April 23, 2020

Russian Epidemics and Riots


Russian Epidemics and Riots
An incident at the cholera barracks. Ivan Vladimirov (early twentieth century)

The world's novel coronavirus emergency response is, it turns out, not so novel.

Russian history has examples of quarantines and social distancing being used as a public health measure to combat mass epidemics. And yet, when those good intentions were badly implemented, aggressive mass protests fed by fear and anger sometimes followed. It was hard to convince the uneducated and suspicious narod that quarantines were vital to combat epidemics.

The Plague Riot of 1771

The bubonic plague came to Moscow with soldiers returning home from the Ottoman-Russian War. The infection began spreading fast, and by July 1771, about a thousand people were dying daily. Officials imposed strict quarantine measures, closed down markets and public bathhouses, destroyed contaminated property without any compensation to owners, and implemented other restrictions on the general public, not planning however on following their own rules. Then they simply fled the city, fearing for their own safety.

The Moscow riot that followed was sparked by rumors. An icon of the Virgin Mary was proclaimed as capable of stopping the epidemic, so crowds started gathering near the Kremlin and literally attacked the icon, which hung above Varvarsky Gates, beseeching the Virgin Mary for help and, climbing a ladder to kiss the icon, which of course spreading the plague more and more.

Archbishop Ambrosius, trying to stop the uncontrolled gathering, decided to hide the icon inside the Solyanka shrine and remove a donation chest, giving all the donations to an orphanage. This upset the narod and on September 15 the riot began. The next day, Archbishop Ambrosius was found hiding out in Donskoy Monastery and killed by a furious crowd. City mansions were robbed. Plague hospitals were raided in order to set free “forcibly detained” patients infected with the plague.

In an attempt to restore order, Catherine the Great dispatched General Pyotr Yeropkin (and thousands of troops) and, later, Grigory Orlov (when Yeropkin’s attempt failed). Orlov achieved plenty, setting up new infection hospitals, setting higher wages for doctors, and encouraging people to obey the quarantine and paying people to undergo voluntary self-isolation.

By October, the number of new plague cases began to fall. On November 15, Catherine the Great declared the epidemic officially over.

Tsar Nicholas at the Cholera Riots
Tsar Nicholas at Sennaya Square during the Cholera Riots.

The Cholera Riots of 1830-31

In 1830 and 1831, a worldwide cholera pandemic reached Russia (brought by Kirghiz nomads). It spread up from the South and soon reached the capital, St. Petersburg.

Government offices, schools, businesses, theaters, and other public places were closed and put under quarantine. Rumors started spreading, this time blaming authorities and healthcare providers for deliberately spreading the disease. When doctors recommended liquid antiseptics, like chlorinated lime solution or vinegar, for cleaning hands and faces, conspiracy mongers called them poisons. Doctors, and those who followed their recommendations, began to be brutally attacked.

On June 22, 1831, crowds gathered in St. Petersburg’s Sennaya Square, intent on breaking into the main cholera hospital. The crowd destroyed interior spaces and furniture and beat up medical staff. In a historical event, Tsar Nicholas I made a personal appearance before the public and successfully calmed their rage, convincing them to stop rioting. But unfortunately, the people were not finished, and eventually, military units and cannons had to be brought in.

In the Novgorod region, the military settlement of Staraya Russa was ravaged by riots in July 1831. Again, they arose from misconceptions regarding the cause of the growing cholera spread. When Commander Rosenmayer forced his solders to temporarily evacuate their base and sleep outside, as a cholera-prevention treatment, some fell sick, sparking a number of murders of military supervisors and medical staff. The local senior physician was killed in his bed.

The following week, protests reached settlements near the base. The local military chief, Nikolay Leontiev, dispatched armed units to Staraya Russa, but he was himself attacked and killed. In total, more than one hundred doctors and military officers were killed. On August 7, military units were forced to open fire on the crowd to bring the riot to an end. The investigation that followed the incident put more than 3,000 people on trial.

While the epidemic took the lives of many in the upper classes, including generals, dukes, duchesses, and the tsar's brother, Prince Konstantin (whose role in the succession six years earlier had sparked the Decembrist riots), its impact was most severely felt among the lower classes, killing some 100,000.

You Might Also Like

The Decembrists, 170 Years Later
  • December 01, 1995

The Decembrists, 170 Years Later

A look back at the Decembrist movement, a group that laid one of the first stones in the wall of Russian democracy.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
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. 
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

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