From cholera riots to coronavirus: epidemic as an engine of progress?

The epidemic is not overtaken by humanity. The most famous are the plague, which sucked half the European Europe in the XIV century, Osopa, Cholera, finally, the Spanish flu, from which from 3 to 5% of the planet’s population died in 1918–1919. Quarantines that have been widely used today in connection with the spread of coronavirus are also known since ancient times - as well as the closure of borders between countries.

The plague overtook Europe three times - the first wave passed in the VI century, it began in Egypt, raged 60 years and took about half of the population of Byzantium. The second wave of the plague came from Asia, in 1346-1348, from it, according to various sources, from 14 to 25 million people, Europe was able to restore the population only after 100 years. Old Russian chronicles testified to the first plague epidemic in Rus' in 1351 or 1352, it is known that it went from Pskov, a large center of trade with Western Europe. “The same summer, the mor of the angry in the city of Pskov and the villages, the death of myosi, the people, men, men and wives, old and Mladia, and children, and Popov, and Chernzi and Chernitsi,” we read in the Novgorod Chronicle, and further evidence of the outbreaks of the great “Mora” stretch after several centuries.

It is common for a person to look for the guilty in Europe - in Europe of the XIV century, the eyes of people who were frightened by the “black death” turned to Jews, a wave of Jewish pogroms swept through Switzerland and Germany, but there were almost no Jews in Russia, so instead of pogroms they arranged for the burning of witches.

Unauthorized outposts mercilessly beat the battles so that it would be disgraced to others

The first plague quarantines arose in Venice in 1348: everyone who arrived from the places where there was a flash of plague was placed in specially built houses for 40 days. The Italian word quarantena means 40 days - from Quaranta Giorni. Another popular means of combating the plague was the ignition of bonfires in areas for air purification. In Rus' at that time, quarantins were not yet arranged, but bonfires on the roads, from where the plague could come, burned. But in the 16th century, quarantines were already arranged with might and main, in 1557 in Pskov at the outposts there were a watchman so that the “wrestlers from the sea”, the chronicle reports that the outposts arbitrarily circled the outposts mercilessly beat with bathtogs, so that it would be inconsistent. The internal quarantines were also arranged in cities - they locked the houses and entire streets, they did not buried the dead from the churches, but outside the city, the priests did not tell and communion with the sick, and who, having disobeyed, came, "in those priests ordered the same Lyudmi Zil", is specified in the annals. The strong plague erupted in Moscow in 1654, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich probably avoided death only because Smolensk besieged the army, outposts were arranged on the way to the army, the royal family was overlooking the mor in Kalyazin, everyone was saved by the strict quarantines.

This can be read in the book of K. G. Vasiliev and A. E. Segal " The History of Epidemics in Russia " - as well as about the first border outposts, set in 1602 by Tsar Boris Godunov "from Smolensk around the line" during the news of "pestle poet" in the West. In 1623, having learned about the outbreak of the epidemic in Lithuania and Poland, the governors were banned in Bryansk to go with goods “abroad to the hungry cities” - it was prescribed to ride only to healthy places where there were no infection, “Strong outposts” were set along the roads. All visitors, including ambassadors, were withstanding in quarantines in the “Nature Years” or sent back. The strictest quarantine events were organized in connection with the London plague of 1665: "All trade with England was stopped. The Arkhangelsk harbor was closed." Records have been preserved about how the English merchants are kept in quarantine for several months, the dress in which they arrived are ordered to be buried in the ground, and to give them a new one, and to buy food "for 30 ruble" so that they do not use money brought with them. The quarantine events of the XVII century were so gestured that people began to die not from the plague, but from hunger, many went bankrupt, crafts and trade very much.

Quarantines completely paralyzed the country's economic life, and the epidemics did not stop

Quarantine - but only not from the plague, but from cholera - Pushkin owes the famous Boldine autumn: Big Boldino, locked for three months in his estate, he wrote the last chapters of Evgeny Onegin, Belkin’s Tales, Little Tragedies and many beautiful poems. But still, the consequence of quarantines was not so much the success of literature as cholera riots. The quarantines arranged throughout the country, as V. Veresaev writes in the book "Pushkin's satellites", "completely paralyzed the country's economic life, and did not stop the epidemics." Thousands of convoys with goods stopped at the outposts, and in those who tried to break out of the cordon, it was ordered to shoot. In St. Petersburg, Choler appeared in the spring of 1831, during the Polish uprising, so at first the Poles were accused of everything - supposedly they walk and poison water and vegetables at night, they fall asleep from the ships in the Neva. Then they began to blame the doctors of wrecking, in June the crowd ruined the cholera hospital, several doctors and police officers were killed. Only three days later the rebellion managed to cope, pulling off the troops to the Sennaya Square. Nicholas I, not afraid of cholera, came to the square and personally pacified the people, commanding: “On the knees!” From St. Petersburg, Choler spread to Finland, then reached London.

The historian Daniil Kotsyubinsky sees in the history of epidemics general humanitarian parallels.

- An epidemic is an invisible enemy who cannot be defeated by a military way, you cannot put barrage - the infection is striking in both the king and the serf peasant. People always react to such threats nervously and try to mythologize them - this is a psychological way to protect themselves from the fear of death. Since there is no rational protection from the threat, people react irrationally. And then it all depends on what cultural patterns dominate in society at the moment. When the pestilence comes, the “six -winged caterpillar” falls, that is, locusts - all that cannot be protected in the usual way, it remains to turn to otherworldly forces. True, today people are inclined to demonize and sacralize the state in our country, so spells are heard in this direction. Someone believes that the authorities should close the borders, someone-that the authorities themselves arranged it. During the cholera riots, mainly the inhabitants of military settlements were indignant, exhausted by the drill and intrusive policy of education, forced hygiene rules, therefore, when cholera arose, the anger of people turned to those whom they had already hated - to doctors and superiors. Moreover, doctors and officers were culturally alien to them, there were many foreigners among them. Moreover, it was interesting-people believed that they were killing the enemies of the state, it was a naive-self-contained riot. Now there is no distrust of the doctors and hatred of the nearby authorities, in my opinion, but there is a universal conviction of the presence of a certain conspiracy force that controls all this, that is, it can either protect or poison everyone. Further, each has its own model of myth-for someone it is America, for someone the Kremlin, for some China.

- How would you appreciate, from the point of view of the historian, the reaction of Russians to coronavirus?

- The reaction is calm, probably, society believes in Putin’s prohibitive potential, in its ability to keep everything under control, in the ability to do anything and with anyone.

Society believes in the prohibitive potential of Putin

And the latest constitutional experiments once again convince society in the omnipotence of the ruler. People argue: if there was something dangerous for Russia, Putin would be the first to do everything to protect the country, because the virus is dangerous for him, and since he is calm, then we have nothing to worry about.

Professor of the Faculty of History of the European University in St. Petersburg Vladimir Lapin believes that the coronavirus epidemic is part of the history of epidemics that have always shocked humanity.

- There is no protection from this virus either - that is, you can only protect yourself with quarantine measures. Administrative measures used in epidemics, and now, were always effective - but they always strike the economy, and in some industries - crushing. Some industries are seasonal when a year is feeding a year. The plague and cholera have always spread through the waterways, navigation in Russia lasts only six months, and if at that time carriers of goods do not earn, they are starving for the second half of the year. And then they are not preparing for the next navigation - a whole chain of disasters arises, which is remembered for a very long time.

- Is it similar to the disaster in which our tourist industry is now located, air transportation?

If the power was not quite crazy, she always understood that the extreme ruin would not bring to good

- Very similar! Just a copy of the amendments to the era: there is a breakdown of a cart, and then - a car. The state always understood this, arrears were written off to someone, although not always. But, if the power was not quite crazy, she always understood that the extreme ruin would not bring to good - much depends on the sanity of power. The key point in an emergency is the interaction of power and society: neither power nor society individually can cope with catastrophic situations. The company has no institutions and finance, and the state of administrative levers alone is also few: you can cope with terror, and it is impossible to cope with sabotage. Sorry, you can kill the terrorists, but you can’t kill citizens, and sabotage has a lot of methods, one formal execution of prescriptions, for example, means that they are not performed at all. In 1830–31, during the cholera epidemic, society showed enviable consciousness, in Moscow and St. Petersburg a large role was played by merchants, local self -government, but the state did not unwind. Many leaders of anti -cholean events were the generals of 1812: people who broke Napoleon also coped with the cholera. So it is very important here who will be put to fight the epidemic. In general, we are the North Country, all these epidemics are not ours, not endemic, we have endemic only white fever, and the epidemics spread along the trade routes - as all over the world. And the more intensive trade, the more people suffer, and areas with natural farming suffer less. Previously, in Russia, most peasants were not further than the boundaries of their arrival, there were few contacts, and now, of course, the danger of distribution is much larger.

Psychologist Irina Pisarenko believes that fear at all times is quite natural for a person.

- Any unpredictable situation is a situation of danger, and the biggest problem that generates panic is when people do not know what it is and what to do with it. Therefore, when people meet unpredictable, we observe two strategies of behavior: people try to calm themselves and people try to unite. When people discuss the epidemic in social networks, during meetings, it becomes easier for them, the effect of loneliness disappears, they feel the support of those who were in the same situation. But this does not cancel the fact that people need information, and from the state of the state the best strategy is to constantly report what is known about the new virus: how the disease proceeds, how it is treated, how many people have recovered, what are the preventive measures, and what is being done in this direction is correct. The only thing - I would not forbid people to communicate and would not even prohibit sowing a panic: to be afraid and overcome fear for a person naturally. Therefore, it is not worth threatening sanctions for unification. You need to talk with people all the time, and here in the foreground should be not a current show, but doctors, biologists, epidemiologists-specialists.

- And the emergence of conspiracy theories is also normal?

The human psyche receives relief, finding the "guilty", because it is better than the unknown

- Yes. When we see some external enemy, when we build versions that something is done on purpose, we thereby relieve ourselves and find some certainty. Paradoxically, the human psyche receives relief, finding the "guilty", because it is better than the unknown. Search for guilty, scapegoat is a natural process. Some countries or groups of people will always arise as guilty, these versions will be discussed, accepted on faith or rejected, this is a normal process. People should be busy with something, the worst of all is inaction, and what a person can do-transmit information, build versions, discuss guesses. They say that the child needs to be occupied with something so that he does not act up. And then the same: people occupy themselves with all this. This is a way out for them - they should not be alone with danger and unknown. Therefore, the more instructions on the part of experts, the more information, the better - this is a means of complacency for people.

Associate Professor of the Faculty of Anthropology of the European University in St. Petersburg , Maria Pirogovskaya, says that at all times the epidemics became the engine of the development of sanitary medicine.

- In the XVII - XVII century, plague epidemics powerfully shifted management and public administration, in the 19th century the cholera turned out to be such a catalyst. Thanks to international cooperation, sanitary congresses arose that anticipated the emergence of the World Health Organization : doctors, epidemiologists, demographers gathered, discussed current issues, mortality, proposed an audit of quarantine and sanitary measures, and treatment protocols. At the same time, the recent atypical pneumonia and the previous Middle Eastern coronavirus that occurred in the zero years were not so noticeable, but then we somehow immediately began to hook, so there was a high vigilance. Social networks are now full of evidence of how effective different states are. We see replicas of tortured Italian doctors and understand that all capacities are involved in medicine. On the other hand, I just read the story of a young man who returned from Milan - he can have a virus by all signs, but he gets to the hospital only after 5-6 days, after trying to convey the situation to our medicine. It is still very important here what we ourselves see the source of the disease. In XVII, it was believed that the infection comes from bad fumes, so there were all sorts of smoking, bonfires, vinegar. It is interesting that even now in some countries such methods are still in use - for example, Turkmenbashi just said that it is necessary to use ordinary grass for smoking, it will help get rid of evil spirits and coronavirus too. But in fact, the more we know - first about bacteria, and then about viruses, the more holes arise where they can slip, anxiety is also connected with this. We left the house, closed the door, put the keys in the pocket - at that moment it is necessary to wipe the keys with an antibacterial cloth or not? And the door handle itself? And the handle of the car? Such things can frustrate very much, I understand well the concern of people.

- The former terrible epidemics gave much greater mortality, and now, fortunately, mortality from coronavirus is not so great, but panic all over the world is very noticeable - why? Maybe the price of human life has increased?

It turned out that even technological states are not ready for pandemia

- Yes, of course. There have been much more people since the time of the plague or Spanish, but we now have direct access to them. It used to be difficult to imagine that it was possible to closely monitor the figures of incidence and mortality on the air. And we understand that each of them stands a real person, and this causes a severe feeling. In addition, although it seems that we should rely on the state more and more, it turned out that even technological states are not ready for pandemia, anxiety is also associated with this. It can be seen that in Russia many do not rely on the recommendations of Rospotrebnadzor, independently translate English -speaking or franco -speaking texts and spread the best practices adopted in Europe.