November 26, 2021

Catherine the Great Wants You to Get Vaccinated


Catherine the Great Wants You to Get Vaccinated
See, if we all rode horses, we'd almost always be six feet apart. The RussianLife files.

A very timely letter has just been unveiled in Moscow in which Catherine the Great tries to convince people to get vaccinated against smallpox. She was the first person in Russia to get the vaccine; given her power and resources, she asked a doctor to come from England and give her the jab.

Catherine called it "barbarism" to die of smallpox in the modern eighteenth century with all of its science.

She addressed the letter to authorities in Ukraine on April 20, 1787. It will be for sale at MacDougall's auction in London on December 1. Its value is estimated at $1.6 million (along with a portrait of Catherine).

The letter emphasizes how dangerous smallpox is to "ordinary people" and outlines how to establish a vaccination campaign. It recommends setting up beds in monasteries for those who feel sick after getting the vaccine.

Catherine was careful not to mandate the vaccine, feeling that the Russian people would resist a mandate. In the twenty-first century's COVID-19 pandemic, not much has changed as the majority of the population is yet to be vaccinated. Although now we have QR codes.

You Might Also Like

The Tsarina's Pen
  • January 01, 2019

The Tsarina's Pen

Catherine the Great was a prolific letter writer and her missives offer a uniquely intimate view of her personal life and political development (to say nothing of her humor and passion).
Russian Art Boom
  • September 01, 2008

Russian Art Boom

It may seem like the latest fad, yet the explosion of interest in Russian art has been 20 years in the making. And has far from peaked...
Debunking a Myth
  • November 01, 2021

Debunking a Myth

The salacious and derogatory myth surrounding the death of Catherine the Great has its roots in her detractors and successors, both at home and abroad.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955