The history of homeopathy in the Russian Empire
until World War I, as compared with other European countries and the USA: similarities and discrepancies

by Alexander Kotok, M.D.
On-line version of the Ph.D. thesis improved and enlarged
due to a special grant of the Pierre Schmidt foundation.

Notes and references

Chapter I: Allopathy vs. Homeopathy
Homeopathy in Russia during the period under study

¹ Carl Bojanus, "Gomeopatiia v Rossii" (Homeopathy in Russia), Moscow, 1882, p. 1. Dr. Carl Heinrich Bojanus (1818—1897), to whose work I shall often refer throughout my study, was born in St. Petersburg, in the family of a bank official rooted in Hessen-Darmstadt. At the age of three years he lost his mother and was fostered in the German School of St. Peter. He studied medicine in the St. Petersburg Medical-Surgical Academy, then he moved to the Moscow University, where he graduated in 1845. Until 1852 he worked as a house doctor for Count Perovsky in the Chernigov province. During that period he became interested in homeopathy as possible means against malaria which was widely spread in the province, and converted to it. In 1853-1863, he worked as a doctor in the Nizhny Novgorod district hospital under the patronage of Vladimir Dal' (on this person see later in this chapter; on Bojanus' work in the hospital see the chapter "Homeopathic facilities"). From 1863 to 1884, he practiced in Moscow privately. In 1884, he left Moscow for his estate in the Saratov district. In 1893, he participated in the Homeopathic Congress in Chicago. Dr. Bojanus left a book on the history of homeopathy in Russia (German and, significanlty enlarged, Russian versions), several pamphlets (in Russian and in German) and many papers in Russian, German, French, English and American homeopathic periodicals. Three of his sons, Maximillian, Carl and Nicholas were homeopathic doctors, whilst his second wife Ol'ga also was involved actively into homeopathic affairs of her husband. She was elected a honorary member of the American Institute of Homeopathy in 1894 "for her outstanding services rendered to homeopathy in all and to the Institute in part by her referats published in 'Institute transactions' and in other journals". Dr. Bojanus proved Spirea ulmaria, Sinapis alba and Acidum osmicum. (Vestnik gomeopaticheskoi meditsiny, 1910, 4, p. 117; Vrach-gomeopat, 1894, 4, p. 193 and Rudolf Tischner, "Geschichte der Homöopathie, Leipzig, 1932, p. 773). The detailed story of his conversion to homeopathy entitled "Kak i pochemu ia sdelalsia gomeopatom" (How and why I became a homoeopath) was published in "Gomeopatichesky vestnik" in 1886-1887.

² Ibid., p. 2. The province of Lifland was then represented by the contemporary North Latvia and South Estonia.

³ Zhurnal gomeopaticheskogo lecheniia, 1861, 18, pp. 375-383

⁴ Zhurnal gomeopaticheskogo lecheniia, 1862, 12, p. 202

⁵ C. Bojanus, "Gomeopatiia...", see note 1, p. 64

⁶ Ibid., pp. 2-3

⁷ Ibid., p. 9 and B. Plonka-Syroka, "Rezeption der Homöopathie in polnischen Ärztekreisen des 19. Jahrhunderts", Medizin, Gesellschaft und Geschichte, 16, 1997, pp. 155 and 162-63. Bojanus points out that "Examen..." was published in 1827, whilst Plonka-Syroka refers to another date — 1832.

⁸ Prof. for Dietetics and Pharmacology (1826—27), then Prof. of Clinical Medicine (1828—1845) at the Dorpat University; "Biographisches Lexicon der hervorragenden Ärzte aller Zeiten und Völker", Vienna and Leipzig, 1887, v. 5, p. 148

⁹ "Über die gegenwärtige Stellung der Homöopathie zur bisherigen Heilkunde, von Dr. G. F. I. Sahmen in Dorpat", Dorpat, 1925.

¹⁰ C. Bojanus "Gomeopatiia...", see note 1, p. 3.

¹¹ Sankt-Peterburgskie vrachebnye vedomosti, 1793, 14, p. 106. The newspaper had about 200 subscribers: 105 in St. Petersburg, 25 in Astrakhan (due to the great concentration of troops caused by the Persia Campaign), 20 in Moscow, 4 in Kiev and Kaluga, etc. ("Bol'shaia Meditsinskaia Entsiklopediia" — "The Great Medical Encyclopedia", 1963, v. 29. pp. 362—363). On this periodical see the chapter "Pervyi meditsinsky zhurnal, XVIII v." (The First Medical Journal in the 18^th Century) in Mark Mirsky, "Meditsina Rosii XVI—XIX vekov" (Medicine in Russia of the 16-19^th centuries), Moscow, 1996, pp. 39—42, pp. 158—161 and the paper by H. Müller-Dietz "Die erste medizinische Zeitschrift in russischer Sprache: Sankt-Peterburgskie Vratschebnye Vedomosti (1792—1794)", Sudhoffs Arch. Gesch. Med. u. Naturw., 46 (1962), pp. 229-250

¹² C. Bojanus, "Gomeopatiia...", see note 1, p. 3

¹³ Ibid., pp. 3 - 8

¹⁴ "Vospominaniia d-ra Seidlitz o turetskom pokhode 1829 v pis'mah k druz'iam" (Dr. Seidlitz's Memoirs About the Turkish Campaign in His Letters to his Friends), Russky Arkhiv (Russian Archive), 1878, pp. 412, 415—16. Cit. C. Bojanus, "Gomeopatiia...", see note 1, p. 12

¹⁵ I failed to find exact data on this periodical. Dmitry Zhbankov pointed out: "The periodical was published by D. Marcus [...]. Started in 1828, ceased, most probably, in 1829(?). Four issues published [...]". Dmitry Zhbankov "Materialy dlia istorii russkoi meditsinskoi zhurnalistiki" (Data on the History of Russian Medical Journalistic), Vrach, 1890, 12, p. 282. Nevertheless, this information seems erroneous as the discussed issue of the journal was published in 1827.

¹⁶ Vrachebnye zapiski, 1827, v. 1, p. 3

¹⁷ Ibid., p. 39

¹⁸ Ibid., pp. 40-41

¹⁹ C. Bojanus described shortly Deriker's biography in his book (see note 1), pp. 149-151. On some activities of Vasily Deriker in the capacity of a founder of a homeopathic society and the editor of the first Russian homeopathic periodicals, see the section "The St. Petersburg Society of Homeopathic Physicians - from the establishment to the split", the chapter "Homeopathic facilities".

²⁰ C. Bojanus "Gomeopatiia...", see note 1, p. 14

²¹ Ibid., pp. 15-16

²² Ibid., p. 24

²³ Roderick E. McGrew, "Russia and the Cholera 1823—1832", Madison and Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin Press, 1965, pp. 4—5. On cholera epidemics in pre-Revolutionary Russia and their statistics, see K. David Patterson: "Cholera diffusion in Russia, 1823—1923", Social Sciences and Medicine, 1994, 38, pp. 1171-1191

²⁴ R. McGrew, ibid., p. 22

²⁵ For example, distinguished Russian writer Avdotia Panaeva (1820—1893) wrote in her memoirs (1893) that there were steady rumors during the epidemic that the people has been poisoned by Poles, by physicians or by some others persons bribed in order to kill. (A. Panaeva "Vospominaniia" (Memoirs), Leningrad, 1927, pp. 49—51). Also McGrew testified: "The English delegation which had visited the military hospitals under the guidance of Sir James Wylie offered to take charge of a number of cholera cases, but their offer was refused because of the violent excitement of the people against all foreigners, more particularly against medical men, whom they lately looked on as emissaries employed by their enemies to poison them..." (Ibid., p. 114).

²⁶ His name has often been misspelled in homeopathic literature as Korsakoff or von Korsakoff; these spellings clearly originated in the old-fashioned German and should be dropped.

²⁷ C. Bojanus "Gomeopatiia...", see note 1, pp. 27-36

²⁸ Ibid., p. 27

²⁹ Ibid., p. 42

³⁰ Bernard Leary, "The Homeopathic Management of Cholera", Medizin, Gesellschaft und Geschichte, 1997, v. 16, p. 131.

³¹ Francis Black, "The Homeopathic Treatment of Asiatic Cholera", British Journal of Homeopathy, 1843, 1, pp. 57—68, cit. B. Leary, ibid.

³² Edward Hamilton, "Comparative Results of the Homeopathic and Allopathic Treatment of Asiatic Cholera", British Journal of Homeopathy, 1843, 3, pp. 101—103, cit. B. Leary, ibid., p. 132

³³ R. McGrew, "Russia...", see note 23, pp. 51-54

³⁴ C. Bojanus, "Gomeopatiia...", see note 1, p. 38-39

³⁵ N. Mordvinova "Vospominaniia ob admirale grafe Mordvinove i semeistve ego" (Memoirs about Admiral Count Mordvinov and his Family), St. Petersburg, 1873, p. 87

³⁶ C. Bojanus, "Gomeopatiia...", see note 1, p. 40

³⁷ Ibid.

³⁸ Ibid.

³⁹ Ibid., p. 44

⁴⁰ Ibid., p. 45

⁴¹ Syn Otechestva, 1830, 11, pp. 97—113 and pp. 274—296. "Syn otechestva" (Son of Fatherland) - historical, political and literary journal issued in 1812—44, 1847—52; in 1856—61 issued as a political, scientific and literary weekly; in 1862—1901 issued as a liberal daily ("Sovetsky Entsiklopedichesky Slovar'" — The Soviet Encyclopedic Dictionary - SES, Moscow, 1980, p. 1305)

⁴² Biblioteka dlia chteniia, 1840, v. 39, No. 3—4, pp. 163—184

⁴³ Syn Otechestva, 1830, v. 14, N 27—40, pp. 94—114, 138—161

⁴⁴ Philip A. Nicholls, "Homoeopathy and the Medical Profession", London, 1988, p. 106

⁴⁵ Syn Otechestva, 1831, pp. 224—231, 256—272, 335—359

⁴⁶ Ibid., pp. 224—225

⁴⁷ Ibid., p. 227

⁴⁸ Nicholas Mordvinov, "Vzgliad na gomeopaticheskoe lechenie", St. Petersburg, 1831, pp. 13—14

⁴⁹ Ibid., pp. 14 and 24

⁵⁰ Zhurnal Ministerstva Vnutrennih del, 1832, 3, p. 50

⁵¹ According to Prof. Ushakov, "Vodianka — a disease featuring an enormous accumulation of the liquid part of the blood and lymph in the cavities of the body" - "Tolkovyi slovar' russkogo iazyka" (The Explanatory Dictionary of Russian Language), Moscow, 1996, v. 1, p. 330; "Chakhotka — tuberculosis of lungs", v. IV, p. 1242. Nevertheless, the nosologically defined disease of tuberculosis as the malady caused by a mycobacterium was not known till Robert Koch's discovery in 1882. Under "chakhotka" were viewed different steadily progressive diseases, mainly of pulmonary origin, but not necessarily tuberculosis. Vladimir Dal', who was a doctor himself, defines chakhotka as "an exhausting, fatal disease, usually accompanied by damage of the lungs" V. Dal', "Slovar' zhivogo velikorusskogo iazyka" (A Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language), St. Petersburg, 1880, v. 4, p. 584

⁵² Zhurnal..., see note 50, pp. 58—60

⁵³ Ibid., pp. 60—61

⁵⁴ Ibid., pp. 61—63

⁵⁵ C. Bojanus, "Gomeopatiia...", see note 1, p. 60

⁵⁶ Thomas L. Bradford, "The Life and Letters of Hahnemann", Philadelphia, 1895, p. 165

⁵⁷ C. Bojanus, "Gomeopatiia...", see note 1, p. 61

⁵⁸ On Dr. James Wylie (from Scotland) see the chapter "James Wylie" in the book by M. Mirsky, "Meditsina...", see note 11, p. 188-197

⁵⁹ C. Bojanus, "Gomeopatiia...", see note 1, p. 63. Bojanus refers to the File No. 150 in the Archive of the Chief Military-Medical Office.

⁶⁰ Ibid., p. 64

⁶¹ "Polnoe sobranie zakonov Rossiskoi imperii. Sobranie vtoroe", St.-Petersburg, 1834, tom 8, otdelenie 1. 1833 g.-m "The Whole Collection of the Laws of the Russian Empire. The Second Edition", St. Petersburg, vol. 8, section 1 — 1833, p. 531 (6447)

⁶² Ibid., pp. 531—532 (6447—6448)

⁶³ C. Bojanus, "Gomeopatiia...", see note 1, pp. 69-73

⁶⁴ Ibid., p. 65

⁶⁵ Ibid., pp. 75—81

^65_2 Ibid., pp. 75—81

⁶⁶ The Decembrist revolt — this was the revolt of the nobility, mainly represented by the army officers, against the monarchy and serfdom in Russia in December 1825. After the revolt had been crushed, many of its participants were exiled to Siberia. There is a rich literature on the subject of the revolt both in Russian and in English languages. Cf. Yacov Gordin, "Miatezh reformatorov 14 dekabria 1825" (The Revolt of Reformers on December 14, 1825) and "Posle miatezha. Khronica" (After the Revolt. Chronic), issued by the publishing house "TERRA" in Moscow, 1997.

⁶⁷ See mention of his homeopathic activity in: G. Mendrina, "Meditsinskaia deiatel'nost' politicheskih ssyl'nykh v Sibiri" (Medical Activity of the Political Exiles in Siberia), Tomsk, 1962, p. 20

⁶⁸ "Sibirskie pis'ma dekabristov, 1838—1850" (Sibirian Letters of the Decembrists, 1838—1850), Krasnoiarsk, 1987, p. 190

⁶⁹ Nash krai (Our land), 1925, 7(11), p. 9. "Nash krai" — a journal published by the Astrakhan district planning committee in 1922—1928.

⁷⁰ Nash krai, 1925, 8—9 (12—13), p. 9

⁷¹ The above mentioned Decembrist Ivan Pushchin wrote: "The people considers all of us as doctors and turns to us for help rather than to a staff [military] physician, who either is drunk or does not move without payment". I. Pushchin "Zapiski o Pushkine. Pis'ma" (Memoirs on Pushkin. Letters), Moscow, 1955, p. 205

⁷² Nicholas Zdekauer (1815 — no earlier 1901); Prof. of Therapy and General Pathology (1842—1860) then Clinical Prof. (1860—64) at the St. Petersburg Medical-Surgical Academy. Since 1861 he was physician-in-ordinary to the Tsar family, and since 1884 President of the Medical Council. ("Biographisches...", see note 8, v. 6, 1888, p. 358). I found little information on Prof. N. Kozlov. He also was a Professor at the St. Petersburg Medical-Surgical Academy; in the 1870—80s he became a member of the Medical Council.

⁷³ C. Bojanus, "Gomeopatiia...", s. note 1, p.

⁷⁴ Ibid., p. 182

⁷⁵ Dr. Anton von H???bbenett (1824—1901) graduated in 1850 from Dorpat University. After having observed several successes of homeopathic treatment, he traveled abroad in 1863 to learn more on homeopathy. He studied homeopathy in Vienna, Budapest and Paris, and practiced in St. Petersburg; since 1896 he lived in Riga (Vrach-gomeopat, 1901, 4, pp. 170—171); for a biography of Dr. Carl Bojanus see note 1; Dr. Carl Frantz von Villers (1817—1890) graduated in 1836 in Leipzig. From 1852 to 1867 and from 1870 to 1873 he lived in St. Petersburg (R. Tischner "Geschichte...", see note 1, p. 802). I found no biographical data on Dr. Alfons Beck. For an interesting fact of his biography see note 85 below.

⁷⁶ C. Bojanus, "Gomeopatiia...", see note 1, p. 222

⁷⁷ Ibid., p. 211

⁷⁸ Ibid., p. 275. The names of Kozlov and Zdekauer had never appeared in any direct connection with homeopathy any longer. The only, much later and rather amusing exception was the celebration of the fifteenth anniversary of the medical and scientific activity of Nicholas Zdekauer in 1888, arranged by the Society of Public Health Protection (Obshchestvo Ohraneniia Narodnogo Zdraviia). The Society of Homeopathic Physicians was invited to participate in the celebration together with other scientific societies. The deputation composed of the President of the Society Dr. Vladimir von Ditmann, the Secretary Dr. Lev Brazol and a full member A. von Hübbenett arrived at the celebration and delivered a congratulation, in which the following was stressed: "...The Society of Homeopathic Physicians is expressing a deep respect toward you, as a noble opponent who had a moral courage to fairly and openly arise the problem of the benefit of homeopathic treatment. The 'Program', proposed by you 26 years ago, serves a proof to your sincere desire to elucidate a debatable question and to introduce the spirit of a serious scientific investigation into the teaching bequeathed to us by immortal Hahnemann. We do not loose the hope that your example would, probably, awake other influential in science doctors to quiet discussion of theoretical grounds of homeopathy in its current period of development..." (Gomeopatichesky vestnik, 1888, 6, pp. 453—54). I am not sure whether the homeopaths reread the "Program" before speaking of "sincere desire" of Zdekauer to discuss the "teaching ... of immortal Hahnemann". Did the President Vladimir von Ditmann already forget that only 6 years before the names of Kozolv and Zdekauer had appeared among those who signed the shameful "Decision" of the Medical Council in 1882, in which he was labeled as total ignoramus (see the section "The Medical Council vs. Homeopathy: 50 years later")? I think it goes without saying that a "noble opponent", i. e., Prof. Zdekaur could hardly be ascribed to the friends of homeopathy. We will never know the true reasons which caused the wish of homeopaths to take part in the celebration of Zdekauer. In any event, these congratulations were characteristic for Russian homeopaths of the late 1880s who sought any possibility to establish more friendly connection with their allopathic counterparts.

⁷⁹ Dr. Eduard von Grauvogl had graduated in 1835 from Munich University. He practiced in Ansbach, Nürnberg and Munich. He was the author of "Die Zukunft der arztlichen Arbeit" (Erlangen, 1848) and "Das homöopathische Ähnlichkeitgesetz" (Leipzig, 1861). He introduced into homeopathic practice Calcarea silico-fluorata to which he gave the name of Lapis alba (R. Tischner "Geschichte...", see note 1, p. 778 and "Thorsons Encyclopedic Dictionary of Homeopathy. Edited by H. Gaier", London, 1991, p. 207).

⁸⁰ C. Bojanus, "Gomeopatiia....", see note 1, p. 306

⁸¹ Ibid., pp. 307—308

⁸² Ibid., pp. 318—321

⁸³ Ibid., pp. 322—327

⁸⁴ Vrach-gomeopat, 1904, 8—9, p. 359

⁸⁵ "Zhurnal'noe postanovlenie Meditsinskogo soveta 7-go dekabria 1882 goda, No. 457" (The Journal Decision of the Medical Council of December 7, 1882; No. 457), Pravitel'stvennyi vestnik, 1882, 283 (no pages). The story of Mercurius cyanatus as a reliable homeopathic medicine against diphtheria had a very interesting background relevant to Russia. Before Mercurius cyanatus was proposed, Kalium bichromicum, Lachesis, Mercurius corrosivus and Apis had rather successfully been applied. In 1864, a seven-year old son (a future homeopath and the editor of "Homöopathische Jahrbücher", Alexander von Villers, 1857—1904) of Dr. Carl von Villers (see above), who was then working in St. Petersburg, fell ill with necrotic diphtheria. A colleague in homeopathy of Dr. Villers, Dr. Alfons Beck, told him that he had recently seen a case of Mercurius cyanatus poisoning, accompanied by symptoms which seemed to be very similar to these of his son. Dr. Villers then ordered a homeopathic pharmacy to prepare a 6^th decimal dilution of Mercurius cyanatus. The medicine worked reportedly perfectly, and the son, a future distinguished homeopath, was saved. Since then Mercurius cyanatus has been used as a powerful homeopathic remedy against diphtheria (R. Tischner, "Geschichte...", see note 1, pp. 623—624).

⁸⁶ This point of view hardly goes with the fact that von Ditmann had been awarded a golden medal by the Dorpat University for his research of lung's structure and later he gained the title of MD at the same university. "Vrach" commented to its readers: "... Although usually respectable people are rewarded with the MD degree, it sometimes happens that such people [like von Ditmann], not deserving to be called doctors, may obtain [this degree]. On the other hand, this example of being rewarded with a golden medal confirms the fact that even people, completely lacking general medical education, can write a special-technical work". Vrach, 1882, 52, p. 882

⁸⁷ Pravitel'stvennyi vestnik, 1882, 283

⁸⁸ This topic is analyzed in the chapter "Homeopathy and the clergy"

⁸⁹ On the hospitals, as well as on the Russian homeopathic societies, see the chapter "Homeopathic facilities"

⁹⁰ For an analysis of the professionalisation process of Russian medical profession from the 1860s to 1891, when the 4^th Meeting of the Piriogov Society took place, see Nancy Frieden, "Russian Physicians in an Era of Reform and Revolution, 1856—1905", Princeton, 1981, pp. 127—128

⁹¹ Ibid., p. 184

⁹² See the papers "Physicians in pre-Revolutionary Russia: professionals or servants of the State?" by Nancy Frieden (Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 1975, v. 49, pp. 20—29), "Tsarist Russia and the Bacteriological Revolution" by John Hutchinson (The Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, 1985, 40, pp. 420—439) and "A Matter of Life and Death: Politics, Profession and Public Health in St. Petersburg before 1914" by Gerald Surh (Russian History, 1993, Nos. 1-4, pp. 125—146)

⁹³ "Pervyi vserossiisky s'ezd posledovatelei gomeopatii" (The First All-Russian Meeting of the Followers of Homeopathy), St. Petersburg, 1914, p. 213

⁹⁴ Vrach, 1898, 40, pp. 1178

⁹⁵ Ibid.

⁹⁶ Ibid.

⁹⁷ Ibid.

⁹⁸ Ibid., p. 1179

⁹⁹ Ibid.

¹⁰⁰ Vrach, 1898, 16, p. 507, referring to Syn Otechestva of April 7, 1898. For a detailed report on the following events, see "Obshchestvo vrachei-liubitelei fizicheskih uprazhnenii i velosipednoi ezdy v osobennosti. Otchet o deiatl'nosti Obshchestva za vremia 1897—1902 s prilozheniem podrobnogo otcheta o protsesse obshestva s vrachom-gomeopatom Laurom'" (The Society of physicians promoting physical exercise and bicycling especially. Report on the activity of the society during the period of 1897—1902 with attaching of a detailed report on the suit of the society with the doctor-homeopath A. Laur'), St. Petersburg, 1903.

¹⁰¹ "Velosiped i gomeopatiia" (The Bicycle and Homeopathy), Vestnik gomeopaticheskoi meditsiny, 1904, 2, pp. 60—61. "Svet" — a political, economical and litarary daily newspaper. Published in St. Petersburg in 1882-1916, edited by V. Komarov in 1882—1906. V. Komarov, whose biographical data are unkwnon to me, was a member of the St. Petersburg Society of the Followers of Homeopathy and edited some other newspapers, like the monthly literary journal "Zvezda" (Star) in 1886—1905 and the weekly "Slavianskie izvestiia" (Slavic News) under the St. Petersburg Slavic Charitaible Society, in 1889—1891.

¹⁰² Vrach, 1898, 14, p. 421

¹⁰³ Ibid.

¹⁰⁴ Vrach, 1898, 19, p. 557

¹⁰⁵ Vrach, 1899, 12, p. 357

¹⁰⁶ Ibid.

¹⁰⁷ Ibid.

¹⁰⁸ Ibid.

¹⁰⁹ Ibid.

¹¹⁰ Ibid.

¹¹¹ Vrach, 1900, 6, p. 188

¹¹² Senkovsky Osip (Yulian) (1800—1858) — a Russian writer, a journalist, an orientalist, a corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1828), one of the founders of Russian orientalism. An editor and publisher of "Biblioteka dlia chteniia". (SES, see note 39, p. 1206)

¹¹³ Biblioteka dlia chteniia, 1840, v. 40, No V—VI, pp. 9—10

¹¹⁴ C. Bojanus, "Gomeopatiia...", see note 1, pp. 131—135. The following examples will suffice: Vol'sky stressed that if a patient has suffered from vomiting, he has to take a homeopathic medicine inducing a stronger vomiting, in order to cause an artificial illness stronger than the natural one. A mentally ill person, who has killed two of his children, has to take a homeopathic drug which led him to kill his other children, etc.

¹¹⁵ G. Arkhangel'sky, "S. F. Vol'sky — rossiisky istorik meditsiny 30—40-h godov XIX veka", Problemy sotsial'noi gigieny i istoriia meditsiny, 1997, 2, pp. 54-55

¹¹⁶ R. Tischner, "Geschichte...", see note 1, pp. 654-655

¹¹⁷ Carl Bock, "Bud'te ostorozhny! Gomeopatiia, izoblichennaia v interesah narodnogo zdraviia. Popul.-med. lektsii d-ra Boka. Per. s nem.", Novgorod, 1875, 23 pp.

¹¹⁸ George Karrick, "Gomeopatiia kak uchenie i uvlechenie", St. Petersburg, 1891, 204 pp.

¹¹⁹ Ibid., p. iv

¹²⁰ D. Rodzaevsky, "Gomeopatiia kak mediko-filosofskaia systema v proshlom i nastoiashchem. Kritiko-istorichesky ocherk", Kiev, 1891, 271 pp.

¹²¹ I. Orshansky, "Gomeopatiia, eio proishozhdenie i sovremennoe sostoianie", Khar'kov, 1892, 30 pp.

¹²² D. Rodzaevsky, "Znachenie oligodinamichskih iavleny dlia zhivotnogo organisma", Khar'kov, 32 pp.

¹²³ Dr. A. Lozinsky, "Gomeopatiia po ucheniu eio avtoritetov", St. Petersburg, 1893, 97 pp.

¹²⁴ Vrach, 1893, 46, p. 1287

¹²⁵ George Karrick, "Gomeopatiia kak uchenie i uvlechenie", St. Petersburg, 1893, 47 pp.

¹²⁶ A. Lozinsky, "Protiv gomeopatii. Polemicheskie stat'i", St. Petersburg, 1895, 56 pp.

¹²⁷ A. Matskevich, "Rol' gomeopatii v 19-v veke. Kritika gomeopatii kak nenauchnogo metoda", St. Petersburg, 1897, 14 pp.

¹²⁸ A. M. Finkelstein, "O gomeopatii. Publichnaia lektsiia, chitannaia v pol'zu postradavshih ot neurozhaiia, 19 marta 1892 tovarishchem predsedatelia (nyne predsedatelem) Obshchestva Odesskih vrachei A. M. Finkelshteinom", 1896, Odessa, 88 pp.

¹²⁹ Ibid., p. 86

¹³⁰ N. Frieden, "Russian...", see note 90, pp. 114—115

¹³¹ Ibid., p. 117

¹³² Vrach, 1887, 12, p. 274. Dr. Lev Brazol had probably been the most prominent Russian sincthe late 1880s to the Bolshevik revolution. He born in the Poltava province to a noble family. In 1877, he had graduated from the St. Petersburg Medical-Surgical Academy. It seems that in the late 1870s, or at the beginning of the 1880s, he became acquainted with homeopathy, but the circumstances are unknown. In any event, by the middle 1880s he was already a convinced adherent of homeopathy. He first became known to the Russian medical community not for being a homeopath, but for his writings on smallpox vaccinations — "The imaginary benefit and the real harm of smallpox vaccinations" (Mnimaia pol'za i deistvitel'ny vred ospoprivivania) and "Jennerism and pasteurism. A critical essay of the scientific and the empirical grounds of smallpox vaccinations" (Dzhennerizm i pasterizm. Kritichesky ocherk nauchnyh i empiricheskih osnovany ospoprivivaniia), issued in 1884 in St. Petersburg and in 1885 in Khar'kov respectively. In 1885 he became a member and later was elected the President of the St. Petersburg Society of Homeopathic Physicans, the post he held until 1917. He was the first who delivered in Russia public lectures on homeopathy (three lectures in 1897 and one lecture in 1890) in the Pedagogical Museum in St. Petersburg. In 1896, he proposed at the International Homeopathic Congress in London to immortalize Hahnemann's name and was elected the President of the International committee for erecting Hahnemann's memorial. As all we know, the memorial was erected on the grave of Hahnemann at the P??re-Lachaise cemetery due to the efforts of the committee and the collection of money initiated by its local representatives in various countries, while Russia, where Dr. Brazol was in charge, donated as much as a third of the sum of 20,000 franks collected. In 1924, he left Russia for Paris where he died in 1927. The name of Brazol will often appear throughout my research in connection with the most important events of Russian homeopathic life.

¹³³ Vestnik gomeopaticheskoi meditsiny, 1900, 11, p. 332

¹³⁴ Prof. Victor Pashutin, a student of Ivan Sechenov (1829-1905) and later of Carl Ludwig (1816—1895), the founder of the Russian school of pathophysiology, was probably the most important administrative figure in Russian medicine in the second part of the 1890s. He was the President of the Medical Council at the Ministry of Interior and the head of the St. Petersburg Military-Medical (formerly Medical-Surgical) Academy, whilst being a member of the advisory council at the Ministry of Public Instructions, he was virtually responsible for the whole Russian medical education.

¹³⁵ R. Tischner "Geschichte...", see note 1, p. 678

¹³⁶ Cit. Vrach-gomeopat, 1895, 11, pp. 520—521

¹³⁷ Unfortunately, I have no exact reference.

¹³⁸ Russky meditsinsky vestnik, 1900, February 15, cit. Vrach, 1900, 9, p. 287

¹³⁹ Vrach, 1900, 13, pp. 412—413

¹⁴⁰ Vrach, 1900, 15, p. 486

¹⁴¹ Vrach, 1887, 5, p. 119

¹⁴² N. Frieden, "Russian...", see note 90, p. 183. For social background of the cholera riots on example of Iuzovka (contemporary Donetsk, Ukraine) see Theodore Friedgut "Labor Violence and Regime Brutality: The Iuzovka Cholera Riots of 1892", Slavic Review, v. 46, No 2, 1987, pp. 245-265. Describing the attitude of working class toward doctors, Friedgut refers to Nikita Khrushchev (1894—1971) who stressed that doctors were repeatedly attacked as poisoners of well also later on, both in 1902 and 1910 (p. 251).

¹⁴³ See the report published in Vrach, 1899, 4, pp. 119-120

¹⁴⁴ N. Frieden, "Russian...", see note 90, p. 113

¹⁴⁵ The only earlier all-Russian organisation of doctors had been a purely financial one; this was the mutual aid fund created by Yacov Chistovich in 1865.

¹⁴⁶ Susan Gross Solomon and John F. Hutchinson (Eds.), "Health and Society in Revolutionary Russia", Bloomington and Indianapolis, 1990, p. 8

¹⁴⁷ A. Lozinsky, "Protiv...", see note 126, p. 9, footnote 1

¹⁴⁸ N. Frieden, "Russian...", see note 90, pp. 243—244

¹⁴⁹ Many conservative Russian circles condemned the 9^th Meeting for its "benevolence" toward Jews. I cite Nancy Frieden: "The session on tuberculosis provided a pretext for discussing the rights of Jews. Because Jews with tuberculosis were barred from sanatoria and health resorts, and did not have freedom of movement, a resolution objected to 'the danger — in reference to the development of tuberculosis — arising from the artificial concentration of the Jewish population in the Jewish Pale of Settlement'. The Jewish question, raised at the Eighth Congress in relation to university education, had gained prominence in liberal circles after the Kishinev pogrom of 1903. The resolution on behalf of Jews did not indicate a control of the proceedings by a clique of Jews, as the police reports claimed, but in the tradition of Pirogov, a general opposition to anti-Semitism". (Ibid., p. 252)

¹⁵⁰ Evgraph Diukov, "Meditsina i mediki. O neobhodimosti izmeneniia priniatoi sistemy obrazovaniia i vospitaniia medikov" (Medicine and Medical Staff. About the Necessity of Changing the Accepted System of Education and Training of Physicians), Khar'kov, 1911, pp. 155-156. On this book, see the chapter "Homeopathy and zemstvo medicine".

¹⁵¹ The name of Dr. Tsenovsky nevertheless appeared later twice in "Vestnik gomeopaticheskoi meditsiny". It was reported with reference to "Odesskie novosti" (Odessa News) of March 25, 1909 that Tsenovsky had proposed the Odessa Hahnemannian Soceity of the Followers of Homeopathy to publicly discuss homeopathy. At the meeting held on March, 30 the Board of the Society agreed with this proposal. After that Tsenovsky fell into silence and the planned disputation did not take place (Vestnik gomeopaticheskoi meditsiny, 1909, 12, pp. 375—376). In 1910, "Vestnik", with reference to "Zemshchina" (The Zemstvo) informed their readers that Tsenovsky was accused by a local court of tormenting the Persian Consul General Zaitchenko in the the capacity of a "progressive journalist" of the newspaper "Odessky listok" (Odessa Leaflet). Tsenovsky was sentenced to imprisonment for three months, and both the Judicial Chamber and the Senate approved this decision of the court (Vestnik gomeopaticheskoi meditsiny, 1910, 11, p. 342).

¹⁵² "Obshchestvo Russkih vrachei v pamiat' N. I. Pirogova. Trudy IX Pirogovskogo s'ezda. Pod red. P. Bulatova." (The Society of Russian Physicians in Memory of N. I. Pirogov. The Proceedings of the 9^th Meeting. Edited by P. Bulatov), St. Petersburg, 1905, v. 4, p. 270—271

¹⁵³ Ibid., p. 272

¹⁵⁴ Ibid., pp. 273—274

¹⁵⁵ Ibid., p. 274

¹⁵⁶ Ibid., p. 274-275

¹⁵⁷ Ibid., p. 276

¹⁵⁸ On Dr. Andrey Shingarev, see the section "The Nizhnedevitsk zemstvo experience" in the chapter "Homeopathy and zemstvo medicine".

¹⁵⁹ E. Euchwald "Dve lektsii o spetsificheskom sposobe lecheniia. Kritichesky obzor lekarstvennyh metodov vrachevaniia. Voskresnye lektsii, chitannye v 1888—89 gg. dlia vrachei i studentov v Klinicheskom Institute V. K. Eleny Pavlovny" (Two Lectures on the specific method of treatment. A Critical View of Medicinal Methods of Treatment. The Sunday Lectures Delivered in 1888—89 for Doctors and Students at the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna Clinical Institute", St. Petersburg, 1897, v. 1, p. 20 and pp. 33—34

¹⁶⁰ Dr. Hoyle had graduated from the Hahnemann Medical College of the Pacific (San Francisco) in 1860. Settled in Kittery, Maine, USA, later moved to London. He was the editor of the 1911 and 1931 International Homeopathic Directories. I thank Julian Winston of Tawa, New Zealand who kindly provided me with this information.

¹⁶¹ Marijke Gijswijt-Hofstra, "Conversions to homeopathy in the nineteenth century" in: M. Gijswijt-Hofstra, H. Marland, H. de Waarot (Eds.) "Illness and Healing Alternatives in Western Europe", London-New York, 1997, p. 161

¹⁶² Vestnik gomeopaticheskoi meditsiny meditsiny, 1904, 4, p. 103

¹⁶³ Roy James Squires, "Marginality, Stigma and Conversion in the Context of Medical Knowledge, Professional Practices and Occupational Interests. A Case Study of Professional Homeopathy in Nineteenth Century Britain and the United States" Ph.D. Thesis, University of Leeds, 1985, pp. 10—11

¹⁶⁴ Severnaia pchela, 1832, No 127—128 (no pages). The paper was signed "Vladimir Lugansky, a retired lieutenant of the navy and medical doctor", yet Dal' never tried to hide his authorship. The pseudonym "Lugansky" was also used by Dal' in 1830—40s in some ethnographical essays. "Severnaia pchela" (Northern Bee) — a political and literary (since 1838) newspaper, issued in 1825—64, then in 1869—1870. Since 1831 until 1864 it was issued as a daily newspaper.

¹⁶⁵ Syn Otechestva, 1833, v. 34, pp. 347—348, v. 35, pp. 28—33

¹⁶⁶ C. Bojanus, "Gomeopatiia...", see note 1, pp. 84—85

¹⁶⁷ Severnaia pchela, 1834, vols. 124—26

¹⁶⁸ Sovremennik, 1838, v. 12, pp. 43—72. "Sovremennik" — a quarterly, was founded by Alexander Pushkin and had been published in St. Petersburg in 1836—1846. During 1847—1866 it was edited by the poet Nicholas Nekrasov (1821—1878) as well as the writer and journalist Ivan Panaev (1812—1862) as a monthly.

¹⁶⁹ V. Dal' "O gomeopatii. Pis'mo k kniaziu Odoevskomy, St. Petersburg, 1838, 30 pp.

¹⁷⁰ Zhurnal St. Peterburgskogo Obshchestva vrachei-gomeopatov, 1873, 1, pp. 4—5

¹⁷¹ Ibid., p. 5

¹⁷² Vladimir von Ditmann, "Pochemu ia sdelalsia gomeopatom?", St. Petersburg, 1882, pp. 5—6

¹⁷³ Ibid., p. 10

¹⁷⁴ Ibid., pp. 15—16

¹⁷⁵ Ibid., p. 27

¹⁷⁶ C. Bojanus, "Gomeopatiia...", see note 1, pp. 74—75

¹⁷⁷ Ibid., p. 259

¹⁷⁸ "Otvet S.-Peterburgskogo Obshchestva vrachei-gomeopatov na otzyv professorov meditsinskogo fakulteta universiteta Sv. Vladimira o gomeopaticheskom lechenii s prilozheniem otdel'nykh vosrazhenii doktorov L. Brazolia, Solianskogo i E. Gabrilovicha", St. Petersburg, 1877, pp. 6—7. On this document see the chapter "Homeopathy and zemstvo medicine", where I translated this title.

¹⁷⁹ Ibid., p. 8

¹⁸⁰ Although those medicines had little to do both with electricity and with homeopathy, their inventor certainly deserves several lines of biography. Cesare Mattei (1809—1896) from a noble family of Bologna, to whom the title of Count was later bestowed by Pope Pius IX, invented his own theory of diseases and their treatment. According to Mattei, all diseases are rooted in blood and lymph, whilst main medicines needed to treat diseases, are divided into "anti-lymphatic" and "anti-angiotic". There were specific medicines: "Pettorale" (for catarrh and diseases of lungs), "febrifugo" (for all kinds of fevers) and "antivenereo" (for syphilis). Mattei's medicines were prepared as homeopathic grains. There were also five "electric" fluids different by their colors. Different combinations of these medicines and fluids represented the essence of Mattei's method of treatment. The composition of medicines was kept secret. Mattei gave to his medicines the name "electric" only for their "rapid" effect. Mattei's treatment spread in Europe in the second half of the 19^th century. By 1884, there were 79 distribution units in ten European countries. It goes without saying that homeopaths protested against the bitter profanation of homeopathy by Mattei's secret medicines. This brief report on Mattei is based mainly on the biographical sketch presented in the book by Robert Jütte, "Geschichte der Alternativen Medizin. Von der Volksmedizin zu den unkonventionellen Therapien von heute", Munich, 1996, pp. 229-233 and, partially, on R. Tischner, "Geschichte...", see note 1, p. 664

¹⁸¹ Vrach-gomeopat, 1897, 2, pp. 89—90

¹⁸² Richard Hael, "Samuel Hahnemann. His Life and Works. Based on Recently Discovered State Papers, Documents, Letters, etc.", London, 1922, p. 200

¹⁸³ Robert Jütte, "Wo alles anfing: Deutschland" in: M. Dinges (Ed.) "Weltgeschichte der Homöopathie. Länder. Schulen. Heilkundige", Munich, 1996, p. 20

¹⁸⁴ Ibid., pp. 25-26

¹⁸⁵ Dörte Staudt, "[...] den Blick der Laien auf das Ganze gerichtet [...]". Homöopathische Laienorganisationen am Ende des 19. und zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts" In: Martin Dinges (Ed.): Homöopathie. Patienten, Heilkundige. Institutionen. Von den Anfängen bis heute", Heidelberg, 1996, pp. 97-98

¹⁸⁶ Vrach, 1881, 10, p. 167 referring to All. Med. Centr.-Zeitung, 1881, p. 191

¹⁸⁷ Horst Heumann, "Das Verhältnis der Homöopathie zur Naturwissenschaftlichen Medizin in den letzten hundert Jahren im Spiegel der medizinischen Fachpresse", unpublished MD thesis, the Free University of Berlin, 1966, p. 31

¹⁸⁸ Ibid., p. 24

¹⁸⁹ R. Jütte, "Wo alles...", see note 183, pp. 52-53

¹⁹⁰ P. Nicholls, "Homeopathy...", see note 44, p. 111

¹⁹¹ Ibid., pp. 109-110

¹⁹² Ibid., p. 137

¹⁹³ Ibid.

¹⁹⁴ R. J. Squires, "Marginality...", see note 163, p. 391

¹⁹⁵ Ibid., pp. 392—93

¹⁹⁶ Ibid., p. 394

¹⁹⁷ Ibid., p. 395

¹⁹⁸ Ibid., p. 396

¹⁹⁹ P. Nicholls, "Homeopathy...", see note 44, pp. 138—143

²⁰⁰ Ibid., p. 120

²⁰¹ Peter Morrell, "A History of Homoeopathy in Britain" published at http://www.homeoint.org/morrell/articles/pm_brita.htm

²⁰² Peter Morrell, "Aristocratic social networks and homeopathy in Britain" published at http://www.homeoint.org/morrell/articles/pm_arist.htm

²⁰³ P. Nicholls, "Homeopathy...", see note 44, p. 127

²⁰⁴ "Thorsons...", see note 79, p. 245. George Weisz testifies: "A discussion (held in the French Academy of Medicine) of homeopathy in 1835 was extremely critical of this from of practice despite an almost total lack of data about its effectiveness" (G. Weisz, "The Medical Mandarins", New York-Oxford, 1995, p. 161).

²⁰⁵ Olivier B. Faure, "Eine zweite Heimat für Homöopathie". In: M. Dinges (Ed.): "Weltgeschichte...", see note 183, p. 58

²⁰⁶ "Thorsons...", see note 79, pp. 247—248

²⁰⁷ Ibid., p. 248. My Italics.

²⁰⁸ O. Faure, "Eine...", see note 205, p. 61

²⁰⁹ T. Bradford, "The Life...", see note 56, p. 165, referring to Homeopathic Examiner, 1840, vol. I, p. 20

²¹⁰ "Thorsons...", see note 79, p. 246

²¹¹ Vrach, 1886, 25, p.?, referring to "L'Union médicale" of June 17, 1886. The paper of Sarcey was translated and published in Gomeopatichesky vestnik, 1888, 1, pp. 59—63

²¹² Vrach, 1887, 35, p. 681 and Vrach, 1887, 37, p. 721

²¹³ Maurice Garden, "L'histoire de l'homéopathie en France" in: Oliver Faure (ed.) "Praticiens, Patients et Miltants de l'Homéopathie (1800—1940). Actes du Colloque, Lyon, Octobre 1990", Presses Universitaires de Lyon, 1992

²¹⁴ C. Rozenberg, "The Cholera Years: the United States in 1832, 1849 and 1866", Chicago, 1962, pp. 155-157

²¹⁵ Antony Campbell, "The Two Faces of Homoeopathy", London 1984, p. 85

²¹⁶ C. Rosenberg "The Cholera...", see note 214, p. 161

²¹⁷ Harris L. Coulter, "Divided Legacy. A History of the Schism in Medical Thought" Vol. 3, Berkeley 1973, pp. 101—102. In a table on pp. 109—110 H. Coulter demonstrates that homeopathy was mostly spread in the places where German emigrants usually settled.

²¹⁸ William G. Rothstein, "American Physicians in the Nineteenth Century Medicine. From sects to science", Baltimore and London 1972, pp. 159-160

²¹⁹ Ibid., p. 165

²²⁰ H. Coulter, "Divided...", see note 217, pp. 119—120

²²¹ W. Rothstein, "American...", see note 218. One allopathic doctor was expelled from the Connecticut local medical society for consulting with a homeopath — his wife. H. Coulter, "Divided...", see note 217, pp. 206—207, footnote: Medical News, 78 (1900), 7

²²² W. Rothstein, ibid., p. 170

²²³ H. Coulter, "Divided...", see note 217, p. 179

²²⁴ Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894), physician and moralist, father of the famous Supreme Court judge.

²²⁵ H. Coulter, "Divided...", see note 217, p. 206

^225_2 Ibid., pp. 158—159

²²⁶ Abraham Flexner (1866—1959) was the prinicipal author of 1910 Report of the Carnegie Endowment for the Advancement of Teaching. Coulter testifies: "Hailed at the time as the starting point of a great reform, and applauded intermittently ever since, the Flexner Report did mark a new era in condemning the separate system homoeopathic schools and thus helping ensure its subsequent decline... The Flexner Report instituted the so-called 'full-time' system, which made it difficult or impossible to combine teaching with practice. Since a professor of homeopathy would necessarily have to continue practice, if only not to lose his skills, and aside from the pleasure and the emotional reward, 'the full-time' system militated strongly against the homeopaths". Harris L. Coulter, "Divided Legacy. A of the Schism in Medical Thought" Vol. IV, Berkeley, 1994, p. 318—319, and "The findings of the Flexner Report and the ongoing evaluation of medical schools by the American Medical Association were soon accepted by state examining boards which decided to bar the examinations to graduates of school receiving a law rating 'regardless of the candidates' own knowledge or proficiency. The refusal of examining boards to admit the graduates of schools which the AMA held in disfavor was the death-knell for these schools, and in this way the AMA acquired a whip hand over the whole medical educational system, not only allopathic, but homoeopathic and Eclectic as well, a power which it had been seeking for decades. Furthermore, the private benefactors of medical education, in particular Rockefeller and Carnegie, followed these evaluations in their allocations of funds, encouraging the schools which had the AMA's approval and refusing funds to the others". Ibid., vol. III, 1973, p. 446. It is important to note here that the Report was coauthored by and considerably influenced by Nathan Colwell, chairman of the AMA's Council on Medical Education.

²²⁷ Daniel Cook and Alain Naudé, "The Ascendance and Decline of Homoeopathy in America: How great was its fall?", The Homoeopath, 1997, 64, p. 667

²²⁸ Ibid., p. 659

²²⁹ Ibid.

²³⁰ A. Campbell, "The Two..." see note 215, p. 89

²³¹ D. Cock and A. Naudé, "The Ascendance...", see note 227, p. 664

²³² A prominent Canadian doctor and scientist who was associated with John Hopkins University in 1889—1904 and then taught at Oxford from 1905 on.

²³³ Harris L. Coulter, "Divided Legacy. A History of the Schism in Medical Thought", vol. 4, Berkeley, 1994, p. 318

Copyright © Alexander Kotok 2001
Mise en page, illustrations Copyright © Sylvain Cazalet 2001