Plague in the 15th - 16th centuries
The Nikon Chronicle reports that in 1401 there was a plague in Smolensk. However, the symptoms of the disease have not been described. In 1403, "pestilence with iron" was noted in Pskov. It is reported that most of the sick died within 2-3 days, at the same time, rare cases of recovery are mentioned for the first time. In 1406-1407. "Pestilence with iron" was repeated in Pskov. In the last sea, the Pskovites accused Prince Danil Alexandrovich, therefore they abandoned him, and called another prince to the city. After that, according to the chronicle, the pestilence receded. For 1408, the chronicles noted a very widespread pestilence "korkotoyu". It can be assumed that it was a pneumonic form of plague, with hemoptysis.
The next epidemic will visit Russia in 1417, affecting mainly the northern regions. It was distinguished by an extremely high mortality rate, according to the figurative expression of the chronicler, death mowed people down like a sickle of ears. From this year on, the "black death" began to visit the Russian state more often. In 1419, the pestilence began first in Kiev. And then all over the Russian land. Nothing is reported about the symptoms of the disease. It could be a plague that raged in 1417, or a pestilence that happened in Poland spread to the lands of Rus. In 1420, almost all sources describe the pestilence in various Russian cities. Some sources report the sea as "corky", others say that people died with "iron". It is clear that in Russia two forms of plague simultaneously spread - pulmonary and bubonic. Among the cities especially badly affected were Pskov, Veliky Novgorod, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Galich, etc. The mortality rate from pestilence was so high that, according to sources, there was no one to remove bread from the fields, as a result of which the death rate from the epidemic was aggravated by a terrible famine. which took thousands of lives.
In 1423, according to the Nikon Chronicle, there was a pestilence "throughout the Russian land", no details were given about the nature of the disease. The plague of 1424 was accompanied by hemoptysis and swelling of the glands. I must say that from 1417 to 1428, plague epidemics took place almost continuously, or with very short interruptions. It can be noted that at this time there was a vague idea not only about the infectiousness of the disease, but also about the contamination of the area. So, Prince Fyodor, when a pestilence appeared in Pskov, fled with his entourage to Moscow. However, this did not save him, he soon died in Moscow. Unfortunately, such escapes in most cases led only to the spread of the area of infection, an increase in the number of victims. There was no concept of quarantine. From 1428 to 1442 there was a break, there are no reports of epidemics in the sources. In 1442, a pestilence with swelling of the glands occurred in Pskov. This epidemic covered only the Pskov land and ended in 1443. Then there was a lull again, until 1455. In 1455, the "pestilence with iron" again struck the border Pskov and from there spread across the Novgorod land. When describing a contagious disease, the chronicler reports that the pestilence began with Fedork, who came from Yuryev. This is the first time the source of infection and the person who brought the disease to Pskov have been reported.
The following description of the pestilence occurs in 1478, during the attack of the Tatars on Aleksin, when they were repulsed and driven across the Oka. The source said that the pestilence began among the Tatars: "… starting in vain to die in their half shop …". Then, apparently, the pestilence spread to the Russians: "there is a lot of evil in the earth, hunger, pestilence, and battle."In the same year, a pestilence occurred in Veliky Novgorod, during his war with the Grand Duke of Moscow and Vladimir. A plague broke out in the besieged city. The last news about the sea in the 15th century is found in 1487-1488, an infectious disease again struck Pskov.
Then there was an almost 20-year lull. In 1506, the sea was reported in Pskov. In 1507-1508 a terrible pestilence raged in the Novgorod land, it is possible that it was brought in from Pskov. The mortality rate for this disease was enormous. So, in Veliky Novgorod, where the disease raged for three years, more than 15 thousand people died in just one autumn. In 1521-1522. Pskov again suffered from a pestilence of unknown origin, which claimed many lives. Here, for the first time, we find a description of measures similar to quarantine. The prince, before leaving the city, ordered to lock the street on which the pestilence began, with outposts at both ends. In addition, the people of Pskov built a church according to the old custom. However, the plague did not stop. Then the Grand Duke ordered to build another church. Apparently, quarantine measures still brought some benefit - the plague was limited to Pskov. But the mortality rate was very high. So, in 1522, 11,500 people were buried in only one "scum" - a wide and deep pit, which served for the burial of those who died from mass diseases, hunger.
There was a break again until 1552. At the same time, plague was raging almost continuously in Western Europe. In 1551, she captured Livonia and broke through the city to Russia. In 1552, the "black death" struck Pskov, and then Veliky Novgorod. Here we also find messages about quarantine measures. Novgorodians, when news of the plague in Pskov appeared, set up outposts on the roads connecting Novgorod with Pskov, and forbade the Pskovians from entering the city. In addition, the Pskov guests who were already there were expelled from the city along with the goods. Moreover, the Novgorodians took very harsh measures, so those merchants who refused to fulfill this order were ordered to be caught, taken out of the city and burned along with their goods. The townspeople who hid the Pskov merchants at home were ordered to be punished with a whip. This is the first message in the history of Russia about large-scale quarantine measures and the interruption of messages from one region to another due to an infectious disease. However, these measures, apparently, were taken too late, or were not carried out with all severity, the plague was brought to Novgorod. Pskov and Novgorod were struck by the plague in 1552-1554. In Pskov, up to 25 thousand people died in just one year, in Veliky Novgorod, Staraya Russa and the entire Novgorod land - about 280 thousand people. The plague thinned out the clergy especially strongly, priests, monks tried to help people, to alleviate their suffering. The fact that it was precisely the plague is evidenced by the words of the Pskov chronicle - people died with "iron".
Simultaneously with the plague at the same time, Russia was struck by other general diseases. So, in Sviyazhsk, the army of the Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich, which set out on a campaign against Kazan, suffered greatly from scurvy. The Tatars besieged in Kazan were also struck by a general disease. The chronicler called the source of this disease bad water, which the besieged had to drink, since they were cut off from other sources of water. Getting sick people "got swollen and I will die from it." Here we see progress in explaining the causes of the disease, it is caused by bad water, and not "the wrath of God."
In 1563, a plague struck Polotsk. Here, too, the mortality rate was very high, but the sources do not disclose the nature of the disease. In 1566, the plague reappears in Polotsk, then enveloped the cities of Ozerishche, Velikiye Luki, Toropets and Smolensk. In 1567, the plague reached Veliky Novgorod and Staraya Russa and continued to rage on the Russian land until 1568. And here the chroniclers do not mention the symptoms of the disease. However, we again see, as during the plague of 1552, quarantine measures, and a very harsh one. In 1566, when the plague reached Mozhaisk, Ivan the Terrible ordered to establish outposts and not let anyone into Moscow from the regions that had been infected. In 1567, Russian commanders were forced to stop offensive actions, fearing a plague epidemic that raged in Livonia. This suggests that in Russia in the 16th century, they already began to understand the significance of quarantine measures and began to consciously relate to the danger of infection, trying to protect "clean" areas with reasonable measures, and not just prayers and building churches. The last message about the plague in the 16th century falls on 1592, when the plague swept Pskov and Ivangorod.
Plague control methods in medieval Russia
As already noted, regarding the period of the 11-15 centuries, there is practically no mention of measures against the disease and measures related to quarantine. There are no reports in the annals about doctors and their activities during plague epidemics. Their task during this period was only in the treatment of princes, members of their families, representatives of the highest nobility. The people, on the other hand, viewed mass diseases as something fatal, inevitable, "heavenly punishment." The possibility of salvation was seen only in "spirituality", prayers, prayers, processions of the cross and building churches, as well as flight. Also, there is practically no information about the nature of the pestilence, except for their massiveness and high mortality.
In fact, during this period, not only were no measures taken to cross epidemics, and to protect the healthy from the danger of disease. On the contrary, there were the most favorable conditions for contagious diseases to become stronger and spread further (like the flight of people from infected places). Only in the 14th century did the first reports on preventive measures appear: it was recommended during epidemics to "purify" the air with the help of fire. The constant burning of bonfires in squares, streets and even yards and dwellings has become a common means. They also talked about the need to leave the contaminated area as soon as possible. On the way of the alleged spread of the disease, they began to expose "cleansing" fires. It is not known whether the setting of bonfires, outposts and notices (barriers) was accompanied.
Already in the 16th century, preventive measures became more rational. So, during the pestilence of 1552, we find in the source the first example of the device of an anti-plague outpost. In Veliky Novgorod, it was forbidden to bury people who died from a general illness near churches; they had to be buried far from the city. Outposts were set up on the streets of the city. The courtyards where a person died from an infectious disease were blocked, the surviving family members were not allowed out of the house, the watchmen assigned to the courtyard passed food from the street without entering the dangerous house. The priests were forbidden to visit contagious patients, which was previously common practice and led to the spread of the disease. Severe measures began to be applied against those who violated the established rules. The violators, along with the sick, were simply burned. In addition, we see that there are measures to restrict the movement of people from infected areas to "clean". From the Pskov land in 1552 it was forbidden to come to Veliky Novgorod. In 1566, Ivan the Terrible set up outposts and banned the movement of people from the western regions affected by the plague to Moscow.
Plague in the 17th and 18th centuries. Plague riot of 1771
It should be noted that in medieval Moscow there were all conditions for the development of large-scale fires, plague epidemics and other infectious diseases. The city, huge at that time, was densely built up with wooden buildings, from the estates and chrome of the nobility and merchants to small shops and shacks. Moscow literally drowned in mud, especially during spring and autumn thaws. Terrible dirt and unsanitary conditions were present in the meat and fish rows. Sewage and garbage, as a rule, were simply thrown into yards, streets, and rivers. In addition, despite the huge population, there were no suburban cemeteries in Moscow. The dead were buried inside the city; there were cemeteries at each parish church. In the 17th century, there were more than 200 such cemeteries within the city.
Regular crop failures, hunger, unsanitary conditions in the "metropolis" of that time created favorable conditions for the spread of infectious diseases. It is necessary to take into account the factor that medicine at that time was at an extremely low level. Bloodletting was the main method of treatment for doctors at that time. In addition, prayers, miraculous icons (which, from the point of view of modern medicine, were the sources of the most diverse infection) and the conspiracies of healers were considered the main remedy for pestilence. It is not surprising that during the pestilence of 1601-1609, 35 Russian cities were affected by the epidemic. In Moscow alone, up to 480 thousand people died (taking into account those who fled from the countryside gripped by hunger).
Another terrible plague struck Moscow and Russia in 1654-1656. In 1654, a terrible pestilence raged in Moscow for several months. People died daily in hundreds, and in the midst of the plague epidemic - in thousands. The plague struck a person quickly. The illness began with headache and fever, accompanied by delirium. The person quickly weakened, hemoptysis began; in other cases, tumors, abscesses, ulcers appeared on the body. A few days later the patient was dying. The mortality rate was very high. During these terrible months, not all of the victims were able to be buried according to the established custom at the churches, there was simply not enough space. The authorities already had an idea of the danger of the proximity of the "plagued" graves to human habitation, but they did not take any measures to change the situation. Only those cemeteries that were located directly in the Kremlin were surrounded by a high fence and, after the epidemic, were boarded up tightly. It was forbidden to bury bodies in them, so that again "a pestilence would not befall people."
Nobody knew how to treat the disease. Many sick people in fear were left without care and assistance, healthy people tried to avoid communication with sick people. Those who had the opportunity to wait out the pestilence in another place left the city. From this, the disease became even more widespread. Usually wealthy people left Moscow. So, the royal family left the city. The queen and her son left for the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, then for the Trinity Makariev Monastery (Kalyazinsky Monastery), and from there she was going to leave even further, to Beloozero or Novgorod. Following the tsarina, Patriarch Tikhon also left Moscow, who at that time had almost tsarist powers. Following their example, high-ranking officials fled from Moscow, left for neighboring cities, their fiefdoms. Soon the archers from the garrison of the city began to scatter. This led to an almost complete disorganization of the system of power in Moscow. The city was dying out with whole courtyards and streets. Household life came to a standstill. Most of the city gates were locked, as was the Kremlin. "Convicts" fled from places of detention, which led to an increase in disorder in the city. Looting flourished, including in "escheat" yards (where the inhabitants died), which led to new outbreaks of pestilence. Nobody fought with this.
Only in Kalyazin did the queen come to her senses a little and took quarantine measures. It was ordered to establish strong outposts on all roads, and to check those passing by. By this, the queen wanted to prevent the infection from entering Kalyazin and near Smolensk, where the king and the army were stationed. Letters from Moscow to Kalyazin were copied, the originals were burned, and copies were delivered to the queen. Huge bonfires were burned on the road, all purchases were checked so that they were not in the hands of the infected. An order was given in Moscow itself to lay windows and doors in the royal chambers and storerooms so that the disease would not penetrate these premises.
In August and September, the plague reached its peak, then began to decline. No casualties were recorded, so researchers can only roughly imagine the scale of the tragedy that befell Moscow. So, in December, the okolnichy Khitrovo, who was in charge of the Zemsky Order, which had police functions, ordered the clerk Moshnin to collect information about the victims of the plague. Moshnin conducted a number of studies and presented data for different classes. In particular, it turned out that in 15 surveyed draft settlements of Moscow (there were about fifty of them, except for the Streletsky ones), the number of deaths was 3296, and the number of survivors was 681 (apparently, only the adult male population was considered). The ratio of these figures shows that during the epidemic more than 80% of the suburban population died, that is, the majority of the tax-paying population of Moscow. True, one must take into account that part of the population was able to escape and survived outside Moscow. Even so, the mortality rate was enormous. This is confirmed by mortality in other social groups. In 10 boyar houses in the Kremlin and Kitay-gorod, out of 2304 courtyard people died in 1964, that is, 85% of the total composition. In the courtyard of boyar B. I. Morozov 19 out of 343 people survived, Prince A. N. Trubetskoy out of 270 - 8, Prince Y. K. Odoevsky from 295 - 15, etc. Researchers suggest that Moscow in 1654 lost more than half of its inhabitants, that is, up to 150 thousand people.
Plague in the 18th century. Plague riot on September 15 (26), 1771. In the 18th century, the fight against plague in the Russian state became part of state policy. The Senate and a special Imperial Council began to deal with this problem. For the first time in the country, a quarantine service was established, it was assigned to the medical board. On the border with the state, where there was a center of plague, quarantine outposts began to be erected. All those entering Russia from the contaminated territory were stopped for up to one and a half months to check whether a person had fallen ill. In addition, they tried to disinfect clothes and things by fumigating them with wormwood and juniper smoke; metal objects were washed in a vinegar solution. Tsar Peter the Great introduced mandatory quarantine in seaports as a means of preventing the importation of infection into the country.
Under Catherine the Great, quarantine posts operated not only at the borders, but also on the roads leading to cities. The staff of the quarantine post included a doctor and two paramedics. If necessary, the posts were reinforced by the military of their garrisons and doctors. Thus, measures were taken in order to stop the spread of the infection. A charter was developed for the quarantine service at the border and in ports. As a result, the Black Death has become a much rarer guest in Russia. And when it appeared, it was usually possible to block the hearth, not allowing it to spread throughout the country.
In 1727-1728. the plague was recorded in Astrakhan. A new, exceptional in its power outbreak of "black death" began at the end of 1770 in Moscow and reached its peak in 1771. Within only 9 months (from April to December of the specified year), the sea, according to official data, claimed the lives of 56672 people. However, in reality, their number was higher. Catherine the Great in one of her letters reports that more than 100 thousand people died. The war with Turkey broke the gap in the quarantine fence. A plague epidemic swept the country. By the end of the summer of 1770, she reached Bryansk, and then to Moscow. The first cases of the disease were detected in a military hospital, where of the 27 infected, 22 people died. Senior physician of the Moscow General Hospital, scientist A. F. Shafonsky established the true cause of the death of people and tried to stop the spread of the disease. He reported the impending disaster to the Moscow authorities, suggesting that emergency measures be taken. However, his words were not taken seriously, accusing him of incompetence and alarmism.
To a large extent, the pestilence devastated the ranks of the predominantly urban lower classes. Most of all people died among the poor, especially workers in enterprises. One of the first blows was struck by the plague on the Bolshoi Cloth Yard, then the largest Moscow manufactory. If in 1770 1031 people worked in it, then in 1772 there were only 248 workers. Manufacturing became the second hotbed of the plague. Officials initially tried to hide the scale of the trouble; the dead were buried secretly at night. But many of the frightened workers fled, spreading the infection.
In the 1770s, Moscow was already very different from the Moscow of 1654. In connection with the plague, numerous cemeteries at parish churches were liquidated and instead of them several large suburban churchyards were established (this requirement was extended to other cities). There were doctors in the city who could recommend some rational measures. But only wealthy people could take advantage of these tips and remedies. For the urban lower classes, given their living conditions, huge overcrowding, poor nutrition, lack of linen and clothing, lack of funds for treatment, almost nothing has changed. The most effective remedy for the disease was to leave the city. As soon as the plague became widespread in the spring and summer of 1771, carriages with the rich reached through the Moscow outposts, leaving for other cities or their rural estates.
The city froze, the garbage was not taken out, there was a shortage of food and medicine. The townspeople burned fires and sounded bells, believing that their ringing would help against the plague. At the height of the epidemic, up to a thousand people died in the city every day. The dead lay in the streets and in houses, there was no one to clean them up. Then prisoners were brought in to clean up the city. They drove through the streets in carts, collecting corpses, then plague carts left the city, the bodies were burned. This terrified the surviving townspeople.
Even more panic was caused by the news of the departure of the mayor, Count Pyotr Saltykov, to his estate. Other senior officials followed suit. The city was left to its own devices. Disease, mass loss of life and looting drove people to complete despair. There was a rumor in Moscow that a miraculous icon of the Bogolyubskaya Mother of God appeared at the Barbarian Gate, which supposedly saves people from adversity. A crowd quickly gathered there, kissing the icon, which violated all quarantine rules and greatly increased the spread of the infection. Archbishop Ambrose ordered to hide the image of the Mother of God in the church, naturally, this caused the terrible anger of superstitious people who were deprived of their last hope of salvation. People climbed the bell tower and sounded the alarm, calling to save the icon. The townspeople quickly armed themselves with sticks, stones and axes. Then there was a rumor that the archbishop had stolen and hid the saving icon. The rioters came to the Kremlin and demanded to hand over Ambrose, but he prudently took refuge in the Donskoy Monastery. Angry people began to smash everything. They destroyed the Miracles Monastery. They carried not only the houses of the rich, but also plague barracks at hospitals, considering them to be sources of disease. The famous doctor and epidemiologist Danilo Samoilovich was beaten, he miraculously escaped. On September 16, the Donskoy Monastery was taken by storm. The archbishop was found and torn to pieces. The authorities could not suppress the riot, since there were no troops in Moscow at that time.
Only two days later, General Eropkin (deputy of the escaped Saltykov) managed to assemble a small detachment with two cannons. He had to use military force, since the crowd did not give in to persuasion. The soldiers opened fire, killing about 100 people. By September 17, the riot had been suppressed. More than 300 rioters were put on trial, 4 people were hanged: the merchant I. Dmitriev, the courtyards V. Andreev, F. Deyanov and A. Leontyev (three of them were participants in the assassination of Vladyka Ambrose). 173 people were subjected to corporal punishment and sent to hard labor.
When the news of the riot and the assassination of the archbishop reached the empress, she sent her favorite Grigory Orlov to suppress the uprising. He received emergency powers. Several guards regiments and the best doctors in the country were assigned to reinforce him. Orlov quickly put things in order. Gangs of marauders were exterminated, the guilty were punished with public death. The whole city of the count was divided into sections, which were assigned to doctors (their staff was significantly increased). The houses, where the focus of infection was found, were immediately isolated, not allowing to take things away. Dozens of barracks were built for the sick, and new quarantine posts were introduced. The supply of medicines and food has improved. Benefits began to be paid to people. The disease began to subside. Count Orlov fulfilled his task brilliantly, leaving the epidemic with decisive measures. The Empress awarded him a special medal: “Russia has such sons in itself. For deliverance of Moscow from ulcers in 1771”.
Conclusion
In the 19-20 centuries, thanks to the growth of scientific knowledge and medicine, the plague rarely visited Russia, and on an insignificant scale. In the 19th century, 15 plague outbreaks occurred in the Russian Empire. So, in 1812, 1829 and 1837. three outbreaks of plague occurred in Odessa, 1433 people died. In 1878, an outbreak of plague occurred in the Lower Volga region, the village of Vetlyanka. More than 500 people have been infected and most have died. In 1876-1895. More than 20 thousand people fell ill in Siberia and Transbaikalia. During the years of Soviet power from 1917 to 1989, 3956 people fell ill with the plague, of whom 3259 died.
