The purpose of this article is to study the activities of officials of the foreign management for the prevention of smallpox in the 19th century, using the example of the Kalmyk steppe. Despite the solid historiography on the problem of smallpox vaccination in the Kalmyk uluses, a significant part of the researchers focused on the second half of the 19th century, which led to the novelty of the presented research, while its relevance is associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis of the imperial legislation and clerical documentation from the funds of the Chief Bailiff of the Kalmyk people and the Maloderbet ulus management of the National Archive of the Republic of Kalmykia, through the application of general scientific methods of historical research, made it possible to draw the following conclusions. Firstly, the practical experience of the representatives of the central government in the steppe in the first half of the century - the Chief and private bailiffs - actually formed the basis of the imperial legislative act that regulated the process of smallpox vaccination in a foreign environment. Secondly, the legislator at the beginning of the second half of the 19th century, taking into account previous experience, and also providing for a significant shortage of medical personnel, especially in the outskirts, assigns a wide range of powers to the Chief and ulus trustees, who played an important role in the formation and development of smallpox vaccination in Kalmyk steppe.
