Countess Sheremetyeva who died of smallpox. The consequences of one vaccination: how Catherine II sacrificed herself for Russia

04.02.2022

He instructed Neelov to make "The village of the Tsar's palaces, gardens, mountains and other amusements, plans, facades and profiles at the very speed, on clean paper, of mediocre size." In 1768, for the execution of this work, “Alexandrian paper, the cleanest, large and medium hand”, ink, pencils and two students - architect Vasily Mylnikov and artist Andrei Bogdanov - were sent to the drawing workshop. They began work on the first ceremonial album, which later received the name "Neel". All these drawings are close in terms of the technique of execution and the accuracy of reproducing the historical plan of the city (excluding the territory of the park, which is given in separate parts in the design version. “The master plan for the entire Tsarskoye Village” V. I. Neelov handed over to the Office of the Tsarskoye Village buildings before leaving abroad. It was a fixation plan depicting the state of the imperial residence in anticipation of extensive work on laying out the landscape park.This album reflects the appearance of Tsarskoye Selo buildings up to a year and is an important source for researchers of the architecture of Tsarskoye Selo of the 18th century.Compiled by Neelov, the album was the first systematic collection of drawings on the palace -park complex of Tsarskoye Selo.

On another handwritten plan, dated by us to 1766-1768, the wooden Material Yard, built (in the future Kupalny) in the first row of the 60s of the 18th century, is marked for the first time: a complex of buildings (wooden storerooms) located along the perimeter of the site in the form of an irregular quadrangle. From the south-west, the Material Yard bordered on a wooden one, from the south-east - On the road to the Sovereign Slavyanka.

Behind the turn of the Bypass road towards the western stone wall of the Menagerie, on the plan of 1766-1768, you can see the canal for the first time.

For the first time, the location of the Galician (former Dubinka) brick factories was recorded on the plans. According to modern topography, this is the intersection of Kadetsky Boulevard and Artilleriyskaya Street. To the east of the factories, closer to the road to Grafskaya Slavyanka (now Pavlovsk highway), along the bed of the ancient Galitsky stream, there was a small factory settlement. The data of the plans, especially the boundary plans, containing extremely accurate information, are confirmed by the information of textual materials about the transfer in 1767 of brick factories to the Slavic road in the Sofia district.

In addition to the described topographic objects, the villages that existed at that time are marked on the plan: Bolshaya Ladoga on the Ladoga Creek (near the future Kazan cemetery). Malaya Ladoga (west of Bolshaya Ladoga). Kumolosari (Gummolosary), Big and Small Katlino (south of Malaya Ladoga).

Despite the appearance of new roads, Tsarskoe Selo presented a rather strange picture on the plans of the second half of the 1760s. Due to the undeveloped space to the north of the Big Pond, its historical plan visually "split" into the northern and southern parts, at the same time giving rise to the feeling of a closed space. It was intensified due to the “mirror reflection” of the two bastions of the Menagerie, facing the New Garden, in the bastions built under Elizaveta Petrovna at the circumferences of the Large Front Court, on the site of future palace kitchens.

To manage the matter of colonization and organized colonies, the manifesto of 1768 was established in St. Petersburg. the "Chancery of Guardianship of Foreigners", which had "power and advantages equal to those of state colleges"; she received annually 200,000 rubles. for assistance with relocation.

On January 23, 1768, Catherine II arrived in Tsarskoye Selo under cannon fire, after almost a year's absence. She was met by those who came from St. Petersburg, Guard Lieutenant Colonel V.M. Suvorov, L.Ya. Ovtsyn, Major Guards A, L. Shcherbachev, Prince P. A. Golitsyn. When Her Majesty left the inner apartments, the aforementioned brought worship, and were commended to the hand. Then, as always, a game of cards in the "Amber Room" at the usual time. Evening meal on 18 couverts.
On April 21, the Empress celebrated her birthday in Tsarskoye Selo. At the end of the Divine Liturgy in the church, Catherine II deigned to impose the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called on His Excellency Count Alexei Grigorievich Orlov. At this time, I.P. Elagin and was in Tsarskoye Selo.
In his autobiographical notes “A sincere confession in my deeds and thoughts”, D. I. Fonvizin described a visit to Tsarskoye Selo in 1768.
The playwright recalled that: "Arriving in Tsarskoe Selo, I was delighted, I found a special room allotted for me, in which nothing could interfere with my exercises." In the mornings, Fonvizin took walks in the Tsarskoye Selo park. During one of these walks, he met with Grigory Nikolaevich Teplov. Just like I.P. Elagin, he was the Secretary of State of the Empress. Teplov published several works of a moralizing and philosophical nature, a collection of Russian songs set to music by himself. Collaborated in the academic journal "Monthly essays". At the meeting in Tsarskoye Selo Garden, the conversation turned to the comedy Brigadier, which Fonvizin promised to read to Teplov. Then we talked about the book of the philosopher Samuel Clark, who tried to justify the existence of God.
On April 27, Catherine II with all her retinue left Tsarskoye Selo for St. Petersburg to attend the performance of a new Italian opera.
At 10 o'clock, Her Imperial Majesty returned to Tsarskoe Selo.

Early 1768. The court returned to St. Petersburg. The smallpox epidemic that spread this year did not spare even the members of high Petersburg society. V May In 1768, the bride, Countess Anna Petrovna Sheremetyeva, was fatally ill with smallpox. Then the Empress, turning to the mediation of I.P. Elagina, writes to him May 5th from Tsarskoye Selo. She asks that Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich urgently come to Tsarskoye Selo, and N.I. Panin, his tutor, would appear in Tsarskoye Selo only after two weeks, i.e. survived the quarantine.
On May 6, His Imperial Highness Pavel Petrovich arrives at Tsarskoye Selo at six o'clock in the evening.
Ekaterina and Pavel Petrovich returned to St. Petersburg only July 10.

On Sunday evening October 12, 1768, Dimsdale, together with his assistant son and a sick child, were taken by secret passage to the Empress's chambers in the Winter Palace. There she was vaccinated with smallpox.

On October 12, in the morning, Her Imperial Majesty moved to Tsarskoye Selo. Together with her, the doctor Dimsdale also came, who in his notes described those days in Tsarskoye Selo: they were many who, as she supposed, had never had smallpox, said to me: “I must rely on you to tell me, as soon as this will be possible, when illness can stick to others from me. I would like to keep this matter a secret, but God forbid that I hide my position for at least a minute, when it may be dangerous for others.

From October 13 to October 18, the Empress did not show the slightest concern about what had been done to her. She ate as before with others, went for walks with her retinue, played cards in the Amber Room, and carried on a casual conversation. And only on October 19, she announced to others that smallpox had been vaccinated in her, and she was secluded in her inner chambers. Only on October 30, Catherine II, in the morning, went for a walk in a carriage, and in the evening she deigned to play cards with her gentlemen in the Amber Room.

On November 1, a prayer service was held in the court church that Her Imperial Majesty deigned to be freed from smallpox, while cannon firing was carried out. After that, the Empress with her retinue went to Petersburg.

On November 16, 1768, Catherine wrote to the governor-general of Livonia Brown: “You, general, tell me that fearlessness was needed on my part when inoculating smallpox, therefore, I must believe that this is so; meanwhile, I thought that this fearlessness is found in England in any street boy ... ".

The Empress perfectly understood what a personal example meant. The example turned out to be fateful for the empire. He was followed by the enlightened wing of the nobility (a precedent was set, as it were, for a small demographic boom: this ... gave the 19th century an additional considerable number of officers). After 3 years, the 71-year-old doctor will return to Russia with his wife, Baroness Elizabeth Dimsdale, who will leave

Having experienced the inoculation of smallpox on herself, Catherine prompted the Tsarevich to secure himself with a similar remedy. On November 20, a Senate decree followed on the safe inoculation of smallpox to the empress and the crown prince; it was immediately said that with her permission, for the future, it was established to celebrate November 21 in all cities of the empire, since from that day healing smallpox vaccination began to spread throughout Russia. It was supposed, after a thanksgiving service, to ring the bells all day, and then illuminate the cities; at the same time, the day of November 21 was included in the calendar as a day of service, with the release of offices and schools from classes.

A historical anecdote: Catherine the Great, generously praising Dr. Dimsdale for his diligence and success in inoculating herself and her kind son with smallpox, did not forget that seven-year-old baby Alexander Danilov, son of Markov, from whom the doctor took smallpox matter and safely vaccinated Her Majesty. She remembered the sadness of his father and mother, who were certainly convinced that after this she had to lose her beloved and only son. She remembered the pitiful wailing of her mother and her request to the doctor that he not take smallpox from her son, who they had alone. She also remembered the generous speech of her father, who persuaded his wife to obey, if not this Mr. Doctor, then at least the monarch, who has the power not only to take away their son, but also their life; because Dr. Dimmesdale then told this touching story to the Empress. She remembered this, and wishing to reward their sorrow with her mercy and goodwill, she most mercifully granted Alexander Danilov Markov the noble dignity to him and his descendants; and some time later, by her royal decree, she ordered Markov to be called Smallpox, and not Markov.

In 1768, by decree of Catherine II, “porcelain dishes” were sent to Tsarskoye Selo from the storerooms of Smolny; among 188 items were products of Chinese and Japanese workshops.

Born this year:

In the Museum of V.A. Tropinin and Moscow artists of his time great exhibition opens "Queen of Flowers" dedicated to the depiction of roses in various forms of art.
Visitors to the exhibition can get acquainted with the works of art of painting, graphics, arts and crafts, clothing, photographs, books dedicated to the rose. Like a magic box filled with beautiful treasures, the museum opens its doors, inviting you to take a closer look at beautiful masterpieces that glorify beauty, love, femininity and tenderness. We walked through the halls with bated breath, stopping for a long time at each exhibit. And everywhere we were surrounded by roses - large and small, drawn, embroidered, engraved or live, being the center of the composition or just a small, but no less important element of it.

Unknown Russian artist. Portrait of an unknown woman with a girl.
1845. Oil on canvas.

Please note that the rose here is not only in the center of a charming composition. It looks like roses are embroidered both on the woman's shawl and on the delicate transparent collar. These beautiful little details are very interesting to look at and they are in every exhibit presented at the exhibition, whether it is a portrait or a beaded handbag.

Fireplace screen. 1845. Western Europe
Mahogany, carving, polishing, wool and silk embroidery.

When you look at such things, the heart stops. It is strange and wonderful to think that once they were interior items, they simply decorated the house, creating comfort and warmth. That someone created this beauty with their own hands, stitch by stitch, thread by thread, with love and tenderness. How wonderful it must be to sit near the fireplace with such a screen and admire the amazing flowers, examining them in detail.

Argunov Ivan Petrovich (1729-1802)
Fragment. Portrait of Countess Anna Petrovna Sheremetyeva
Until 1768. Oil on canvas.

Masterpieces are here at every turn, wherever you look. There are paintings by well-known masters or anonymous ones that have lost the name of the author due to the prescription of time, but each is good. The soul of the artist and his talent are invested in each. You are surprised how many treasures the museum still keeps, regularly presenting us with the opportunity to admire one or the other of them. There are things with history here. And if it is not always possible to find out about the existence of an object, then you can look for information about the people depicted in the portraits. So, on this you can see Anna Petrovna Sheremetyeva (1744-1768), the eldest daughter of P.B. and V.A. Sheremetevs. She was an amateur actress, an artist. In her father's house on the embankment of the Fontanka River, home "noble" performances were played, in which Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich also took part. For example, on March 4, 1766, the comedy in one act “Zeneida” was presented, in which the Grand Duke, Countess Anna Petrovna took part in the role of a sorceress, and Countess Daria Petrovna and Natalya Petrovna Chernysheva, and according to the memoirs, four people participating in the performance were wearing diamonds in the amount of 2 million rubles. In 1760, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna granted Anna the maid of honor with the rare permission to live at home rather than in the palace.Anna Petrovna was engaged to the mentor of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, Count N.I. Panin. But a few days before the wedding, Anna Sheremeteva died of smallpox. Here is such a bright, but short life. But this is history. You can get to know her, become interested in her, by coming to the museum and seeing this or that portrait or other exhibit.
However, even if you cannot learn more about the history of an exhibit or a person, you can simply admire, for example, this bell in the form of a rose.

Bell in the form of a rose to call the servants.
First half of the 19th century. Russia. Bronze, chasing, gilding.

Quite tiny, but incredibly beautiful. Sometime someone's well-groomed hand lifted him up and shook him lightly, forcing him to make a melodic ringing. Somewhat earlier, someone's, much less polished, but skillful hand created this miniature flower. It makes you want to take it in your hands. However, this often happens to me with exhibits, many of them I just want to touch.

Unknown artist of the 18th century. Presumably C. G. Prenner (1720-1766)
Portrait of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich in infancy.
Canvas, oil.

This portrait is attributed to the painter Georg Kaspar Joseph von Prenner. He pcame to Russia, to the court of Elizabeth Petrovna, in 1750 at the invitation of Count Mikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov, vice-chancellor of the Russian Empire, who was interested in literature and sciences, a well-known friend and patron of Lomonosov.The contract was concluded for 5 years. The fashionable, "overseas" artist had a lot of orders. However, toWhen the contract ended, Count Vorontsov did not want to renew it. It is said that he considered the artist too hot-tempered and did not get along well with people.
But we will not discuss his character, but admire his work. And we can take a closer look at the beautiful roses decorating the portrait.

Fragment. Portrait of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich in infancy.
Canvas, oil.

Gently pink, with almost transparent extreme petals, they reign among other flowers, overshadowing them with their beauty. However, their age is not long, some summers are already falling, sinking to the feet of the baby. The reign of Paul I would also be short-lived. However, the artist could not know about this.

Shamshin Pyotr Mikhailovich (1811-1895)
Portrait of Nikolai Pavlovich Krivtsov as a child. Fragment.
1842. Oil on canvas.

And here is a child's portrait of amazing beauty. The kid seems to be alive, now he will laugh and stretch out his plump hands to you. About P.M. Shamshin write that he was mainly a church painter. His images and wall paintings are in many St. Petersburg churches, in the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior, in the Gatchina city cathedral, in the Zion Cathedral in Tiflis, in the Ivangorodskaya Church in Narva, and some others. But look, an incredibly lively children's portrait that causes an involuntary smile .
Where are the roses? - you ask. Come look for roses in the museum.

On this vase, I would like to pay attention not only to the queen of flowers, although she is undeniably magnificent, but also to some other details of the vase. Like her legs. Look, these are the heads of elephants!

Vase-planter. 1830-1840s. Russia. Imperial Porcelain Factory.
Porcelain, molding, overglaze and underglaze polychrome painting, gilding, bronze, casting, chasing, polishing.

Remember, we told you about the exhibition of the Imperial Porcelain Factory in Tsaritsyno? The exhibition has passed, but the photos remain. So you can look at us and compare the work of the masters of the plant at different times.
And now let's look at another portrait from the exhibition at the Tropinin Museum.

Unknown artist of the first quarter of the 19th century.
Portrait of a lady dressed with roses and a green shawl.
1825. Oil on canvas.

Yes, we know nothing about the lady or the artist. But that doesn't stop us from looking at the details. A beautiful lace bonnet adorned with roses and coquettish curls peeking out from under it, a thin strip on a shawl embroidered, it seems, also with roses. The top sleeve of the dress is thin and sheer, most likely protecting the more delicate pale pink fabric of the lower sleeve. The lady looks at us a little inquiringly, as if asking - why are you tearing me away from the book?
And it is quite easy to imagine such an inkwell in the shape of a melon in the house of this lady.

Melon-shaped inkwell. 1830s France. Factory of Jacques Petit.

Fragment. Melon-shaped inkwell. 1830s France. Factory of Jacques Petit.
Porcelain, molding, relief, overglaze painting, gilding.

Of course, this is not all the exhibits that can be seen at the exhibition. There are a few more lovely dresses and hats that refused to be photographed because of the stack, desperately glaring. There are many lovely little things, fans, handbags, beaded canes, caskets. Of course, beautiful portraits. And nearby, in vases, live roses are fragrant.

Roses are alive.

These beauties, for example, grew up in the dacha of one of the museum employees. Incredibly large, beautiful, fragrant. A great addition to the exhibit.
Come to the exhibition. Don't miss the meeting with the beautiful rose!

The exhibition will include:
* decoupage workshops and photography;
* lectures on varieties of roses with recommendations for their cultivation and reproduction, and much more.
Details can be found.

An art competition will be held for young artists as part of the exhibition. Those wishing to take part in it before October 10 can send to the Museum of V.A. Tropinin drawings depicting a rose, made in any technique (pencil, ink, gouache, watercolor, acrylic, pastel, tempera, etc.). Competition regulations posted

The reign of the Russian Empress Catherine II was extremely ambiguous, but for one deed she certainly deserves the warmest gratitude. Exactly 250 years ago, she ordered the first smallpox vaccination in Russia - herself, as the first patient

Black Death

Smallpox, introduced by the crusaders, was a horror in Europe for several centuries. Together with plague and cholera, it claimed millions of human lives, and the faces of the survivors were “decorated” with monstrous scars, which were called smallpox.

Smallpox did not choose between rich and poor. She hurt the English queen Maria II, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I, Spanish king Louis I, French king Louis XV, a PeterII, last child Peter the Great in the male line, died from her at the age of 14.

Not fashion, but the presence of ugly pockmarks forced the European aristocracy to cover their faces with a thick layer of powder. Famous personalities such as Mirabeau, Nikolai Gnedich and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had terrible scars and went out into the street only after powdering their faces.

Risked herself for others

Late in the evening of October 12, 1768, a doctor specially discharged from England was secretly taken to the chambers of the Great Empress. dimsdale and a six year old Sasha Markova.

Catherine II decided to personally test a rather risky method of vaccination on herself. True, it was known for certain that it was used quite successfully in England, but was categorically banned in "brilliant" France.

Mortality with variolation was 20 times lower than with normal infection, but no one could completely eliminate such a risk.

The doctor made an incision on the hand of the empress and pulled a thread through the opened wound, moistened with pus from the smallpox patient Sasha Markov. In less than a week, according to Dimsdale's calculations, the Empress should have been ill with a mild form of smallpox and endured it without much complications.

The very next day, the empress, as usual, went out to her ladies-in-waiting, had noisy fun in the courtyard, played cards with the courtiers and talked about all sorts of things, sitting at the common dining table.

Despite the global secrecy of the operation, the whole court knew about it. One can only imagine the horror of the court ladies and their cavaliers, who had to carelessly communicate with the empress, approaching her at an unsafe distance.

Unbridled "fun" in the Tsarskoye Selo Palace lasted for 6 days, after which the first signs of infection appeared in the empress, and she retired to her chambers.

Destroyed fear and prejudice

As Dimsdale predicted, the treatment was quite successful, leaving no scars on Catherine's face. Less than a month later, the future emperor was inoculated with maternal blood Pavel Petrovich.

The court nobility got excited about the idea of getting "pox matter" from the empress herself, and in a short time more than 140 aristocrats were vaccinated.

Catherine did not refuse anyone, which earned herself the fame of a caring mother, ready to sacrifice her life for the sake of her subjects. With the successful inoculation of smallpox, Catherine was congratulated by the Holy Synod and the Senate, to which the smart empress meekly replied:

“My subject was my example to save from death many of my loyal subjects, who, not knowing the benefits of this method, fearing it, remained in danger. I have fulfilled part of the duty of my rank; for, according to the gospel, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Soon, the ballet "Defeated Prejudice" was staged in St. Petersburg, the main characters of which were Minerva, Ruthenium, The genius of science, Superstition and Ignorance. And the audience hilariously sneered at their recent fears.

Some historians suggest that Catherine took such a risk in order to raise her own authority among the courtiers. But the fact remains. The Russian Empress did something that no European monarch could afford. She demonstrated to her subjects that she was ready to sacrifice even her own life for them.

Made Russia an advanced country

Catherine II generously rewarded Dr. Dimsdale by granting him the title of baron, the rank of a life physician and a real state councilor, and also pledged to pay an annual pension of 500 pounds sterling until the end of her life. Crazy amount for those times.

Since 220 years ago, the English doctor Edward Jenner was the first in the world to vaccinate against smallpox, controversy has not subsided whether vaccinations are so dangerous and whether it is worth refusing them because of the risk of complications.

Catherine II, Fyodor Rokotov, 18th century

Koryavin, Ryabov, Ryabkov, Ryabtsev, Shadrin, Shcherbakov, Shchedrin, Shcherbin... Familiar names for everyone. However, not everyone knows that they came from the nicknames that were given to people who had had smallpox: pockmarked, generous, pockmarked ... You know, this smallpox is an unpleasant thing. Fever, chills, headache, aches. And most importantly sores all over the body, which, if the sufferer survives, permanently disfigure the face.

Prayers, spells, amulets, spells, potions and bloodletting did not help. The infection spared no one. In 1694, she killed the wife of the English King William II, Mary, and in 1774, the French monarch Louis XV. Yes, there is a long way to go. In 1730, Tsar Peter II died from her.

Peter II, 1730

She came to Russia from a provincial German town (in February 1744) in order to successfully marry. And here is such a disaster. Die Pyotr Fedorovich, and she will immediately be sent back to her native hole. And the chance to become the wife of the monarch, perhaps, will never fall again.

Catherine in her youth, Louis Caravaque, 1745

But God was merciful. Pyotr Fedorovich survived (although the marks, as usual, remained) and the wedding took place. And then - a well-known thing: after the death of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, Peter III ascended the throne, but 186 days later he was overthrown, and on July 9, 1762, a purebred German woman reigned in Russia under the name of Catherine II, who ruled the country for 34 years.

Ekaterina Alekseevna and Pyotr Fedorovich, A. R. Lischevskaya, 1756

But back to smallpox. In the East, after many centuries of suffering, they adapted to instill it. In a healthy person, a small incision was made on the arm and pus from the infected individual's mature pockmark was placed there (this procedure is called inoculation).

The disease transmitted in this way proceeded in a milder form and did not leave scars. It is reported that especially often vaccinations were given to girls doomed to a harem life. So the success in the fight against this infection in the Muslim East was to a certain extent due to lust.

Harem, Fernand Cormon, 1877

Europe was introduced to this method by the wife of the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Mary Wortley Montague, in 1718.

Here, listen to what Voltaire writes about this in his “Philosophical Letters”: “In the reign of George the First, Madame Wortley-Montagu, one of the smartest English women, who also had a huge influence on the minds, during the embassy mission of her husband in Constantinople received the decision without hesitation to vaccinate smallpox to a child born by her in that country.

Her chaplain could tell her as much as he liked that this was not a Christian custom, bringing success only to the infidels - Madame Wortley's son felt great after the vaccination. On her return to London, this lady shared her experience with the Princess of Gaul, the current Queen...

From the moment when rumors reached her (the queen) about the inoculation, or introduction, of smallpox, she ordered to make an experiment on four criminals condemned to death: in this way she saved their lives doubly, for she not only saved them from the gallows, but and, by means of artificially inoculated smallpox, protected them from the possible disease of smallpox, from which they might die in the course of time.

The princess, convinced of the benefits of the experiment, ordered her children to be vaccinated with smallpox. England followed her example, and since that time at least ten thousand first-born children owe their lives to the queen and Madame Wortley-Montagu, and as many daughters owe their beauty to them.

Mary Wortley Montagu by Charles Gervase, 1716

It is very remarkable that Voltaire talks about this with delight and admiration. But, in essence, we are dealing with a rabid violation of human rights.

Only after successful experiments, smallpox was inoculated into representatives of the royal family. Such were the manners.

And what about Catherine? This woman, reputed to be an enlightened monarch, was aware of all the advanced ideas of her time. And, of course, she had heard of inoculation.

The Great Empress really wanted to protect herself from a terrible disease that once almost destroyed her future and which was always somewhere nearby: for example, in May 1768, Countess Anna Sheremetyeva died from her.

Countess Anna Sheremetyeva, Ivan Argunov, 1768

The Russian ambassador in London was instructed to find out which of the local doctors was the most knowledgeable and experienced in this matter, and Dimsdale was recommended to him. Further negotiations were held and after some hesitation, the physician agreed. And in the summer of 1768 he arrived in St. Petersburg with his son Nathaniel.

It is reported that before subjecting the empress to the procedure, the doctor demonstrated his skills on several volunteers. And only after their recovery did he express his readiness to instill smallpox in the empress. Everything happened under the cover of secrecy. Realizing the degree of risk, Catherine ordered that mail horses be kept ready so that the English guests could immediately escape if something went wrong.

And the situation really could turn into a tragedy. Imagine, the Empress becomes ill, and a rumor instantly spreads around the city that she was killed by two foreign Herods, who probably worship the devil. Immediately people gather and commit reprisals against visitors ...

However, the fears were in vain. On October 23 (according to the old style - October 12), Catherine was inoculated. The material, that is, fresh smallpox, was kindly provided by the peasant boy Alexander Markov, for which he was granted the nobility.

By the way, a medal was knocked out in memory of smallpox vaccination in Russia. On one side of it is a portrait of the Empress, and on the other - the temple of Aesculapius1, from which the healed Catherine and her heir (Paul) come out, and happy Russia with the kids runs towards them.

Well, the English doctor received a baronial title for his work, which was also granted to his son, the title of a life physician (court doctor) and a lifetime pension of 500 pounds a year. He was offered to stay at the Russian court, but he refused and returned to his homeland, where he opened his "smallpox vaccination house."

Catherine II, portrait by Alexei Antropov

Koryavin, Ryabov, Ryabkov, Ryabtsev, Shadrin, Shcherbakov, Shchedrin, Shcherbin... Familiar names for everyone. However, not everyone knows that they came from the nicknames that were given to people who had had smallpox: pockmarked, generous, pockmarked ... This smallpox is an unpleasant thing, you know. Fever, chills, headache, aches. And most importantly sores all over the body, which, if the sufferer survives, permanently disfigure the face.

They say that she came to the Europeans from the East. Either it was brought by the Arabs who conquered the Iberian Peninsula (VIII century), or the crusaders picked up this treasure in the Holy Land (XI century), or ... Although why guess? It is important that the disease has settled in Europe thoroughly, annually claiming hundreds of thousands of lives and mutilating people for nothing. Nobody knew what to do with her. Prayers, spells, amulets, spells, potions and bloodletting did not help. The infection spared no one. In 1694, she killed the wife of the English king William III, Mary, and in 1774, the French monarch Louis XV. Yes, there is a long way to go. In 1730, Tsar Peter II died from her.

Peter II, portrait by G. D. Molchanov, 1730

So the heart of Princess Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst (the future Empress Catherine II) must have been beating at a redoubled rate when she received the news that her fiancé (the future sovereign Peter III) was ill with smallpox. Still would. She came to Russia from a provincial German town (in February 1744) in order to successfully marry. And here is such a disaster. Die Pyotr Fedorovich, and she will immediately be sent back to her native hole. And the chance to become the wife of the monarch, perhaps, will never fall again.

Catherine as a young woman, portrait by Louis Caravaque, 1745

Ekaterina Alekseevna and Pyotr Fedorovich, painting by Anna Lischevskaya, 1756

But back to smallpox. I was talking just now, as if no one knew what to do with her. This, of course, is not true. In the East, after many centuries of suffering, they adapted to instill it. In a healthy person, a small incision was made on the arm and pus from the infected individual's mature pockmark was placed there (this procedure is called inoculation). The disease transmitted in this way proceeded in a milder form and did not leave scars. It is reported that especially often vaccinations were given to girls doomed to a harem life. So the success in the fight against this infection in the Muslim East was to a certain extent due to lust.

Harem, Choice of a Favorite, by Giulio Rosati

Europe was introduced to this method by the wife of the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Mary Wortley Montague, in 1718. Here, listen to what Voltaire writes about this in his Philosophical Letters: In the reign of George the First, Madame Wortley-Montagu, one of the most intelligent English women, and who also had a huge influence on the minds, during the ambassadorial mission of her husband in Constantinople, decided without any hesitation to instill smallpox in the child she had born in that country. Her chaplain could tell her as much as he liked that this was not a Christian custom, bringing success only to the infidels - Madame Wortley's son felt great after the vaccination. Upon her return to London, this lady shared her experience with the Princess of Gaul, the current Queen ... From the moment she (the Queen) heard rumors about the inoculation, or introduction, of smallpox, she ordered to make an experiment on four criminals condemned to death: in this way she saved their lives doubly, for she not only saved them from the gallows, but also, by means of artificially inoculated smallpox, protected them from the possible disease of smallpox, from which they could die in the course of time. The princess, convinced of the benefits of the experiment, ordered her children to be vaccinated with smallpox. England followed her example, and since that time at least ten thousand first-born children owe their lives to the Queen and Madame Wortley-Montagu, and as many daughters owe their beauty to them.».

Mary Wortley Montagu, painting by Charles Gervase

It is very remarkable that Voltaire talks about this with delight and admiration. But, in essence, we are dealing with a rabid violation of human rights. Judge for yourself. The wife of the head of state learns about an experimental procedure that can avoid an extremely unpleasant disease. To make sure the method is safe, she orders to test it on the most defenseless members of society - prisoners and orphans (the French thinker does not mention the latter, but there is evidence that orphanage children were also involved in the tests). And only after successful experiments, smallpox was inoculated to representatives of the royal family. Such were the manners.

By the way, the effectiveness of this tool should not be exaggerated. Because despite Voltaire's assertion that, they say, " of all those who were vaccinated with smallpox in Turkey or England, not a single person dies', there were many deaths.

Nevertheless, in Albion, vaccination was popular and, importantly, aroused remarkable interest among physicians. In particular, Thomas Dimsdale, who in 1767 wrote a treatise on this subject (The Present Method of Inoculating for the Small-Pox). The work was translated into several languages and brought the doctor some fame.

Thomas Dimsdale

And what about Catherine? This woman, reputed to be an enlightened monarch, was aware of all the advanced ideas of her time. And, of course, she had heard of inoculation. I suppose the great empress really wanted to save herself from a terrible disease that once almost destroyed her future and which was always somewhere nearby: for example, in May 1768, Countess Anna Sheremetyeva died from her.

Countess Anna Sheremetyeva, portrait by Ivan Argunov

But it was necessary to find the right doctor, and her choice fell on Thomas Dimsdale. Why? Perhaps she liked his "enlightenment" approach. In the treatise he wrote, he does not insist on his uniqueness, that, they say, only by working with me, you can get rid of the disease, achieve spiritual enlightenment and go to heaven. On the contrary, Dimsdale argues that there are many methods of inoculation, and some of them are very good. He also openly admits that he closely follows the work of his colleagues in this area and borrows the best from their experience. In addition, the doctor gives a solid list of patients vaccinated by him with a brief description of the course of the disease of each of them, arguing that no one has been injured in his practice so far.

What am I saying though. Everything was much easier. The Russian ambassador in London was instructed to find out which of the local doctors was the most knowledgeable and experienced in this matter, and Dimsdale was recommended to him. Further negotiations were held and after some hesitation, the physician agreed. And in the summer of 1768 he arrived in St. Petersburg with his son Nathaniel. It is reported that before subjecting the empress to the procedure, the doctor demonstrated his skills on several volunteers. And only after their recovery did he express his readiness to instill smallpox in the empress. Everything happened under the cover of secrecy. Realizing the degree of risk, Catherine ordered that mail horses be kept ready so that the English guests could immediately escape if something went wrong. And the situation really could turn into a tragedy. Imagine, the Empress becomes ill, and a rumor instantly spreads around the city that she was killed by two foreign Herods, who probably worship the devil. Immediately people gather and commit reprisals against visitors ...

However, the fears were in vain. On October 23 (according to the old style - October 12), Catherine was inoculated. The material, that is, a fresh smallpox, was kindly provided by a peasant boy Alexander Markov, for which he was granted the nobility (I am personally ready to provide representatives of the Russian authorities with any sore or analysis if they make me a shareholder of Gazprom). The next day, the empress with a retinue of her entourage went to Tsarskoye Selo, where she stayed until her full recovery, which was greeted with enthusiastic jubilation by the courtiers. On the occasion of her "joyful release from smallpox inoculation," the poet Mikhail Kheraskov even composed an ode:

« Was it possible for us at that time not to be sad,
How dare you put poison into your blood
We were tormented in spirit, looked at the laws,
And they were infected to us.
Looked at the throne, looked at themselves,
And we shielded ourselves with the infected...»

Mikhail Kheraskov

But Dimsdale's work didn't end there. Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich (future Tsar Paul I) with his wife Maria Feodorovna and many aristocrats, including Counts Grigory Orlov and Kirill Razumovskaya, also passed through his hands.

Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich and Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna with their sons Alexander and Konstantin

The empress was filled with enthusiasm and issued a decree on mandatory inoculation. But, they say, this initiative did not have much success, because it is very difficult to force the Russian people to do something unusual and suspicious. By the way, a medal was knocked out in memory of smallpox vaccination in Russia. On one side of it is a portrait of the Empress, and on the other - the temple of Aesculapius1, from which the healed Catherine and her heir (Paul) come out, and happy Russia with the kids runs towards them. Above all this, there is an inscription: “I set an example by myself.” Well, it must be admitted that the act of the empress was indeed courageous. But that's why she is an enlightened monarch, to do bold things and not be afraid of the new. But many Russian noble persons did not dare to turn up to a foreign procedure and, in the old fashioned way, relied on God's will, maybe smallpox would not stick.

Medal in memory of smallpox vaccination in Russia

I think it would not be superfluous to say a few words about this gentleman. First, it must be noted that he was a Quaker. The fact is very remarkable, because the representatives of this direction of Protestantism, being sure that there is a spark of God in every person, advocated equality and, as a result, were indifferent to titles. However, the granted barony, apparently, did not bother Dimsdale at all, and even, on the contrary, gave him pleasure.

Quaker meeting, 17th century

Secondly, in addition to medicine, he had other interests. In 1761 he entered into banking, entering into the partnership of Dimsdale, Archer & Byde. After working in this sector for 15 years, he apparently got tired and handed over the reins to his sons. And for generations, the bank has been something of a family business.

Thirdly, in 1780 Dimsdale became a Member of Parliament. However, he delivered only one speech in his 10-year political career. But, according to eyewitnesses, he spoke so quietly that no one heard him.

Our hero was married three times. Moreover, when he entered into his last marriage, he was no less than 68 years old. His chosen one was 48-year-old Elizabeth. She was a very economic woman who, before her marriage to an eminent physician, lived as an old maid in the outback, without going anywhere. And it was with her that Thomas Dimsdale came to Russia for the second time (in 1781) to instill smallpox in the grandchildren of the Empress Alexander (the future Tsar) and Konstantin (by the way, the Englishwomen Pauline Gessler and Sarah Nichols were the nannies of the Grand Dukes).

Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich as a child, portrait by Jean-Louis Voile

There is nothing special to say about the doctor, except that he performed his task flawlessly. But there is something to report about his wife. During this trip, she kept a diary in which she entered all the interesting and unusual facts about a strange country for her. I have already said that the newly-made baroness in her life was mainly engaged in housekeeping, so a fair share of the notes concern the economic side of life. She wrote down the prices of food, clothes and other things with accounting tediousness, converted them into pounds sterling and compared them with the cost of the same goods in England. She was struck by the fantastic spending of the royal court, especially considering the salary (very modest) of employees, which she was aware of. In addition, Elisabeth tells about the daily life of the Empress and the Grand Dukes and shares her impressions of the manners and customs of the Russian people. For example, this woman was shocked by the "wild bathing rituals." Despite the fact that her personal bathing experience is limited to visiting a hot steam room in a fully dressed form. However, the story of this diary may take several pages, so we will postpone it until another time.

Russian bathhouse, painting by Vitaly Tikhov, 1916

And finally - a curiosity, which is reported by the engraver James Walker, who wrote a book of jokes about the Russian court called Paramythia. It is interesting, however, that he arrived in Russia only in 1784, so that he could only know about this case by hearsay. But be that as it may, the story is as follows. The baroness really wanted to personally thank the empress for her kind attitude towards her husband, who, as the malevolent Englishman notes, was against such a meeting. The reason is simple: Mrs. Dimmesdale was a nice, kind woman who knew how to express her feelings sincerely, but who had a very vague idea of court etiquette. Ekaterina, to the horror of the doctor, agreed to accept her. And here's what happened:

« The gratitude of his venerable wife took precedence over good manners. And when Her Majesty entered the hall, instead of half-kneeling to kiss the hand extended to her with extraordinary grace, she (Dimmesdale) pounced on her like a tiger and nearly strangled the poor empress in her arms', Walker writes.

Portrait of Catherine II in traveling costume, by James Walker, 1787

The Baroness, in her diary, draws a completely different picture and claims that everything was decorous, noble and in compliance with the necessary standards of behavior. Well, the truth must be somewhere in between. But in any case, this incident, if it really took place, did not lead to bad consequences. Dr. Dimsdale and his wife had a great time in Russia and returned home happy and rich.

1 The Roman version of Asclepius, the god of healing.
2 The gratitude of his honored spouse so far got the better of her good breeding, that when Her Majesty entered the saloon, instead of half kneeling to kiss the hand held out with so much grace, she flew towards her like a tiger, and almost smothered the poor empress with hugging and kissing.