage performances, exhibitions and lectures. “Weeks” were aimed at raising awareness of venereal diseases and fighting against prostitution as one of the main causes of their spread. However, the communication strategies of the organizers of “weeks” were not limited to informing and drawing attention to the problems of the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, but were also aimed at motivation for action. As a consequence, the organizers of the campaigns noted an increase in patients’ medical aid appealability, elevated level of confidence in the health facilities and the emergence of new types of institutions — occupational therapy rehabilitation centers for women. These centers became part of the follow-up monitoring system, in which training and rehabilitation of patients in parallel with the treatment were carried out. The article also covers the transformation of methods of fight against venereal diseases and prostitution in the late 1920s — early 1930s, changes in the public representation of the issue of the venereal diseases spread, cessation of the mass information campaigns and change of the legislation in accordance with the shift of ideological attitudes.