Page 69 - All About History 55 - 2017 UK

Bluffer’s Guide
Did
you know?
The inal death toll for
the epidemic was almost
100,000 people — around
a third of the city’s
entire population.
5 SEPTEMBER 1771 15 SEPTEMBER 1771
Catherine’s man in
Moscow, Eropkin,
request the end of
the quarantine and
freedom of movement
to try and defuse
the growing tension.
Catherine refuses.
THE MOSCOW PLAGUE UPRISING
What was it?
In September 1771, Ambrosius, Archbishop of Moscow,
declared that the Icon of the Virgin Mary was to be
removed from public view. His aim was to stop the
spread of bubonic plague among worshippers, which
was killing almost 1,000 people a day. However, for the
Muscovites that had gathered around the revered artefact
believing it had healing powers, this was too much.
While the rich had been able to flee to the countryside,
most citizens had been subject to intense quarantine
measures since March. Cordons limited routes in and out
of the city, stirring up panic and worsening food shortages,
and public baths were closed. Worst of all, the homes of
the sick were destroyed with no compensation given. This
led to citizens hiding dead bodies or dumping them in the
street, exacerbating the epidemic.
On 15 September, riots broke out across the city. Crowds
of angry citizens descended on Red Square, invaded
the Kremlin and destroyed the archbishop’s residence.
Discovering Ambrosius wasn’t there, a mob found him at
the Donskoy Monastery and strangled him. It took military
reinforcements three days to suppress the uprising.
Why did it happen?
The bubonic plague had moved north from Kiev and
reached Moscow as early as Christmas 1770, where it
quickly spread among the city’s mill workers, who lived
and worked in crowded conditions. At least one doctor
raised concerns as early as December, but his superiors
didn’t act until the bodies began to pile up.
When Moscow did eventually report the outbreak to
Empress Catherine II in St Petersburg, they downplayed the
disease, intentionally never using the word ‘plague’.
Still Catherine the Great took swift action, dispatching
court physicians to assess and treat the illness in March.
She also sent Lieutenant General and Senator Peter Eropkin
to coordinate public health policies, which included using
police forces to assist medical inspectors.
However, Catherine’s later decision to quarantine the
city in an effort to stop the plague from spreading further
stoked fear and resentment among Muscovites, which
eventually exploded as public violence.
Who was involved?
Empress Catherine II
2 May 1729 – 17 November 1796
Catherine II championed Enlightenment
values while ruling as an autocrat and
expanding Russia’s borders.
Senator Peter Eropkin
1724 - 1805
The appointed official in charge of fighting
the plague from March 1771 and ‘saviour’ of
the city during the September riot.
Archbishop
Ambrosius’s
removal of a holy Count Peter Saltykov
icon from public 11 December 1698 – 26 December 1772
view sparks days Though Governor-General of Moscow,
of rioting . An angry
mob track the priest he abandoned his post without permission
down and kill him. and retired to his country estate.
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