E Bakunina’s contribution to the development of nursing. Biography

Ekaterina Mikhailovna Bakunina(August 19 (31), 1810 or 1811, St. Petersburg - 1894, Kozitsino village, Novotorzhsky district, Tver province) - famous sister of mercy, heroine of two wars of the 19th century.

The great surgeon Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov, speaking about the undeniable contribution to world history of Russian sisters of mercy, rightly considered the most outstanding among them Ekaterina Bakunina, whose roots are closely connected with the Tver land.

Biography

Ekaterina Mikhailovna was born in 1810 into the family of a nobleman - Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakunin (1764-1847), the former governor of St. Petersburg and senator.

E. M. Bakunina was the cousin of the famous anarchist Mikhail Bakunin and the granddaughter of I. L. Golenishchev-Kutuzov.

E. M. Bakunina received an excellent, comprehensive education. In her memoirs, Bakunina writes that in her youth she was more of a “muslin young lady”: she studied music, dancing, drawing, loved sea swimming in the Crimea, and home balls, where she danced with pleasure. I had never listened to lectures on natural sciences before or gone to anatomical theaters.

Crimean War

On January 21, 1855, Bakunina, among the sisters of the Holy Cross community, began work at the theater of military operations in the barracks of besieged Sevastopol, where blood flowed like a river. Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov in his memoirs writes with admiration and respect not only about selflessness and rare hard work, but also about the courage and fearlessness of sister Catherine. Pirogov recalled: “Every day and night one could find her in the operating room, assisting in operations, while bombs and missiles were falling all around. She displayed a presence of mind hardly compatible with female nature.” The sisters were also inspired by the fact that the front-line authorities valued their help, equating it to a feat. Pirogov himself, as well as Vice Admiral P.S. Nakhimov and the generals who visited the hospitals, considered them irreplaceable assistants. “One cannot help but marvel at their diligence in caring for the sick and their truly stoic selflessness,” said many who saw their work. On behalf of Pirogov, Ekaterina Mikhailovna at the end of 1855 headed a new department of nurses for transporting the wounded to Perekop. Later she received an offer to lead the Holy Cross community. The great surgeon writes to her in a letter: “Don’t make excuses or object, modesty is inappropriate here... I guarantee you, you are now necessary for the community as an abbess. You know its meaning, sisters, the course of affairs, you have good intentions and energy... This is not the time to talk too much - act!” Bakunina remained in this post until 1860. She traveled to all military hospitals in Crimea and “became an example of patience and tireless work for all the sisters of the Community.”

“The community is not just a meeting of nurses,” Pirogov emphasized, “but a future means of moral control of the hospital administration.” Only sisters of the independent Holy Cross community were hired to serve as hospital servants, as well as to manage warehouses.

One of the brightest representatives of such “moral control” was Ekaterina Mikhailovna Bakunina.

The careers of sisters of mercy are determined by the opinions of the wounded, local community leaders, Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov and Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna about them. And with their power, the hospital officials could neither reward nor demote them. The officials could not even interest the sisters in “sharing”: their position was firm. This position was expressed by Ekaterina Mikhailovna. She said this about her main goal: “I had to resist with all my means and with all my skill the evil that various officials, suppliers, etc. inflicted on our sufferers in hospitals; and I considered and consider it my sacred duty to fight and resist this.”

That is why Nikolai Ivanovich instructed the sisters to distribute cash benefits. The honesty of Bakunina and other sisters was also appreciated by the wounded themselves. “Do you remember me, Katerina Mikhailovna? - sometimes a soldier passing by with a detachment would joyfully shout and wave his hand at her, “it’s me, Lukyan Chepchukh!” You had my seven rubles at the Nikolaevskaya battery, and you already sent them from Belbek to the Northern camp.”

Ekaterina Mikhailovna was the last of the sisters of mercy to leave Sevastopol, abandoned by the troops, across the floating bridge.

In 1856, the war was over, and the sisters returned to St. Petersburg, where the community continued its charitable activities.

Continuation of charitable activities

In the summer of 1860, Ekaterina Mikhailovna, with a “broken heart,” left the community and went to the village. In the village of Kozitsino, Novotorzhsky district, Tver province, far from the bustle of the capital, a new, no less bright stage of her life began in pursuit of her favorite and useful work - medicine.

There were few doctors in the province. The population of the county (about 136 thousand people) was served by a single doctor. Epidemics of plague, cholera, smallpox, and typhus claimed thousands of lives. In a specially built wooden building, Bakunina opened a hospital with eight beds, conducted receptions and provided medical care at her own expense, and she herself paid the doctor’s allowance. Thus, the first stone was laid in the foundation of zemstvo medicine in Novotorzhsky district.

At first, the peasants were wary of the master's idea. But soon the distrust disappeared, and by the end of the year the number of people who received assistance exceeded two thousand people, a year later it doubled, and continued to grow. I started taking Bakunin in the morning. During the day, she traveled around the sick in a peasant cart, bandaged them, and gave medicines, which she expertly prepared herself. She paid special attention to peasant children. She willingly accepted the duties of trustee of all zemstvo hospitals in the district, which were distinguished in the province in that they did not charge fees for medical care.

Until the end of her days, already in Kozitsin, Bakunina continued to defend the sick and powerless, remaining an example, an accusatory conscience for pragmatic people. The life of Ekaterina Mikhailovna is undoubtedly a shining example of public service. She happened to become one of the organizers of hospital business in Russia and medical care in the Tver province. Her merits were recognized by her contemporaries, and her name was included in pre-revolutionary reference publications. In 1877, Russia entered the Russo-Turkish War. Bakunina, as one of the most experienced organizers of hospital affairs, is in demand by the leadership of the Russian Red Cross Society. Despite her 65-year-old age, she travels to the Caucasus as the head of nurses in temporary hospitals. Its activities here were even more extensive than during the Crimean War. This time Ekaterina Mikhailovna spent more than a year at the front. Saying goodbye, doctors from five reformed hospitals presented her with a memorable address: “In all respects, you were worthy of the name of a Russian warrior. From beginning to end, you remained faithful to your program - to serve as an example to your younger friends in everything... We, doctors, for whom you were a trustworthy and experienced assistant, have and will forever retain a feeling of boundless gratitude to you. Your name will not be erased from the memory of the sick, to whom you completely sacrificed yourself.”

Ekaterina Mikhailovna died in 1894 in the village of Kozitsino, and was buried in the village of Pryamukhino (now Kuvshinovsky district) in the Tver province in the Bakunin family crypt.

Works. Memory

In 1893, a year before her death, Bakunina wrote the book “Memoirs of a Sister of Mercy of the Holy Cross Community,” in which we see her, energetic, fiery, with sparkling eyes and speeches, in simple peasant boots, cheerfully walking through impassable mud as she struggled with careless non-commissioned officers for their transport with the sick and wounded.

In 1881, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy came to Ekaterina Mikhailovna in Kozitsin. Remembering Sevastopol, he asked her: “Don’t you really have a desire to rest, to change the situation?” “No, and where can I go when people are waiting for me every day. Can I leave them? - she answered. These words, in our opinion, contain the quintessence, the main content and meaning of the nursing profession in our time. In her charitable activities, Bakunina put forward her motto: “In the name of God, everything is for people.” This is why the example of E. M. Bakunina is so important for our future graduates.

The name of Ekaterina Mikhailovna Bakunina is borne by the Society of Orthodox Doctors in Tver, the Regional Perinatal Center in Tver. In 2011, the Charitable Foundation named after. Ekaterina Bakunina.

Modern doctors need moral ideals. Tver Medical College (Tver Medical College) considers E.M. Bakunin is a role model. A scholarship was established for the best college students. Bakunina. Within the walls of the Tver Medical College there is an exhibition dedicated to the life and work of this amazing woman.

In Sevastopol, one of the streets on which secondary school No. 26 is located is named in honor of E.M. Bakunina, where there is a memorial corner about Ekaterina Mikhailovna.

Literature

The article was written by Ekaterina Smirnova (Tver Medical College) based on the books of the Tver writer and researcher of the Bakunin family - Vladimir Ivanovich Sysoev, who died suddenly on January 3, 2010. Before his death, V.I. Sysoev was finishing a book about E.M. Bakunina.

V. I. Sysoev“Bakunins” // Tver, ed. "Constellation", 2002.
Ekaterina Mikhailovna Bakunina“Notes” // Magazine “Bulletin of Europe” for 1898, No. 3 - 6.
Sinitsyn“Memoirs” // Magazine “Bulletin of Europe” for 1898, No. 7.
E. Bakunina. Memoirs of a sister of mercy of the Holy Cross community (1854-1860). The village of Kazitsyno, 1888-1889.

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Ekaterina Mikhailovna Bakunina

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Ekaterina Mikhailovna Bakunina(August 19 or 1811, St. Petersburg - December 6, village of Kazitsino, Tver province) - sister of mercy, heroine of two wars of the 19th century.

Crimean War

By the time the Crimean War began, Ekaterina Mikhailovna was a respectable society lady of forty years old. She was among the first volunteers to immediately go to the front. But getting there turned out to be difficult. Relatives did not even want to hear about her intentions. Written requests to the Grand Duchess's office for enrollment in the community remained unanswered. And yet, thanks to perseverance, Ekaterina Mikhailovna achieved her goal. She underwent initial medical training in the Holy Cross community. On January 21, 1855, Bakunina, among the sisters of the Holy Cross community, began work at the theater of military operations in the barracks of besieged Sevastopol, where blood flowed like a river. Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov in his memoirs writes with admiration and respect not only about selflessness and rare hard work, but also about the courage and fearlessness of sister Catherine. Pirogov recalled: “Every day, day and night, one could find her in the operating room, assisting during operations, while bombs and missiles were falling all around. She displayed a presence of mind hardly compatible with female nature.” The sisters were also inspired by the fact that the front-line authorities valued their help, equating it to a feat. Pirogov himself, as well as Vice Admiral P. S. Nakhimov, who visited the hospitals, and the generals considered them irreplaceable assistants. On behalf of Pirogov, Ekaterina Mikhailovna at the end of 1855 headed a new department of nurses for transporting the wounded to Perekop. Later she received an offer to lead the Holy Cross community. The great surgeon wrote to her in a letter: “Don’t make excuses or object, modesty is inappropriate here... I guarantee you, you are now necessary for the community as an abbess. You know its meaning, the sisters, the course of affairs, you have good intentions and energy... This is not the time to talk too much - act!” Bakunina remained in this post until 1860. She traveled to all military hospitals in Crimea and “became an example of patience and tireless work for all the sisters of the Community.”

“The community is not just a meeting of nurses,” Pirogov emphasized, “but a future means of moral control.” One of the brightest representatives of such “moral control” was Ekaterina Mikhailovna Bakunina.

The careers of the sisters of mercy are determined by the opinion of the wounded, local community leaders, Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov and Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna about them. And with their power, the hospital officials could neither reward nor demote them. The officials could not even interest the sisters in “sharing”: their position was firm. This position was expressed by Ekaterina Mikhailovna. She said this about her main goal: “I had to resist with all my means and with all my skill the evil that various officials, suppliers, etc. inflicted on our sufferers in hospitals; and I considered and consider it my sacred duty to fight and resist this.”

That is why Nikolai Ivanovich instructed the sisters to distribute cash benefits.

Ekaterina Mikhailovna was the last of the sisters of mercy to leave Sevastopol, abandoned by the troops, across the floating bridge.

In 1856, the war was over, and the sisters returned to St. Petersburg, where the community continued its charitable activities.

Continuation of charitable activities

There were few doctors in the province. The population of the county (about 136 thousand people) was served by a single doctor. Epidemics of plague, cholera, smallpox, and typhus claimed thousands of lives. In a specially built wooden building, Bakunina opened a hospital with eight beds, conducted receptions and provided medical care at her own expense, and paid the doctor’s maintenance herself. Thus, the first stone was laid in the foundation of zemstvo medicine in Novotorzhsky district.

Until the end of her days, already in Kozitsin, Bakunina continued to defend the sick and powerless, remaining an example, an accusatory conscience for pragmatic people. The life of Ekaterina Mikhailovna is undoubtedly a shining example of public service. She happened to become one of the organizers of hospital business in Russia and medical care in the Tver province. Her merits were recognized by her contemporaries, and her name was included in pre-revolutionary reference publications. In 1877, Russia entered the Russo-Turkish War. Bakunina, as one of the most experienced organizers of hospital business, is in demand by the leadership of the Russian Red Cross Society. Despite her 65-year-old age, she goes to the Caucasus as the head of nurses in temporary hospitals. Its activities here were even more extensive than during the Crimean War. This time Ekaterina Mikhailovna spent more than a year at the front. Saying goodbye, doctors from five reformed hospitals presented her with a memorable address: “In all respects, you were worthy of the name of a Russian warrior.

Ekaterina Mikhailovna died in 1894 in the village of Kozitsino and was buried in the village of Pryamukhino, Tver province, in the Bakunin family crypt.

Works

Bakunina E. M. Notes // Bulletin of Europe. - 1898. - No. 3-6.
Bakunina E. Memoirs of a sister of mercy of the Holy Cross community (1854-1860). - Kazitsyno, 1888-1889.

Memory

The Society of Orthodox Doctors (Tver), Tver Regional Clinical Perinatal Center is named after Ekaterina Mikhailovna Bakunina. In 2011, the Charitable Foundation named after. Ekaterina Bakunina.

Modern doctors need moral ideals. Tver Medical College considers E. M. Bakunina a role model. A scholarship was established for the best college students. Bakunina.

In Sevastopol, one of the streets is named in honor of E. M. Bakunina, on which secondary school No. 26 is located, where there is a memorial corner about Ekaterina Mikhailovna.

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Notes

Literature

Sysoev V. I. Bakunin. - Tver: Constellation, 2002.
Sysoev V. I. Sister of Mercy Ekaterina Bakunina. - Tver; SPb. : Charitable Foundation “In Name of the Sister of Mercy Ekaterina Bakunina”: Public Association “Golden Book of St. Petersburg”, 2012. - 373 p. - (Library of the Golden Book of St. Petersburg). - ISBN 978-5-87049-787-7
Sinitsyn. Memories of doctor Sinitsyn about Ekaterina Mikhailovna Bakunina // Bulletin of Europe. - 1898. - No. 7.

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An excerpt characterizing Bakunin, Ekaterina Mikhailovna

(It’s true that there are various wonderful legends about the Key of the Gods. In what languages have they not tried to paint the largest emeralds for centuries!.. In Arabic, Jewish, Hindu and even Latin... But for some reason no one wants to understand that this will not make the stones magical, no matter how much someone wants it... The proposed photographs show: the Iranian pseudo Mani, and the Great Mogul, and the Catholic “talisman” of God, and the Emerald “tablet” of Hermes (Emeral tablet) and even the famous Indian Cave of Apollo from Tiana, which, according to the Hindus themselves, was once visited by Jesus Christ. (You can read more about this in the book “The Holy Country of Daaria”, which is currently being written. Part 1. What did the Gods know?))
“It just worked, apparently, someone’s ancestral memory once worked, and the person remembered that there was once something unspeakably great, given by the Gods.” But I can’t understand WHAT... So the “seekers” have been walking around for centuries, unknown why, and circling in circles. It’s as if someone had punished him: “go there - I don’t know where, bring that - I don’t know what”... They only know that there is great hidden power in him, unprecedented knowledge. The smart ones are chasing knowledge, but the “dark ones”, as always, are trying to find it in order to rule the rest... I think this is the most mysterious and most (to each in their own way) desired relic that has ever existed on Earth. Now everything will depend only on you, my dear. If I'm gone, don't lose him for anything! Promise me this, Maria...
Magdalene nodded again. She understood that this was the sacrifice that Radomir asked of her. And she promised him... She promised to keep the amazing Key of the Gods at the cost of her own life... and the lives of her children, if necessary.
Radomir carefully placed the green miracle into her palm - the crystal was alive and warm...
The night passed too quickly. It was already dawn in the east... Magdalena took a deep breath. She knew that soon they would come for him to hand Radomir into the hands of jealous and deceitful judges... who hated this, as they called, “foreign envoy” with all their callous souls...
Curled into a ball between Radomir’s strong arms, Magdalena was silent. She just wanted to feel his warmth... as much as possible... It seemed that life was leaving her drop by drop, turning her broken heart into cold stone. She could not breathe without him... This, such a dear person!.. He was her half, part of her being, without whom life was impossible. She didn’t know how she would exist without him?.. She didn’t know how she could be so strong?.. But Radomir believed in her, trusted her. He left her with a DEBT that did not allow her to give up. And she honestly tried to survive...
Despite all her superhuman composure, Magdalena hardly remembered what happened next...

She knelt right under the cross and looked into Radomir’s eyes until the very last moment... Before his pure and strong soul left his already unnecessary, dead body. A hot drop of blood fell on Magdalena’s mournful face, and merging with a tear, rolled to the ground. Then the second one fell... So she stood, motionless, frozen in the deepest grief... mourning her pain with bloody tears...
Suddenly, a wild, more terrible cry than an animal scream shook the surrounding space... The scream was piercing and drawn-out. It chilled my soul, squeezing my heart with an icy vice. It was Magdalene who screamed...
The earth answered her, shuddering with its entire old mighty body.
Then darkness came...
People ran away in horror, not making out the road, not understanding where their unruly feet were taking them. As if blind, they bumped into each other, darting in different directions, and again they stumbled and fell, not paying attention to their surroundings... Screams rang out everywhere. Crying and confusion engulfed Bald Mountain and the people watching the execution there, as if only now they were allowed to see clearly - to truly see what they had done...
Magdalena stood up. And again a wild, inhuman scream pierced the tired Earth. Drowning in the roar of thunder, the cry snaked around like evil lightning, frightening frozen souls... Having freed the Ancient Magic, Magdalene called on the old Gods for help... She called on the Great Ancestors.
The wind ruffled her wondrous golden hair in the darkness, surrounding her fragile body with a halo of Light. Terrible bloody tears, still flowing on her pale cheeks, made her completely unrecognizable... Something like a formidable Priestess...
Magdalene called... Wringing her hands behind her head, she called her Gods again and again. She called the Fathers who had just lost their wonderful Son... She couldn’t give up so easily... She wanted to bring Radomir back at any cost. Even if you are not destined to communicate with him. She wanted him to live... no matter what.

But the night passed and nothing changed. His essence spoke to her, but she stood there, deadened, hearing nothing, only endlessly calling on the Fathers... She still did not give up.
Finally, when it was getting light outside, a bright golden glow suddenly appeared in the room - as if a thousand suns were shining in it at the same time! And in this glow, a tall, taller than usual, human figure appeared at the very entrance... Magdalena immediately realized that it was the one whom she had so fiercely and persistently called on all night...
“Get up, Joyful One!” the newcomer said in a deep voice. – This is no longer your world. You lived out your life in it. I'll show you your new path. Get up, Radomir!..
“Thank you, Father...” Magdalena, who stood next to him, quietly whispered. - Thank you for listening to me!
The elder peered long and carefully at the fragile woman standing in front of him. Then he suddenly smiled brightly and said very affectionately:
- It’s hard for you, sad one!.. It’s scary... Forgive me, daughter, I’ll take your Radomir. It is not his destiny to be here anymore. His fate will be different now. You yourself wished for it...
Magdalena just nodded at him, showing that she understood. She could not speak, her strength was almost leaving her. It was necessary to somehow withstand these last, most difficult moments for her... And then she would still have enough time to grieve for what was lost. The main thing was that HE lived. And everything else was not so important.
A surprised exclamation was heard - Radomir stood, looking around, not understanding what was happening. He did not yet know that he already had a different destiny, NOT EARTHLY... And he did not understand why he still lived, although he definitely remembered that the executioners had done their job superbly...

“Farewell, my Joy...” Magdalena whispered quietly. - Farewell, my dear. I will fulfill your will. Just live... And I will always be with you.
The golden light flashed brightly again, but now for some reason it was already outside. Following him, Radomir slowly walked out the door...
Everything around was so familiar!.. But even feeling absolutely alive again, Radomir for some reason knew that this was no longer his world... And only one thing in this old world still remained real for him - it was his wife. .. His beloved Magdalene....
“I’ll come back to you... I’ll definitely come back to you...” Radomir whispered to himself very quietly. A whiteman hung over his head with a huge “umbrella”...
Bathed in the rays of golden radiance, Radomir slowly but confidently moved after the sparkling Old Man. Just before leaving, he suddenly turned around to see her for the last time... To take her amazing image with him. Magdalena felt a dizzying warmth. It seemed that in this last look Radomir was sending her all the love accumulated over their many years!.. Sent it to her so that she would also remember him.
She closed her eyes, wanting to endure... Wanting to appear calm to him. And when I opened it, it was all over...
Radomir left...
The earth lost him, turning out to be unworthy of him.
He stepped into his new, still unfamiliar life, leaving Maria Debt and children... Leaving her soul wounded and lonely, but still just as loving and just as resilient.
Taking a deep breath, Magdalena stood up. She simply didn’t have time to grieve yet. She knew that the Knights of the Temple would soon come for Radomir to betray his deceased body to the Holy Fire, thereby escorting his pure Soul to Eternity.

The first, of course, to appear was John... His face was calm and joyful. But Magdalena read sincere sympathy in her deep gray eyes.
– I am very grateful to you, Maria... I know how hard it was for you to let him go. Forgive us all, honey...
“No... you don’t know, Father... And no one knows this...” Magdalena quietly whispered, choking on tears. – But thank you for your participation... Please tell Mother Mary that HE is gone... That HE is alive... I will come to her as soon as the pain subsides a little. Tell everyone that HE LIVES...
Magdalena couldn't stand it anymore. She no longer had human strength. Falling straight to the ground, she burst into tears loudly, like a child...
I looked at Anna - she stood petrified. And tears ran down the stern young face in rivulets.
– How could they allow this to happen?! Why didn't they all work together to convince him? This is so wrong, mom!.. – Anna exclaimed, looking at Sever and me indignantly.
She still, like a child, uncompromisingly demanded answers to everything. Although, to be honest, I also believed that they should have prevented the death of Radomir... His friends... The Knights of the Temple... Magdalene. But how could we judge from afar what was right for everyone then?.. I just really wanted to see HIM as a human being! Just as I wanted to see Magdalene alive...
This is probably why I never liked to dive into the past. Since the past could not be changed (at least, I could not do this), and no one could be warned about the impending trouble or danger. The past was just the PAST, when everything good or bad had already happened to someone long ago, and all I could do was observe someone’s good or bad life.

Speaking about the undeniable contribution to world history of Russian sisters of mercy, Ekaterina Bakunina, whose roots are closely connected with the Tver land, was rightly considered among the most outstanding among them.

Biography

Ekaterina Mikhailovna was born in 1810 into the family of a nobleman - Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakunin (1764-1847), the former governor of St. Petersburg and senator.

E. M. Bakunina was the cousin of the famous anarchist Mikhail Bakunin and the granddaughter of I. L. Golenishchev-Kutuzov.

Crimean War

On January 21, 1855, Bakunina, among the sisters of the Holy Cross community, began work at the theater of military operations in the barracks of besieged Sevastopol, where blood flowed like a river. Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov in his memoirs writes with admiration and respect not only about selflessness, rare hard work, but also about courage and the fearlessness of Sister Catherine. Pirogov recalled: “Every day and night one could find her in the operating room, assisting in operations, while bombs and missiles were falling all around. She displayed a presence of mind hardly compatible with female nature.” The sisters were also inspired by the fact that the front-line authorities valued their help, equating it to a feat. Pirogov himself, as well as Vice Admiral P.S. Nakhimov and the generals who visited the hospitals, considered them irreplaceable assistants. “One cannot help but marvel at their diligence in caring for the sick and their truly stoic selflessness,” said many who saw their work. On behalf of Pirogov, Ekaterina Mikhailovna at the end of 1855 headed a new department of nurses for transporting the wounded to Perekop. Later she received an offer to lead the Holy Cross community. The great surgeon writes to her in a letter: “Don’t make excuses or object, modesty is inappropriate here... I guarantee you, you are now necessary for the community as an abbess. You know its meaning, sisters, the course of affairs, you have good intentions and energy... This is not the time to talk too much - act!” Bakunina remained in this post until 1860. She traveled to all military hospitals in Crimea and “became an example of patience and tireless work for all the sisters of the Community.”

One of the brightest representatives of such “moral control” was Ekaterina Mikhailovna Bakunina.

My father is the Governor-General of St. Petersburg, my mother is the niece of M.I. Kutuzova. I received an excellent, comprehensive education. From the beginning of the Crimean War, having learned about the organization of the Exaltation of the Cross community and overcoming the enormous resistance of relatives and friends, I achieved enrollment in the detachment and was sent to Sevastopol. I became N.I.’s permanent assistant. Pirogov during operations: she cared for the wounded and sick during their transportation from Sevastopol. After the Crimean War, I became the abbess of the Holy Cross community. In 1860, she abandoned her post and went to the family estate in the Tver province, where she set up a hospital for sick peasants and a pharmacy with free distribution of medicines. As a simple nurse, she nursed all those in need of care and mercy. She was awarded two medals.

Ekaterina Mikhailovna Bakunina. about this time she left amazing “Memoirs of a sister of mercy of the Holy Cross

communities, 1854-1860”, in which she spoke not only about her life path and her experiences, but also shared her experience of organizing assistance to the sick and wounded.

“So, my heart’s desire will come true, almost from childhood: I will be a Sister of Mercy!”- this is how her notes begin.

Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov, speaking about the undeniable contribution to world history of Russian sisters of mercy, rightly considered Ekaterina Bakunina to be the most outstanding among them.

Pirogov, in his memoirs, writes with admiration and respect not only about rare hard work, but also calm courage sisters Catherine : “Every day, day and night, you could find her in the operating room, assisting in operations, while bombs and missiles... were falling all around. She discovered with her accomplices a presence of mind scarcely compatible with female nature.”

Ekaterina Mikhailovna left only good memories of her compatriots, doctors, and wounded...

In total, 160 sisters worked at the theater of war, one of whom was Ekaterina Khitrovo.

Ekaterina Alexandrovna Khitrovo came from a noble family. She received a good education at home, skills in raising and caring for children. At the age of 46 she entered service in the Odessa almshouse

Ekaterina Alexandrovna Khitrovo

compassionate sisters, organized in 1850. Her duties are to be on duty at the patient's bedside every other day. Khitrovo writes: “I feel good in my new works... The bad smell affects only the sense of smell; and in the soul at this time there is paradise at the thought of the relief that through this you bring to the suffering. And to her, when she sees that you are doing this with love, what a sweet feeling of consolation! "During the Crimean War, Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna entrusts E.A. Khitrovo trains nurses to work in military hospitals. In 1855, she went to Crimea to “audit” the work of the sisters of mercy, where she remained to serve together with other sisters of the Holy Cross community.

In addition to the sisters of mercy of the Holy Cross community, the wives, sisters and daughters of Sevastopol residents provided assistance to the wounded.

Dasha Sevastopolskaya

(Daria Lavrentievna Mikhailovna)

I, left an orphan, earned money by washing clothes. When our troopshaving lost the battle on September 8, they were returning after a long andstubborn battle back to Sevastopol, exhausted, exhausted physically and morally, with many wounded and mutilated, bleeding, I followed the troops with my cart, turned into a sister of mercy and began to help the sufferers. Fortunately, I found in my cart both vinegar and some rags, which I used to bandage wounds... Teams passing by me with the wounded came to me as a dressing station for help. Thus, my cart was the first dressing station, and I myself became a sister of mercy. Such a humane act of a simple girl the next day spread throughout Sevastopol. Nikolay I awarded me a gold medal on the Vladimir ribbon with the inscription “For zeal” and 500 rubles in silver. After the Crimean War, she married private Maxim Vasilyevich Khvorostov. She lived a long, modest life without reminding herself of herself.

After the end of the Crimean campaign, the Exaltation of the Cross community was preserved and in peacetime the sisters continued their work in hospitals. Following her example, new communities of sisters of mercy appeared in Odessa, Kharkov, Tbilisi and many other cities.

Activities of N.I. Pirogov and the sisters of the Holy Cross community led by him made a huge impression on the Swiss Henri Dunant.

In 1859, a Swiss Henry Dunant, an ordinary merchant, who traveled a lot, made a trip to Italy. At that time there was a war going on there: the united Franco-Italian army opposed the Austrians. The traveler witnessed a horrific massacre - 40 thousand wounded dying in agony in the middle of the battlefield, with almost no medical care. This made such an impression on Dunant that he gave up trading and decided to devote his life to suffering humanity.

In 1862 Henry Dunant, under the influence of the activities of the sisters of the Exaltation of the Cross community that amazed him, as well as the example of Florence Nightingale and her squad of English sisters of mercy during the Crimean War, he published “Memoirs of Solferino” and made the final decision to create an international organization to help victims of the war. Private and voluntary assistance to war victims, without distinction of their ranks or nationality.

This is how an organization arose, for which an identification mark was installed in Dunant’s honor, similar to the flag of his homeland. The national flag of Switzerland is a white cross on a red zero. The emblem of the society for helping the wounded was a red cross on a white cloth. And the society itself began to be called

International Red Cross.

At the suggestion of the Red Cross, various states concluded the Geneva Convention among themselves, prohibiting the use of weapons against the wounded. In accordance with the terms of the Convention, sick and wounded soldiers must receive care without regard to which camp they belong to, and medical personnel, their equipment and institutions must enjoy the right of immunity. They are designated by a distinctive emblem - a red cross on a white background, and for countries with the Muslim religion - a red crescent on a white background.

Russia joined the Geneva Convention in 1867, at the same time, on the basis of the Holy Cross community, a society for the care of wounded and sick soldiers was created. This society in 1876 was renamed the Russian Red Cross Society (ROSC), the main task of which was charitable activities and the training of nurses. But if during the war the training of sisters of mercy was carried out on the basis of short-term medical courses, then in the peace period the training of sisters of mercy was based on the form of training developed by the Holy Cross community.

By 1892, there were already 109 communities of nurses who worked in military hospitals, city hospitals and Red Cross hospitals, they were sent to work in areas affected by epidemics and natural disasters.

In addition to the Red Cross communities, training of sisters of mercy was carried out at monasteries and at courses at hospitals.

The profession of nurses was respected in society and required special spiritual qualities, philanthropy and even self-denial.

On April 12, 1877, Russia declared war on Turkey. The Russian-Turkish war lasted ten months and ended with a peace treaty.

During the Russian-Turkish War, at the request of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, Ekaterina Bakunina led a detachment of sisters going to the Caucasus. This heroic woman (then already 65 years old) had to manage all military hospitals - from Tiflis to Alexandropol. As a simple nurse, she nursed not only the wounded, but also nurses who became victims of rampant typhus.

Correspondent Maksimov wrote “The entire hospital is spread out on a plowed field: and therefore the mud is impenetrable and so sticky that after a few steps you feel as if you are carrying terrible shackles; and at the slightest rain it is so slippery that you move with constant fear. In winter, tents are pitched on all sides The sisters are very cold, they are still living in yurts - the leaky walls of the yurts allow all four winds to move freely, rain and snow constantly creep in as unexpected guests, and in the afternoon or after the fire the mud and slush are so cold. that you need to warm up your frozen boots before putting them on. If there was a blizzard at night, then they shovel the dress out from under the snow and immediately put it on. One of the sisters slightly froze her feet. in the yurt, like ice icicles... frozen boots, warmed up on a brazier, excites laughter. Those who are seriously ill... no, but the old woman (the famous Kartseva E.P., who was the elder sister of mercy back in the Crimean War.) suffers for now. war heroically."

The heroine of the Russian-Turkish war was the sister of mercy Yulia Vrevskaya. Baroness, the daughter of a general, she considered “self-sacrifice for the good of others” her duty.

A young, beautiful, educated woman belonging to the highest aristocratic circles of St. Petersburg, a court lady of the Empress, the daughter of a general, Baroness Yulia Petrovna Vrevskaya was distinguished by very freedom-loving views; she was little satisfied with communication with courtiers, balls, and entertainment.

Yulia Petrovna Vrevskaya:

“I’ll sell everything I have,”

I’ll buy a horse and go after the army...”

“I was friends with I.S. Turgenev, living in Paris, met with V. Hugo, was close to the poet Ya. Polonsky, artist I. Aivazovsky. The thirst for active and useful work led me to the decision to go as a nurse to the war for the liberation of Bulgaria.”

Yulia Vrevskaya

In 1877, with the beginning of the Russian-Turkish War, Yulia decides to go to the Active Army. With the money raised from the sale of the Oryol estate, he equips a sanitary detachment. Yulia Petrovna herself becomes an ordinary sister of mercy, from June 19, 1877 in the 45th military temporary evacuation hospital in Iasi (Romania), and from November 20, 1877 in the 48th military temporary evacuation hospital near the city of Byala in Bulgaria, she performs the most hard and dirty work. “For 400 people, there are 5 of us sisters. The wounds are all very serious... I’ve been in the hospital all day. The war up close is terrible, so much grief, so many widows and orphans.” , - she writes to her homeland. In December, Vrevskaya works at a front-line dressing station in the village of Obretenik. Sologub V.A. wrote: “All my life I have never met such a captivating woman. Captivating not only for her appearance, but also for her femininity, grace, endless friendliness and endless kindness... This woman never said anything bad about anyone and did not allow anyone to slander her, but on the contrary , always tried to bring out his good sides in everyone.”

Yulia Vrevskaya wrote her last letter to her sister Natalya on January 12, 1878. On January 17, she fell ill with a severe form of typhus. She died on February 5, 1878. She was buried in the dress of a sister of mercy near the Orthodox church in Byala.

In tribute to memory

Ya. Polonsky dedicated his poems to Yulia Petrovna Vrevskaya - “Under the Red Cross”

V. Hugo - “The Russian rose that died on Bulgarian soil.”

I. Turgenev responded to her death with one of his most remarkable prose poems - “In Memory of Yu. Vrevskaya.”

In the city of Bella there is a military history museum on Vrevskaya Street. It contains a large portrait of a beautiful young woman. Next to it is an eloquent note: “The Russian rose was plucked on Bulgarian soil by typhus. Russian woman, Baroness Vrevskaya. She surpassed all women in the world with self-sacrifice for the benefit of others” and signed by Victor Hugo.

Video commissioned by the Red Cross Society

prose poem by I. Turgenev:

“On the mud, on the stinking damp straw, under the canopy of a dilapidated barn, hastily turned into a camp military hospital in a devastated Bulgarian village - she died of typhus for more than two weeks.

She was unconscious - and not a single doctor even looked at her; the sick soldiers, whom she nursed while she could still stand, rose one by one from their infected lairs to bring to her parched lips a few drops of water in the shard of a broken pot.

She was young, beautiful; high society knew her; Even dignitaries inquired about it. Ladies envied her, men followed her... two or three people secretly and deeply loved her. Life smiled on her; but there are smiles worse than tears.

A tender, meek heart... and such strength, such a thirst for sacrifice! Helping those in need... She didn't know any other happiness... she didn't know - and didn't know. All other happiness passed by. But she had long since come to terms with this, and all, burning with the fire of unquenchable faith, she devoted herself to serving her neighbors.

No one ever knew what treasures she buried there, in the depths of her soul, in her very hiding place - and now, of course, no one will know.

And why? The sacrifice has been made... the deed is done.

But it’s sad to think that no one said thank you even to her corpse - even though she herself was ashamed and shunned all thanks.

Let not her sweet shadow be offended by this late flower, which I dare to lay on her grave!”

Sisters of mercy worked in hospitals during the Russian-Japanese (1904-1905), World War I (1914-1918) wars.

Quite little is known about the activities of the sisters of mercy during this period, since most of the events of the previous wars were described some time after their end - there was no time allotted for memories and detailed reports about the sisters during this war due to the outbreak of the revolution. The information that has reached us is very incomplete and not very informative.

At the beginning of our century, the leadership of charitable institutions was headed by Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna.

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin is a singer of love and freedom, a man who went down in history as the greatest. Judging by the stories of those around him, the genius could be seen in completely different roles. He became famous among his contemporaries as a reveler, a gambler, a duelist... But the most important thing that is attributed to Pushkin is, of course, winning women's hearts.

How sweet she is...

It must be said that his homely appearance did not in the least prevent him from captivating beautiful ladies. Pushkin's lyceum comrades, for example, S. Komovsky, say in their memoirs that even as a teenager, Alexander was characterized by truly African voluptuousness and incredible love of women. They say that at lyceum balls during dances, his gaze literally glowed from just one touch of the girl’s fingers, the poet began to tremble and breathe intermittently. It is quite difficult to say today how many women Pushkin had. His Don Juan list is quite large - so much so that biographers sometimes found it very difficult to decide. But only a few were able to leave a mark on the life and work of the poet. And one of them was Ekaterina Pavlovna Bakunina, the elder sister of his lyceum friend. It was she who inspired him to write a whole series of poems. So what was Pushkin's first love really like? In this article we will talk about Bakunina, her acquaintance with the great poet, and how her fate turned out.

Brief biography

Ekaterina Pavlovna Bakunina was born on February 20, 1795. She was the daughter of an actual chamberlain. For a long time, her father Pavel Petrovich was the manager of the Academy of Sciences. Her mother, Ekaterina Aleksandrovna Sablukova, was from a noble family, descending from Polish nobles. On her father’s side, Ekaterina Pavlovna Bakunina was the cousin-niece of the famous diplomat D.P. Tatishchev, and on her mother’s side, she was the granddaughter of a senator.

The girl received an excellent education at home. Beginning in 1798, she and her parents lived abroad: first in Germany, then in Switzerland, and then in England. In 1804, due to a lack of funds, the Bakunin family returned to Russia. In December 1805, her father Pavel Petrovich died. After the death of her father, the girl and brothers Alexander and Semyon were raised together with their mother by their grandfather A. Sablukov. It was he who was appointed the official guardian of the children. The Bakunins lived in a rented apartment on the Neva embankment, in Tairov’s house.

Meeting Pushkin

They would hardly have met if in 1811 her brother Alexander Bakunin’s grandfather had not been assigned to the recently opened Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. As you know, Pushkin also studied here. Ekaterina Pavlovna Bakunina and her mother visited her brother quite often, and in the summer their family lived permanently in Tsarskoe Selo. In the surviving Gazette of the Lyceum, their visits were noted: in 1811, Catherine came to her brother four times, in 1814 - thirty-one, in 1815 - seventeen, etc.

The sixteen-year-old girl immediately became the object of attention from many lyceum students. Among them were Pushchin, Pushkin, Ivan Malinovsky. Her lovely face, marvelous figure, her charm created universal delight. The lyceum youth, as S. Komovsky recalled, were crazy about her. But most of all, she came to the heart of the young poet. Her acquaintance with Pushkin occurred at a lyceum ball. She, according to contemporaries, awakened the poet’s first true platonic love. It was thanks to this feeling that a completely different Pushkin appeared - the singer of love. The poet, with fiery delight, depicted her beauty in living colors in one of his works. He dedicated his poem “To the Painter” to Ekaterina Bakunina. Her name was included in the poet's "Don Juan list".

Life at court

In October 1817, Ekaterina Pavlovna Bakunina, having become the empress's maid of honor, moved to live at the royal court. There were various rumors in society about her appointment. Many perceived Bakunin ambiguously. In a letter to his mother, N. Muravyov wrote to his mother that he was incredibly surprised by this appointment. was surprised that she was promoted to maid of honor, and found this circumstance very strange.

Gradually, Ekaterina Bakunina became comfortable at court and soon became one of the empress’s favorites. In 1818, she accompanied the royal person on a trip to Darmstadt, Weimar, Munich and Karlsruhe. Judging by the testimony of contemporaries, the beautiful maid of honor Bakunina was distinguished by special grace while dancing at court balls. This was noted by everyone who has ever seen her.

It must be said that many lyceum students were also fond of Katenka, as they called her. In particular, Zhannot, Pushkin’s closest friend, Pushchin, fell in love with her. The same Komovsky, who later so naturalistically described Pushkin’s ardor towards Ekaterina Bakunina, secretly “breathed unevenly towards her.” However, it was he who wrote in a letter to Annenkov about the first feeling of the famous poet. Moreover, he spoke with a great sense of humor about how he was looking for traces left by “her beautiful foot” in the Tsarskoye Selo forests and groves.

Distance

Everyone at the Lyceum knew that Pushkin was passionately in love with Bakunina. The poet languished with this feeling all winter. It did not leave him in the spring and summer of 1816. It is difficult to say whether Ekaterina Pavlovna Bakunina reciprocated the poet’s feelings. Pushkin's poems during this period, in particular his elegies, are full of deep melancholy. Therefore, biographers are unable to draw any definite conclusions about their relationship. The feelings that existed between Pushkin and his beloved girl are hidden behind an elegiac stencil that obscures reality. Moreover, it is quite possible to conclude that this youthful romance was just a couple of fleeting meetings in the park, at a ball or on the porch of the lyceum.

In the fall, the Bakunin family moved to St. Petersburg. Pushkin, judging by the poems he wrote at that time, remained completely inconsolable for a long time. However, youth took its toll, especially since every day brought new impressions into his life. Soon his first literary successes began, and after a public reading in the presence of the already aging Derzhavin, real triumph came. Gradually, the poet’s heart wound healed...

Novels

Of course, Katenka Bakunina could not reciprocate any of the lyceum students who were in love with her. Each of them was seventeen, while she was twenty-one. Moreover, Bakunina’s younger brother was the same age as the poet in love, and such a situation was extremely disadvantageous for the ardent admirer. The girl looked at the seventeen-year-old boy as if he were a child.

In general, according to contemporaries, Catherine was a rather strict and serious girl, to whom playful coquetry was absolutely alien. It must be said that the biographers were not able to collect much information about her personal life. Nevertheless, during her life at court, Bakunina had serious affairs. One of his contemporaries recalled this. He wrote that “Ekaterina Bakunina’s adventure” is incredibly romantic! Ekaterina Pavlovna, according to him, is charming and quite worthy of a good party.

She took painting lessons from A.P. Bryullov, a court artist. It was even rumored that they had a short affair. Being a very talented artist, Bakunina did a lot of copying in her favorite genre - portraiture. She herself was depicted by many fairly well-known artists. Kiprensky, Sokolov and A. Bryullov - this is not the entire list of portrait painters who were admired by her beauty. Works written by Bakunina herself were kept in their family, passed down from generation to generation. Many of them later ended up in museum collections.

Marriage

However, Bakunina walked down the aisle already at a fairly mature age. In March 1834, Natalya Pushkina wrote to her daughter about this. She said that Mademoiselle Bakunina would soon marry Madame Kern's cousin. Alexander Poltoratsky was a middle-aged widower with no children and a large fortune. They said that he had been in love with his bride for two years. There was a lot of talk at court about the upcoming wedding of retired captain Bakunina. Sheremetyeva's maid of honor said that the bride was incredibly happy and was even crying with great joy. The wedding took place in St. Petersburg on April thirtieth, 1834. Empress Alexandra Feodorovna herself blessed this marriage. Soon Ekaterina Pavlovna Poltoratskaya, together with her husband and mother, left the capital.

Married life

The newlyweds settled on their husband's estate in Rasskazovo. As her friend Baron M. Korf later recalled, Catherine buried herself in a village in the Tambov district. And although her marriage deprived her of a fairly large salary as a maid of honor - 3,900 rubles in banknotes, Bakunina, according to her relatives, did not need anything and was happy. In 1837, A. Poltoratsky was elected leader of the nobility in the Tambov district, and very soon Ekaterina Pavlovna began to act as the hostess of balls and evenings in the Assembly of the Nobility.

Old age

Her mother died in 1846, and her husband died in March 1855. Poltoratsky was buried in the Novodevichy Convent in St. Petersburg. In 1859, Ekaterina Pavlovna moved to live with her married daughter in Kostroma, and for the summer she went to Zatishye, the Bakunin family estate. And only occasionally she visited Rasskazovo. Pushkin's first love died on December 7, 1869. She was buried in St. Petersburg, in a monastery next to her husband.

Afterword about poetry

Even the cynic Komovsky admitted that Pushkin’s first platonic love was Katenka Bakunina. The poet's biographers admit that he dedicated a huge cycle of his poems to her. There is an opinion that no other woman, either before or after her, managed to inspire a genius to create so many works from which an entire collection could be created. Of course, they were not as perfect as subsequent masterpieces; traces of imitation can be seen in them. However, in these poems one can invisibly feel that real feeling of first love that Pushkin carried through life. In 1815, the poet in love deeply depicted the beauty of a girl in the poem “To the Painter,” the words of which were later set to music by lyceum student Korsakov. According to most researchers of Pushkin’s work, the poet wrote about two dozen lyrical works under the impression of his love for Bakunina. Moreover, her image was repeatedly visible in his poems until 1825.

Many years later, Ekaterina Bakunina and Pushkin met again. It was in 1828 in Priyutino at the birthday party of Ekaterina Markovna Olenina. But, according to biographers, at that time the poet was too absorbed in his affair with the birthday girl’s daughter Anna to remember his first lyceum love...