Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin

The Botkin family is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable Russian families, which gave the country, and the world, many outstanding people in a wide variety of fields. Some of its representatives remained industrialists and merchants before the revolution, but others completely went into science, art, diplomacy and achieved not only all-Russian, but also European fame. The Botkin family is very correctly characterized by the biographer of one of its most prominent representatives, the famous clinician, medical doctor Sergei Petrovich: “S.P. Botkin came from a purebred Great Russian family, without the slightest admixture of foreign blood, and thus serves as brilliant proof that if extensive and solid knowledge is added to the talent of the Slavic tribe, along with a love for persistent work, then this tribe is capable of exhibiting the most advanced figures in the field of pan-European science. and thoughts." For doctors, the surname Botkin primarily evokes associations with Botkin's disease (acute viral parenchymal hepatitis), the disease is named after Sergei Petrovich Botkin, who studied jaundice and was the first to suggest their infectious nature. Someone may recall the cells (bodies, shadows) of Botkin-Gumprecht - the remains of destroyed cells of the lymphoid series (lymphocytes, etc.), detected by microscopy of blood smears, their number reflects the intensity of the process of destruction of lymphocytes. Back in 1892, Sergei Petrovich Botkin drew attention to leukolysis as a factor "playing a leading role in the self-defense of the body", even greater than phagocytosis. Leukocytosis in Botkin's experiments, both with the injection of tuberculin and with the immunization of horses against tetanus toxin, was later replaced by leukolysis, and this moment coincided with a critical drop. The same was noted by Botkin in fibrinous pneumonia. Later, the son of Sergei Petrovich, Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin, became interested in this phenomenon, to whom the term leukolysis itself belongs. Evgeny Sergeevich later described lysed cells in the blood in typhoid fever, but not in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. But how well Botkin, the elder doctor, is remembered, so undeservedly forgotten is Botkin, the younger doctor ... Evgeny Botkin was born on May 27, 1865 in Tsarskoye Selo in the family of an outstanding Russian scientist and doctor, the founder of an experimental direction in medicine, Sergei Petrovich Botkin, a life physician Alexander II and Alexander III. He was the 4th child of Sergei Petrovich from his 1st marriage to Anastasia Alexandrovna Krylova. The atmosphere in the family, home education played a big role in shaping the personality of Evgeny Sergeevich. The financial well-being of the Botkin family was laid down by the entrepreneurial activities of the grandfather of Evgeny Sergeevich Pyotr Kononovich, a well-known supplier of tea. The percentage of the trade turnover, intended for each of the heirs, allowed them to choose a business to their liking, engage in self-education and lead a life not very burdened with financial worries. There were many in the Botkin family creative people (artists, writers, etc.). The Botkins were related to Afanasy Fet and Pavel Tretyakov. Sergei Petrovich was a fan of music, calling music lessons "a refreshing bath", he played the cello to the accompaniment of his wife and under the guidance of Professor I.I. Seifert. Evgeny Sergeevich received a thorough musical education and acquired a delicate musical taste. Professors of the Military Medical Academy, writers and musicians, collectors and artists came to the famous Botkin Saturdays. Among them - I.M. Sechenov, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, A.P. Borodin, V.V. Stasov, N.M. Yakubovich, M.A. Balakirev. Nikolai Andreevich Belogolovy, friend and biographer of S.P. Botkina, a public figure and a doctor, noted: “Surrounded by his 12 children aged from 30 years to a one-year-old child ... he seemed to be a true biblical patriarch; his children adored him, despite the fact that he was able to maintain great discipline and blind obedience to himself in the family. About the mother of Evgeny Sergeevich Anastasia Alexandrovna: “What made her better than any beauty was the subtle grace and amazing tact that spilled over her whole being and were the result of that solid school of noble education through which she passed. And she was brought up wonderfully versatile and thoroughly ... On top of this, she was very smart, witty, sensitive to everything good and kind ... And she was the most exemplary mother in the sense that, passionately loving her children, she knew how to save the necessary pedagogical self-control, attentively and intelligently followed their upbringing, timely eradicated the shortcomings arising in them. Already in childhood, in the character of Evgeny Sergeevich, such qualities as modesty, kindness towards others and rejection of violence were manifested. In the book of Pyotr Sergeevich Botkin “My Brother” there are such lines: “From the most tender age, his beautiful and noble nature was full of perfection ... Always sensitive, out of delicacy, inwardly kind, with an extraordinary soul, he experienced horror from any fight or fight ... He, as usual, did not participate in our fights, but when the fistfight took on a dangerous character, he, at the risk of injury, stopped the fights. He was very diligent and smart in his studies. Primary home education allowed Yevgeny Sergeevich in 1878 to enter the 5th grade of the 2nd St. Petersburg classical gymnasium, where the young man's brilliant abilities in the natural sciences were manifested. After graduating from the gymnasium in 1882, he entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of St. Petersburg University. However, the example of his father, a doctor, and the worship of medicine turned out to be stronger, and in 1883, having passed the exams for the first year of the university, he entered the junior department of the opened preparatory course of the Military Medical Academy (VMA). In the year of his father's death (1889), Evgeny Sergeevich successfully graduated from the academy third in graduation, was awarded the title of doctor with honors and the personalized Paltsev Prize, which was awarded "to the third highest score in his course ...". The medical path of E.S. Botkin began in January 1890 as an assistant doctor at the Mariinsky Hospital for the Poor. In December 1890, at his own expense, he was sent abroad for scientific purposes. He studied with leading European scientists, got acquainted with the organization of Berlin hospitals. At the end of a business trip abroad in May 1892, Evgeny Sergeyevich began to work as a doctor in the court chapel, and from January 1894 he returned to his medical duties at the Mariinsky Hospital as a supernumerary intern. Simultaneously with clinical practice, E.S. Botkin was engaged in scientific research, the main directions of which were questions of immunology, the essence of the process of leukocytosis, and the protective properties of blood cells. On May 8, 1893, he brilliantly defended his dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Medicine “On the question of the effect of albumose and peptones on some functions of the animal body”, dedicated to his father, at the Military Medical Academy on May 8, 1893. I.P. Pavlov. In the spring of 1895 E.S. Botkin is sent abroad and spends two years in medical institutions in Heidelberg and Berlin, where he listens to lectures and practices with leading German doctors - professors G. Munch, B. Frenkel, P. Ernst and others. Scientific works and reports of foreign business trips were published in the Botkin Hospital Newspaper and in the Proceedings of the Society of Russian Doctors. In May 1897 E.S. Botkin was elected Privatdozent of the VMA. Here are a few words from the introductory lecture delivered to the students of the VMA on October 18, 1897: “Once the trust of the patients you have acquired turns into sincere affection for you when they are convinced of your invariably cordial attitude towards them. When you enter the ward, you are greeted with a joyful and friendly mood - a precious and powerful medicine, which you will often help much more than potions and powders ... Only the heart is needed for this, only sincere cordial participation in a sick person. So do not be stingy, learn to give it with a wide hand to those who need it. So, let's go with love to a sick person, so that we can learn together how to be useful to him. In 1898, the work of Evgeny Sergeevich “Sicks in the Hospital” was published, and in 1903 - “What does it mean to “spoil” the sick?” With the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War (1904), Evgeny Sergeevich left for the active army as a volunteer and was appointed head of the medical unit of the Russian Red Cross Society (ROKK) in the Manchurian army. Occupying a fairly high administrative position, he nevertheless preferred to spend most of his time at the forefront. Eyewitnesses said that once a wounded company paramedic was brought in for dressing. Having done everything that was supposed to be done, Botkin took the paramedic's bag and went to the front line. The mournful thoughts that this shameful war aroused in the ardent patriot testified to his deep religiosity: “I am more and more depressed by the course of our war, and therefore it hurts ... that a whole mass of our troubles is only the result of people’s lack of spirituality, a sense of duty, that small calculations become higher than the concepts of the Fatherland, higher than God. Evgeny Sergeevich showed his attitude to this war and his mission in it in the book “Light and Shadows of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905: From Letters to His Wife” published in 1908. Here are some of his observations and thoughts. “I was not afraid for myself: never before have I felt the power of my faith to such an extent. I was fully convinced that no matter how great the risk I was exposed to, I would not be killed unless God wanted it. I didn’t tease fate, I didn’t stand by the guns so as not to interfere with the shooters, but I realized that I was needed, and this consciousness made my situation pleasant. “I have now read all the latest telegrams about the fall of Mukden and about our terrible retreat to Telpin. I can't tell you my feelings... Despair and hopelessness seizes the soul. Will we have something in Russia? Poor, poor motherland" (Chita, March 1, 1905). "For the distinction rendered in cases against the Japanese", Evgeny Sergeevich was awarded with orders St. Vladimir III and II degree with swords. Outwardly very calm and strong-willed, Dr. E.S. Botkin was a sentimental man, with a fine mental organization. Let us turn again to the book by P.S. Botkin “My brother”: “... I came to my father’s grave and suddenly I heard sobs in a deserted cemetery. Coming closer, I saw my brother (Eugene) lying in the snow. “Oh, it’s you, Petya, you came to talk with dad,” and again sobs. And an hour later, during the reception of patients, it could not have occurred to anyone that this calm, self-confident and domineering person could sob like a child. On May 6, 1905, Dr. Botkin was appointed an honorary physician of the imperial family. In the autumn of 1905, Evgeny Sergeevich returned to St. Petersburg and began teaching at the academy. In 1907 he was appointed chief physician of the community of St. George in the capital. In 1907, after the death of Gustav Hirsch, the royal family was left without a medical doctor. The candidacy of the new life doctor was named by the empress herself, who, when asked who she would like to see as a life doctor, answered: “Botkin”. When she was told that now two Botkins are equally known in St. Petersburg, she said: “The one that was in the war!” (Although brother Sergey Sergeevich was also a participant in the Russo-Japanese War.) Thus, on April 13, 1908, Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin became the life doctor of the family of the last Russian emperor, repeating the career path of his father, the former life doctor of two Russian tsars (Alexander II and Alexander III). E.S. Botkin was three years older than his august patient, Tsar Nicholas II. The tsar's family was served by a large staff of doctors (among whom there were a variety of specialists: surgeons, oculists, obstetricians, dentists), doctors who were more titled than the modest Privatdozent of the Military Medical Academy. But Dr. Botkin was distinguished by an infrequent talent for clinical thinking and an even more rare feeling of sincere love for his patients. The duty of the life physician included the treatment of all members of the royal family, which he carefully and scrupulously performed. I had to examine and treat the emperor, who had surprisingly good health, the grand duchesses, who seemed to have been ill with all known childhood infections. Nicholas II treated his doctor with great sympathy and trust. He patiently withstood all the medical and diagnostic procedures prescribed by Dr. Botkin. But the most difficult patients were Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexei. As a little girl, the future empress suffered from diphtheria, the complication of which was bouts of pain in the joints, swelling of the legs, palpitations, and arrhythmia. Edema forced Alexandra Fedorovna to wear special shoes, give up long walks, and heart attacks and headaches did not allow her to get out of bed for weeks. However, the main object of Yevgeny Sergeevich's efforts was Tsarevich Alexei, who was born with a dangerous and fatal disease - hemophilia. It was with the Tsarevich that E.S. spent most of his time. Botkin, sometimes in life-threatening conditions for days and nights, without leaving the bed of the sick Alexei, surrounding him with human care and participation, giving him all the warmth of his generous heart. This attitude resonated with the little patient, who would write to his doctor: "I love you with all my little heart." Yevgeny Sergeevich himself also sincerely became attached to the members of the royal family, more than once saying to the household: “With their kindness they made me a slave until the end of my days.”

as a doctor and moral person, Evgeny Sergeevich never in private conversations touched upon the health issues of his highest patients. Head of the Chancellery of the Ministry of the Imperial Court, General A.A. Mosolov noted: “Botkin was known for his restraint. None of the retinue managed to find out from him what the empress was sick with and what treatment the queen and heir followed. He was certainly a devoted servant to Their Majesties." With all the ups and downs in relations with royalty, Dr. Botkin was an influential person in the royal environment. The lady-in-waiting, friend and confidant of the Empress Anna Vyrubova (Taneeva) stated: "The faithful Botkin, appointed by the Empress herself, was very influential." Yevgeny Sergeevich himself was far from politics, however, as a person who is not indifferent, as a patriot of his country, he could not help but see the perniciousness of public sentiments in it, which he considered the main reason for Russia's defeat in the war of 1904-1905. He understood very well that hatred for the tsar, for the imperial family, kindled by radical revolutionary circles, is beneficial only to the enemies of Russia, the Russia that his ancestors served, for which he himself fought on the fields of the Russo-Japanese War, Russia, which entered into the most cruel and bloody global battle. He despised people who used dirty methods to achieve their goals, who composed courtly absurdities about the royal family and its morals. He spoke of such people as follows: “I don’t understand how people who consider themselves monarchists and talk about the adoration of His Majesty can so easily believe all the gossip spread, can spread them themselves, raising all sorts of fables against the Empress, and do not understand that, insulting her, they thereby insult her august husband, whom they supposedly adore. was not smooth and family life Evgeny Sergeevich. Carried away by revolutionary ideas and a young (20 years younger) student of the Riga Polytechnic College, in 1910 his wife Olga Vladimirovna left him. Three younger children remain in the care of Dr. Botkin: Dmitry, Tatyana and Gleb (the eldest, Yuri, already lived separately). But the children who selflessly loved and adored their father, who always looked forward to his arrival, were anxious from his long absence, saved from despair. Evgeny Sergeevich answered them in the same way, but he never took advantage of his special position to create any special conditions for them. Inner convictions did not allow him to say a word for his son Dmitry, a cornet of the Life Guards of the Cossack regiment, who, with the outbreak of the war of 1914, went to the front and died heroically on December 3, 1914, covering the retreat of the reconnaissance Cossack patrol. The death of his son, who was posthumously awarded for heroism with the St. George Cross of the IV degree, became an unhealed spiritual wound of his father until the end of his days. And soon an event took place in Russia on a scale more fatal and destructive than a personal drama ... After the February coup, the new authorities imprisoned the empress and children in the Alexander Palace of Tsarskoe Selo, a little later the former autocrat joined them. Everyone around former rulers The commissars of the Provisional Government were offered the choice of either staying with the prisoners or leaving them. And many who only yesterday swore eternal allegiance to the emperor and his family left them at this difficult time. Many, but not like the life doctor Botkin. For the shortest possible time, he would leave the Romanovs in order to help the widow of his son Dmitry, who was sick with typhus, and who lived here in Tsarskoye Selo, opposite the large Catherine Palace, in the doctor’s own apartment at 6 Sadovaya Street. When her condition ceased to inspire fear, he returned to the recluses of the Alexander Palace without requests or coercion. The king and queen were accused of high treason, and this case was under investigation. The accusation of the former tsar and his wife was not confirmed, but the Provisional Government felt fear of them and did not agree to their release. Four key ministers of the Provisional Government (G.E. Lvov, M.I. Tereshchenko, N.V. Nekrasov, A.F. Kerensky) decided to send the royal family to Tobolsk. On the night of July 31 to August 1, 1917, the family went by train to Tyumen. And this time the retinue was asked to leave the family of the former emperor, and again there were those who did it. But few considered it a duty to share the fate of the former reigning persons. Among them is Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin. When asked by the king how he would leave the children (Tatiana and Gleb), the doctor replied that for him there was nothing higher than caring for Their Majesties. On August 3, the exiles arrived in Tyumen, from there on August 4 they left for Tobolsk by steamer. In Tobolsk, I had to live for about two weeks on the ship "Rus", then on August 13 the royal family was accommodated in the former governor's house, and the retinue, including doctors E.S. Botkin and V.N. Derevenko, in the house of the fishmonger Kornilov nearby. In Tobolsk, it was ordered to observe the Tsarskoe Selo regime, that is, no one was allowed outside the allotted premises, except for Dr. Botkin and Dr. Derevenko, who were allowed to provide medical assistance to the population. In Tobolsk, Botkin had two rooms in which he could receive patients. Evgeny Sergeevich will write about the provision of medical assistance to the residents of Tobolsk and the soldiers of the guard in his last letter in his life: “Their trust especially touched me, and I was pleased with their confidence, which never deceived them, that I would receive them with the same attention and affection as any other patient, and not only as an equal to himself, but also as a patient who has all the rights to all my cares and services. On September 14, 1917, daughter Tatyana and son Gleb arrived in Tobolsk. Tatyana left memories of how they lived in this city. She was brought up at court and was friends with one of the daughters of the king - Anastasia. Following her, a former patient of Dr. Botkin, Lieutenant Melnik, arrived in the city. Konstantin Melnik was wounded in Galicia, and Dr. Botkin treated him at the Tsarskoye Selo hospital. Later, the lieutenant lived at his house: a young officer, the son of a peasant, was secretly in love with Tatyana Botkina. He came to Siberia in order to protect his savior and his daughter. To Botkin, he elusively resembled the deceased beloved son Dmitry. Melnik recalled that in Tobolsk Botkin treated both the townspeople and peasants from the surrounding villages, but he did not take money, and they shoved it into the cabbies who brought the doctor. This was very helpful - Dr. Botkin could not always pay them. Lieutenant Konstantin Melnik and Tatyana Botkina got married in Tobolsk, shortly before the whites occupied the city. They lived there for about a year, then through Vladivostok they reached Europe and, in the end, settled in France. The descendants of Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin still live in this country. In April 1918, a close friend of Ya.M. Sverdlov, Commissioner V. Yakovlev, arrived in Tobolsk, who immediately declared the doctors also arrested. However, due to confusion, only Dr. Botkin was limited in freedom of movement. On the night of April 25-26, 1918, the sovereign with his wife and daughter Maria, Anna Demidova and Dr. Botkin, under the escort of a special detachment of a new composition under the leadership of Yakovlev, were sent to Yekaterinburg. A typical example: suffering from cold and kidney colic, the doctor gave his fur coat to Princess Mary, who did not have warm clothes. After certain ordeals, the prisoners reached Yekaterinburg. On May 20, the rest of the members of the royal family and some of the retinue arrived here. The children of Evgeny Sergeevich remained in Tobolsk. Botkin's daughter recalled her father's departure from Tobolsk: “There were no orders about the doctors, but at the very beginning, having heard that Their Majesties were going, my father announced that he would go with them. "But what about your children?" Her Majesty asked, knowing our relationship and the terrible anxieties that my father always experienced in separation from us. To this, my father replied that the interests of Their Majesties are in the first place for him. Her Majesty was moved to tears and especially thanked. The regime of detention in the house of special purpose (the mansion of engineer N.K. Ipatiev), where the royal family and its devoted servants were placed, was strikingly different from the regime in Tobolsk. But here, too, E.S. Botkin enjoyed the trust of the soldiers of the guard, to whom he provided medical assistance. Through him, the crowned prisoners communicated with the commandant of the house, which Yakov Yurovsky becomes from July 4, and members of the Ural Council. The doctor petitioned for walks for the prisoners, for admission to Alexei of his teacher S.I. Gibbs and educator Pierre Gilliard, tried in every possible way to facilitate the regime of detention. Therefore, his name is increasingly found in the last diary entries of Nicholas II. Johann Meyer, an Austrian soldier who fell into Russian captivity during the First World War and defected to the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg, wrote his memoirs “How the Imperial Family Perished”. In the book, he reports on the proposal made by the Bolsheviks to Dr. Botkin to leave the royal family and choose a place of work, for example, somewhere in a Moscow clinic. Thus, Dr. Botkin knew for sure about the imminent execution. He knew and, having the opportunity to choose, he preferred to salvation loyalty to the oath given once to the king. Here is how I. Meyer describes it: “You see, I gave the king my word of honor to remain with him as long as he is alive. It is impossible for a man of my position not to keep such a word. I also cannot leave an heir alone. How can I reconcile this with my conscience? You all need to understand this." This fact is consonant with the content of the document stored in State Archive Russian Federation . This document is the last, unfinished letter of Evgeny Sergeevich, dated July 9, 1918. Many researchers believe that the letter was addressed to the younger brother of A.S. Botkin. However, this seems to be indisputable, since in the letter the author often refers to the "principles of graduation in 1889", to which Alexander Sergeevich had nothing to do. Most likely, it was addressed to an unknown fellow student. “My voluntary confinement here is as unlimited in time as my earthly existence is limited ... In essence, I died, I died for my children, for friends, for business. I am dead, but not yet buried or buried alive... I don’t indulge myself with hope, I don’t lull myself into illusions and look unvarnished reality straight in the eye... I am supported by the conviction that “he who endures to the end will be saved”, and the consciousness that I remain true to the principles of the issue of 1889 ... In general, if “faith without works is dead”, then “works” without faith can exist, and if one of us joins the works and faith, then this is only special to him Grace of God... This also justifies my last decision, when I did not hesitate to leave my children as complete orphans in order to fulfill my medical duty to the end, just as Abraham did not hesitate at the request of God to sacrifice his only son to him. All those killed in the house of N. Ipatiev were ready for death and met it with dignity, even the killers noted this in their memoirs. At half past two in the night of July 17, 1918, commandant Yurovsky woke up the inhabitants of the house and, under the pretext of transferring them to a safe place, ordered everyone to go down to the basement. Here he announced the decision of the Ural Council on the execution of the royal family. With two bullets that flew past the Sovereign, Dr. Botkin was wounded in the stomach (one bullet reached the lumbar spine, the other got stuck in the soft tissues of the pelvic region). The third bullet damaged both knee joints of the doctor, who stepped towards the king and prince. He fell. After the first volleys, the killers finished off their victims. According to Yurovsky, Dr. Botkin was still alive and lay quietly on his side, as if asleep. “I finished him off with a shot in the head,” Yurovsky later wrote. Kolchak's intelligence investigator N. Sokolov, who conducted the investigation into the murder case in the Ipatiev house, among other material evidence in a pit in the vicinity of the village of Koptyaki near Yekaterinburg, also discovered a pince-nez that belonged to Dr. Botkin. The last life physician of the last Russian emperor, Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin, was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in 1981, along with others shot in the Ipatiev House.

The consecrated Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church (February 2-3, 2016) canonized Dr. Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin in

Anna Vlasova

(According to the works of Anninsky L.A., Solovyov V.N., Botkina S.D., King G., Wilson P., Krylova A.N.)

Botkin, Sergei Petrovich

Famous Russian doctor and professor; genus. in Moscow on September 5, 1832, d. in Menton on December 12, 1889, Botkin came from a purely Russian family. His grandfather lived in the town of Toropets, Pskov province, and was engaged in trade. his father, Petr Kononovich, at the end of the XVIII century. moved to Moscow and from 1801 enrolled in the merchant class. He was one of the main organizers of the tea trade in Kyakhta, had considerable wealth, was married twice and left behind 9 sons and 5 daughters. All the children of Peter Kononovich were remarkable for their remarkable abilities. The Botkin family was in close contact with the scientific and literary world, especially from the time when one of the daughters of Pyotr Kononovich married the poet Fet, and the other married P. L. Pikulin, professor at Moscow University. Granovsky, who lived in their house, was also in close relations with the Botkins. Sergei Petrovich was the 11th child in his family; he was born from his father's second marriage (with A. I. Postnikova) and was brought up under the direct supervision and influence of his brother Vasily, who made every effort to ensure that this upbringing was solid and versatile. Botkin's first teacher was a student at Moscow University, Merchinsky, a good teacher, whose influence on the student was very strong, and with whom Botkin remained on friendly terms throughout his life. Already at an early age, he was distinguished by outstanding abilities and a love of learning. Until the age of 15, he was brought up at home, and then, in 1847, he entered the Ennes private boarding school, which was considered the best in Moscow, as a half boarder. The teachers at the boarding school were very talented teachers, among whom we meet the names of: the collector of fairy tales A. N. Afanasyev, who gave lessons in the Russian language and Russian history, the mathematician Yu. K. Babst, who taught general history at the boarding school, and learned linguists Klin, Velkel and Shor, who taught foreign languages and at the same time former lecturers at the university. Under the influence of excellent teaching, Botkin's natural abilities manifested themselves with particular force, despite his physical handicap, which consisted in the irregular curvature of the cornea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe eyes (astigmatism) and caused such weakness of vision that when reading, Botkin had to keep the book at a distance of 2-3 inches from eyes. With the exception of this shortcoming, Botkin then enjoyed excellent health and was distinguished by great physical strength. He was considered in the boarding school one of the best students; with special zeal he studied mathematics, the love for which was instilled in him by Merchinsky. After staying in a boarding house for 3 years, Botkin prepared for entrance exam to university. He intended to enter the Faculty of Mathematics, but he did not succeed due to the decree of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, which then entered into force, which allowed free admission of students only to the Faculty of Medicine and closed admission to other faculties of universities to all students, except for the best pupils of state gymnasiums. This decision was an indirect reason for Botkin's admission to the medical faculty. In August 1850, Botkin became a student at Moscow University, which was then dominated by the most severe external discipline. In the very first month of his studentship, Botkin experienced it for himself, after serving a day in a punishment cell for not fastening the hooks of the collar of his uniform. There were almost no scientific interests among the then students, but in this respect Botkin stood out sharply from among his comrades: he diligently attended and recorded lectures and, completely devoting himself to scientific pursuits, soon discovered in himself a love for his chosen specialty. The general state of teaching was in many respects unsatisfactory. In 1881, Botkin characterized him with the following words: “While studying at Moscow University from 1850 to 1855, I witnessed the then direction of an entire medical school. Most of our professors studied in Germany and more or less talentedly passed on to us the knowledge they acquired; we listened diligently to them and at the end of the course considered themselves ready-made doctors, with ready-made answers to every question presented in practical life. There is no doubt that with such a direction, it was difficult for graduates to wait for future researchers. Our future was destroyed by our school, which, while teaching us knowledge in the form of catechistic truths, did not arouse in us that inquisitiveness which conditions further development"Nevertheless, it is impossible not to point out that among the teachers of S.P. Botkin at the university there were many professors who stood out for their talents, scientific character and conscientiousness.

The most talented and popular of them was the surgeon Inozemtsev, who had a great influence on Botkin and his comrades. A. I. Polunin, a young professor who returned in 1847 from abroad and taught pathological anatomy, general pathology and general therapy, was also a very remarkable medical figure and, according to S. P. Botkin himself, had "no doubt the greatest impact on the development" of students. In the 5th year, the study of internal diseases was carried out very satisfactorily. The clinic was headed by a well-educated and efficient professor, I. V. Varvinsky. His young associate, P. L. Pikulin, was distinguished by outstanding abilities, and under his guidance, Botkin and all the students enthusiastically and tirelessly practiced tapping, listening, and other diagnostic techniques. Already in his fifth year, Botkin gained a reputation among his comrades as an expert in tapping and listening. At the start of the Crimean War, Botkin was in his fourth year; the authorities offered this course to immediately go to war, but the students refused, realizing the insufficiency of their scientific training. The following year, graduation from the medical faculty was two months earlier than usual. Botkin was the only one from his course who passed the exam not for the title of a doctor, but for the degree of doctor, which was a rare occurrence in Russian universities, with the exception of Derpt.

Shortly after completing the course, Botkin went to war in the detachment of N. I. Pirogov. This trip made the most painful impression on him. In a speech on the argument of the 50th anniversary of Pirogov, published in the Weekly Clinical Newspaper (No. 20, 1881), Botkin spoke of the state of affairs at that time: “to ensure that the piece of meat or bread assigned to the patient reaches it was completely preserved, not reduced to a minimum "a - it was not easy in those days and in that layer of society that treated state property as a public birthday cake offered for eating ... By order of Pirogov, we took in the kitchen meat by weight, sealed boilers so that it was impossible to pull out the voluminous contents from it - nevertheless, nevertheless, our broth did not succeed: they found it possible, even with such supervision, to deprive the patients of their legitimate portion. "- Weakness of vision prevented Botkin from successfully doing surgery In addition, I had to work too hastily, and the very stay in the theater of operations was very short. th hospital and deserved a very flattering review of Pirogov. In December 1855, Botkin returned to Moscow and from there went abroad to complete his education. Initially, he did not have a definite plan for his trip abroad, but in Konigsberg, on the advice of one of Hirsch's assistants, he decided to study with Virchow, who at that time was still working in Würzburg, although he had already been invited to Berlin. In Würzburg, Botkin studied normal and pathological histology with passion and enthusiasm and listened to the lectures of the famous teacher, whose works gave the whole modern medicine new direction. In the autumn of 1856, Botkin, together with Virchow, moved to Berlin, where he spent whole days in the new pathological institute and in the laboratory of Goppe-Seyler. At the same time, he diligently visited the Traube clinic, who attracted him with his extraordinary powers of observation, combined with thorough scientific training and with a very careful and comprehensive application of objective methods of investigation. From time to time, Botkin also visited the clinics of the neurologist Romberg and the syphilidologist Berensprung. - Constantly studying with Virchow and not missing a single autopsy, Botkin spent two years in Berlin. Having mastered the microscopic technique and methods of chemical research to perfection, at that time he produced his first independent scientific works, published in the Virchow Archives and made the first printed report in Russian about the Soleil polarization apparatus. In Berlin, Botkin became very close friends with the Russian scientists Junge and Beckers and entered into close friendly relations with Sechenov, which continued throughout his life. This time, spent in intensive scientific work in a community with new friends striving to satisfy common spiritual needs, the heyday of young forces left Botkin the warmest memories that he kept all his life. He spent his summer vacations in Moscow, where (about 1857) he fell ill for the first time with hepatic colic, which manifested itself in very violent attacks. In December 1858, Botkin moved from Berlin to Vienna, and there, continuing his microscopic studies, he very diligently attended Ludwig's lectures and studied at Oppolzer's clinic. He admired Ludwig, in the Oppolzer clinic he found a very insufficient scientific formulation of the case. - In Vienna, he married the daughter of a Moscow official, A. A. Krylova, who was very distinguished good education, and soon went on a trip, during which he visited Central Germany, got acquainted with the Rhine mineral waters, visited Switzerland, England, and in the autumn of 1859 arrived in Paris.

Botkin's scientific activity in Vienna is characterized by his letters to Belogolovy; in the same letters, his attitude to the Vienna and Berlin medical schools is also outlined. On January 2, 1859, he writes from Vienna: "... All the holidays passed unnoticed for me, because the lectures continued, with the exception of the first two days. Until now, I am completely satisfied only with Ludwig's lectures, which surpass any expectation with clarity and completeness presentation, the best physiologist I have ever heard, Ludwig's personality is the sweetest, the simplicity and courtesy of his manner are amazing Oppolzer is no doubt an excellent practitioner, but he sins against science so often that he still cannot be called a good clinician in the full sense of the word. Lie against chemistry, against pathological anatomy , even against physiology, it often happens to him, but for all that he is an excellent observer, a quick-witted diagnostician - in general the type of a good practical doctor. However, let's see what happens next. Gebra is good for the terrible amount of material that he presents to the audience, but Berensprung's lectures are a thousand times more scientific and efficient, and I am glad that I listened to the Berlin dermatologist, the sworn enemy of the Viennese. Apart from these lectures, I have done a lot of work at home with blood balloons, and I think I will finish this work soon. So far, I have left my suburb of Alser-vorstadt no more than two or three times for a city that, in my opinion, is not a match for Berlin. I positively dislike Vienna, and its inhabitants still less; the intellectual physiognomy of a northern man disappears here and is replaced by a slavish, insinuating one; people here are such slaves that it is disgusting to look at them, they climb to kiss their hands and almost allow themselves to be beaten on the cheeks dem gnädigen Herrn. My apartment, although expensive, is excellent; I don't write you the address because I forgot the name of the street; write to Sechenov for the time being. Bow to Goppa, Magavli and all of Berlin, which I often think of "... In the second letter, dated February 2, Botkin informs Belogolovy about his imminent wedding and writes: "... I was attacked by such a spirit of activity that I barely managed it. Worked from 8 o'clock. in the morning until 12 constantly, he did not go out anywhere, except for medical needs. Under the nervous excitement of waiting for letters (from the bride), my work went like clockwork and almost every week gave me results, of which I tell you one extremely important one; you will only tell Goppa about it in secret, asking him to keep it with you: urea dissolves human and canine blood globules, therefore not producing the same effect on them as on frogs. The fact is extremely important for physiology and pathology, I will investigate it further, making experiments with injections of urea into the veins. Ludwig invites me to work with him, which I will probably use over time. Tell Hoppa that I will be visiting them in Berlin in the summer, which I rejoice with all my heart, because I am completely dissatisfied with Vienna, and I remain in it only to cleanse my pathological conscience. It’s a sin for a decent person in Vienna to be more than three months old, keep in mind and use Berlin! "... Botkin spent the whole winter of 1859-60 and part of the summer in Paris, where he listened to lectures by C. Bernard and visited the clinics of Barthez, Trousseau, Bush and others. Here he wrote his doctoral dissertation on the absorption of fat in the intestines, which he then sent to the St. Petersburg Academy of Medicine and Surgery for consideration; here he completed two scientific works: on blood and protein endosmosis, which he placed in the Virchow Archive .

Even before traveling abroad, Botkin entered into relations with Shipulinsky, Honored Professor of the Medical and Surgical Academy, who was in charge of the academic therapeutic clinic. In 1858, Shipulinsky reported to the conference of the academy that doctoral student S.P. Botkin, a graduate of Moscow University, approached him with a proposal to take the vacant post of adjunct at the academic therapeutic clinic after the departure of Dr. Ivanovsky. Finding Botkin's proposal extremely beneficial for the academy, Shipulinsky asked the conference to keep him in mind as a candidate, to which the conference fully agreed; at the same time, Shipulinsky mentioned in his report that Botkin could take the place of an adjunct not earlier than in a year and a half, since he went abroad for improvement. A year later, Shipulinsky again reminded the conference about Botkin and asked to appoint another doctor before his arrival to temporarily fulfill the post of adjunct.

In 1857 prof. P. A. Dubovitsky, who invited Glebov to the post of vice president and, together with him, ardently set about radical transformations in inner life academy. This activity was also reflected in the selection of new teachers. At the end of 1859, the following were invited to the academy: Yakubovich, Botkin, Sechenov, Beckers and Junge; they were all abroad. Except for Yakubovich, all of them were graduates of the Moscow University, where they graduated from the course only 3-4 years ago. We have already mentioned the close friendship established between them abroad. Botkin accepted the invitation, but negotiated for himself the right to come to St. Petersburg in the autumn of 1860 to complete his scientific works and get acquainted with the Parisian medical school. On August 10, 1860, he moved to St. Petersburg, defended his dissertation, and was immediately appointed as a corrective adjunct at the 4th year clinic, which was headed by prof. Shipulinsky. Belogolovy says that soon after this, misunderstandings arose between Botkin and Shipulinsky, since, seeing the superiority of the former, students became more willing to attend his lectures than those of his patron. Less than a month later, the relationship between the two teachers "soiled to the point of impossibility, so that after several diagnostic tournaments over the bed of the sick, in which the young scientist won, Shipulinsky resigned less than a year later." Prof. Sirotinin denies the accuracy of this information, "because the words of S.P. himself speak against it," who "in his letter to his brother Mikhail Petrovich indicates with surprise that after his return to the city in the autumn, already in 1862, he learned about the change in attitude to him, which happened to Shipulinsky, and that the latter obviously changed his word given to Botkin in the spring, that in the autumn he would no longer give lectures and would completely leave Botkin to handle the case until the time of his imminent resignation. During the first year of Botkin's activity under Shipulinsky, he often remained the full owner of the clinic, probably due to Shipulinsky's illness. All papers for the conference concerning the 4th year clinic were signed by Botkin. To teach students accurate physical and chemical methods research and for the development of various scientific issues, Botkin set up a clinical laboratory (for 1200 rubles allocated to him for this purpose by the conference); this laboratory was one of the first in Europe.

At that time, there were two parties among the professors of the academy - the German and the Russian. The first of them was very strong, and the second was just born. In 1861, when Shipulinsky resigned, the German party intended to elect one of the senior professors to the vacant chair: V. E. Eck or V. V. Besser. Upon learning of this, Botkin announced that he would resign if he did not receive the clinic promised to him. Doctors who listened to Botkin's lectures and in a short time already rated him very highly sent a letter to the conference asking him to appoint him to the 4th year department, characterizing Botkin's merits as follows: "Confident in the need for a thorough study of pathological chemistry and practical acquaintance with physical and chemical methods of studying patients, we felt deeply grateful to the conference of the academy, which invited a mentor to our main therapeutic clinic, who completely satisfied this need expressed by us, during his one-year stay in the clinic managed to acquaint his listeners with modern clinical improvements and, completely owning both by scientific means, necessary for the complex duties of a clinician, both by his excellent teaching talent and practical medical information, he managed to attract many outside listeners and many people who wanted to work under his leadership to his clinic. The clinical laboratory he set up provided funds for this and remains the capital acquisition of the clinic. In a word, the past year has clearly shown us that in Sergei Petrovich Botkin we have the only and indispensable professor who can satisfy the needs we have expressed, which has become an indispensable ingredient. medical education, the needs already satisfied in the best German clinics and so fully satisfied by S. P. Botkin. "The opinions expressed about Botkin in this letter are of great importance, since it was signed by doctors who were very outstanding in their talents, the overwhelming majority of whom were subsequently taken professorial departments in Russian universities. Some professors and students of the academy joined the petition expressed in this letter. All this greatly contributed to the election of Botkin, which took place at the end of 1861.

Having at his disposal an academic clinic of internal diseases, Botkin the highest degree dealt with it energetically. He arranged a reception for incoming patients at the clinic, which was perfect news, and during this reception he read whole lectures for students and doctors, representing a thorough analysis of patients. The clinic laboratory soon expanded, and scientific work began to boil in it. Under the direct guidance of Botkin, his students began to develop new scientific questions raised by their teacher, who, for his part, continued to study and develop his subtle powers of observation. Having sacrificed almost all other vital interests to science, Botkin devoted himself entirely to the clinic, without being distracted from it in any way. private practice, not even worries about maintaining his health and material security for his family, whom he nevertheless loved very dearly. In a letter to his brother, Mikhail Petrovich (December 10, 1861), he describes his weekday as follows: you get up, you go to the clinic, you give a lecture for about two hours, then you finish your visit, outpatients come in and they won’t even let you smoke a cigar in peace after the lecture. a little over an hour before dinner, and this hour is usually devoted to city practice, if it turns out to be such, which is very rare, especially now, although my fame thunders around the city. so that you barely eat and think from the very soup how to go to bed; after a whole hour of rest you begin to feel like a man; in the evenings now I go to the hospital, and when I get up from the sofa I sit down for half an hour ka to the cello and then sit down to prepare for the next day's lecture; the work is interrupted by a short intermission for tea. You usually work until one o'clock, and after having supper with pleasure you fall asleep ... ".

For each of his lectures, Botkin usually carefully prepared and collected materials; therefore they bore the stamp of a strictly considered work. In his lectures he invested the entire stock of new observations acquired by him in clinical research, and since they were accompanied by a thorough analysis of the patients, it is understandable why these lectures, despite the complete absence of effects and ostentatious eloquence in them, were precious to listeners. An ardent passion for scientific work and love for the art of medicine were visible in every deed of the professor and passed on to his students, who, imitating him, worked hard in the clinic. Soon a whole school of young scientists formed around Botkin, and the clinic became the best in all of Europe. The best of Botkin's contemporary clinicians, Traube, in the opinion of many doctors, was inferior to him in some respects. The direction of Botkin's clinical activity and his view of the tasks of medical art and the methods for fulfilling these tasks are expressed by him in the introduction to the printed edition of his lectures, written by him on May 8, 1867: "The main and essential tasks of practical medicine are the prevention of disease, treatment developed disease and, finally, the alleviation of the suffering of a sick person. The only way to fulfill these lofty tasks is the study of nature, the study of a healthy and sick animal organism. If the life of an animal organism were brought under exact mathematical laws, then the application of our natural scientific information to individual cases would not would then encounter no difficulties ... But the mechanism and chemistry of the animal organism are so complex that, despite all the efforts of the human mind, it has not yet been possible to bring the various manifestations of life, both in a healthy and in a diseased organism, under mathematical laws. circumstance that puts the medical sciences in a row auks are imprecise, makes it much more difficult to apply them to individual individuals. Anyone familiar with algebra will not find it difficult to solve an equation problem with one or more unknowns; solving the problems of practical medicine is another matter: one can be familiar with physiology, pathology, and the means that we use in the treatment of a diseased organism, and yet, without the ability to apply this knowledge to individual individuals, not be able to solve the problem presented, even if its solution does not go beyond the limits of the possible. This ability to apply natural science to individual cases constitutes the proper art of healing, which is therefore the result of the inaccuracies of the medical sciences. It is clear that the importance of medical art will decrease as the accuracy and positiveness of our information increases. What a tremendous skill the doctor of old had to possess, who did not know either physiology or pathological anatomy, and was unfamiliar with either chemical or physical methods of research, in order to benefit his neighbor. Only by long experience and special personal talents did the doctors of the old time achieve their difficult task. At present, this ability to apply the theoretical knowledge of the medical sciences to individual individuals no longer constitutes an art that is inaccessible to a mere mortal, as in the old days. However, even in our time one must have a certain experience, a certain skill. Each physician, in the course of his practical activity, develops this skill for himself to varying degrees, depending on the more or less significant material, on the more or less conscious development and analysis of cases presented to his observation. For all that, this skill or medical art can be passed on successively, can be inherited, under the guidance of an experienced doctor, as is done in the clinical teaching of medicine. But the inevitable condition here for everyone who wants to achieve the ability to apply theoretical medical information to these individuals, without those painful difficulties that await the bedside of a sick beginner, left to his own strength, is the conscious solution of a certain number of practical problems under the guidance of a teacher. Once convinced that the student cannot be introduced during clinical teaching to all the various individual manifestations of the life of a diseased organism, the clinician-teacher sets himself the first task of conveying to students the method, guided by which the young practitioner would be able subsequently to independently apply his theoretical medical information to sick individuals who he will meet in his practical field. "Further, Botkin points out the enormous importance of greater or lesser accuracy" of determining the presented individuality. Perhaps a multilateral and impartial study of the patient, a critical assessment of the facts discovered by this study constitute the main foundations for that theoretical conclusion - the hypothesis that we are obliged to build about each case that presents itself. "Then the author lists the various methods of medical research, pointing to the meaning that follows attach to these methods, and, having proved the advantages of objective research over collecting information by asking patients, advises listeners to begin with a detailed physical examination and only then ask the patient about his subjective feelings and complaints. Having considered a rational method of establishing the recognition of a disease, predicting its further course and treatment, Botkin points out the importance of posthumous anatomical research and says: be able to test their hypotheses on the anatomical table from time to time. The article ends with the words: “Everything we have said about the study, the analysis of the facts discovered through it and the conclusion on the basis of which the treatment is prescribed, varies to the highest degree in each case that presents itself, and only by consciously solving a number of practical problems is it possible to fulfill the humane goal of medical sciences. The exercise in solving these problems constitutes clinical teaching.

Strictly fulfilling the requirements that he made to his students, Botkin steadily pursued in his activities the principles announced by him from the department; therefore, along with his popularity among doctors and students, his fame as a diagnostician increased. Several particularly brilliant diagnoses soon brought him honorable fame among doctors and the rest of Russian society. He made a particularly remarkable diagnosis in the 1862-1863 academic year, recognizing portal vein thrombosis in a patient during his lifetime. Botkin's enemies laughed at this diagnosis, being sure in advance that he would not be justified; but the autopsy showed that the recognition was correct. According to Professor Sirotinin, "and at present, such a diagnosis, due to its difficulty, would belong to the brilliant ones of any clinician, but at that time, it, of course, constituted a whole event in the life of the academy." After this incident, the fame established for Botkin began to attract many patients to him for home appointments, which caused constant overwork and caused a significant deterioration in his general state of health. At the beginning of 1864, he contracted typhus in the clinic, which was very difficult for him, with severe symptoms from the nervous system. Recovery was very slow, and in the spring Botkin went to Italy. Before leaving, he wrote to Whitehead: "It is unlikely that once again in my life I will be tired to such an extent as I was exhausted this semester."

The trip abroad we mentioned was already the second after Botkin was elected a professor: in 1862 he was in Berlin in the summer, where he resumed his Scientific research, after which he went to rest in Trouville, for sea bathing. In view of his old acquaintance with Herzen, on his return to Russia he was subjected to a strict search at the frontier; the explanations given by him dispelled the misunderstanding, but this incident made a heavy impression on Botkin, which intensified after his arrival in Petersburg, where then there were student unrest caused by the new university charter.

In 1864, having rested in Rome after typhus, he returned to Berlin and worked hard at the Virchow Institute for Pathology. From Botkin's correspondence with Belogolov, we see with what enthusiasm and fervor he devoted himself to scientific work. In the summer of 1864, he writes the following letter, which is very important for describing his spiritual warehouse: "... all this time I worked very well. Not to mention the fact that I read death, I also did a whole job, and for her sake you scold me. I took up the frogs and, sitting behind them, discovered a new curare in the form of atropine sulphate; I had to do with it all the experiments that were done with curare. Novelty of methods of work (I have not yet worked in this department), successful results and the instructiveness of the work itself fascinated me to such an extent that I sat behind frogs from morning till night, and would have sat more if my wife had not driven me out of the office, finally driven out of patience by long fits of my, as she says, insanity. Now I I finished this work so much that I sent a preliminary report to the local new German journal. I am extremely grateful to this work, it taught me a lot. After finishing it, I saw that August was in the yard, I remembered that little had been done for lectures to students, at least from what was assigned, and with a feverish trembling began to read. To what extent any work embraces me, you cannot imagine; I resolutely die then for life; wherever I go, whatever I do, a frog with a severed nerve or bandaged artery sticks out before my eyes. All the time that I was under the spell of atropine sulphate, I did not even play the cello, which now stands abandoned in the corner. "B about Most of the works written by him at that time, Botkin placed in Chistovich's Medical Bulletin. Except independent work, he made extensive essays on the department of the clinic of internal diseases for the "Military Medical Journal". The content of these works was very extensive and, not to mention individual scientific articles, we find in each of his lectures new facts, noticed and explained by him before they were indicated by other scientists. For the clinic of internal diseases, his works on the development of questions about the pathology of biliary colic, about heart diseases, about typhoid fever, typhus and relapsing fever, about a mobile kidney, about changes in the spleen in various diseases, about gastrointestinal catarrhs, etc., are of particular importance. 1865, he proved that relapsing fever, which was considered to have long disappeared in Europe, exists and carefully studied it clinical picture. The scientific activity of Botkin is remarkable for the constancy with which he dealt with it throughout his medical career. Even in the last year of his life, he continued it, developing the question of natural and premature old age. - In 1866, he undertook the publication of his lectures under the general title "Course of the clinic of internal diseases." The first issue of these lectures appeared in 1867; it contains an analysis of one patient with a complex heart disease; about this patient, the author considers almost the entire doctrine of heart diseases and their treatment. The book was received with great sympathy both here and abroad, and was soon translated into French and German. The following year saw the publication of the 2nd edition of the lectures (an analysis of a patient with typhus and a detailed exposition of the doctrine of febrile diseases); this issue also soon appeared in French and German translations and greatly contributed to the wide scientific fame of the author. Numerous difficulties (illness, increased activity in the clinic, classes in the military-scientific committee, etc.) delayed the further publication of the lectures, and their 3rd edition was published only in 1875; it includes 2 articles: 1) on the contractility of the spleen and on the attitude to infectious diseases of the spleen, liver, kidneys and heart, 2) on reflex phenomena in the vessels of the skin and on reflex sweat. This edition has been translated into German. It is known about the further fate of the publication that in 1877 Botkin suggested that students V. N. Sirotinin and Lapin, who recorded his lectures, compose them and transfer them to him through an assistant; he intended to review them and publish them, but the notes were lost. After graduating from the academy, Sirotinin entered the Botkin clinic as an intern and again invited him to publish his lectures. Lectures compiled by Sirotinin, partly from notes, partly from memory, were read by Botkin and placed by him initially in the Weekly Clinical Newspaper, and in 1887 they were published as a separate edition. In 1888, the first issue of the lectures compiled by Sirotinin came out in the second edition (with additions). Botkin's wonderful speech "The General Foundations of Clinical Medicine", delivered by him at a solemn act at the Academy on December 7, 1886 and published in 1887, was again printed during the lectures as an introduction. In this speech, the final words are most remarkable: "It is necessary to have a true vocation for the activity of a practical doctor in order to preserve peace of mind under various unfavorable conditions of his life, without falling into despondency with failures, or into self-delusion with successes. The moral development of a practicing doctor will help him maintain that peace of mind, which will enable him to fulfill his sacred duty to his neighbor and to his homeland, which will determine the true happiness of his life. "The third issue of lectures, in which 5 lectures were compiled by V. N. Sirotinin, two - by M. V. Yanovsky and one - by V. M. Borodulin, was published in 1891, already after the death of Botkin, with a portrait of the author attached. works, published two volumes of Botkin's lectures with the application of 2 portraits of the author, his autograph, the view of his grave and a biographical sketch compiled by Professor V. N. Sirotinin.In addition to the works we have listed, Botkin's scientific activity was expressed in the following.In 1866 he founded the "Epidemiological Leaflet" and the Epidemiological Society, the chairmanship of which he proposed to E. V. Pelikan, who was considered the best epidemiologist of that time. lived the approach of cholera to St. Petersburg. "Leaflet" was published for about 2 years under the editorship of Lovtsov; society also did not last long, since epidemiology was then still insufficiently developed and of little interest to doctors. Botkin took an active part in society and in the newspaper. In the late 60s, Botkin began to publish a collection called "Archive of the Clinic of Internal Diseases of Professor Botkin", in which he placed the most scientifically interesting works of his students. All these works were carried out on his initiative and with his direct participation. The archive was published until the death of Botkin and amounted to 13 large volumes. Its publication was expensive, since the demand for scholarly writings was very small among us. In view of the fact that the Archive was constantly growing, Botkin decided to place only large scientific works in it; the rest of the scientific material served him for the "Weekly Clinical Newspaper", which he founded in 1880 to revive independent clinical casuistry in Russia. The "Gazeta" published exclusively original scientific research, although the absence of abstracts from foreign literature greatly reduced the number of subscribers. Despite this, Botkin considered it his duty to publish a newspaper until his death, realizing how necessary such independent publications were for Russia.

In 1878, the Society of Russian Doctors in St. Petersburg unanimously elected Botkin as its chairman. At the same time, a special deputation was sent from the Society to the new chairman, and at an emergency meeting scheduled for his reception, vice-chairman prof. Pelekhin greeted him with a speech. Mentioning the revolution in Russian medical science made by the works of Botkin and his school, he ended his speech with the words: “Our society in its protocols can almost serve as a photograph of these changes in a Russian student, doctor, professor; therefore, you understand, S.P. , our sympathy, the consciousness of our members is understandable, that you are destined to lead the Society onto the path along which all of Russia is going, all the Slavs are going." Indeed, Botkin's participation in the affairs of the Society as chairman quickly enlivened the meetings and was very useful. Incidentally, this was expressed in a number of meetings devoted to the question of the plague epidemic that appeared in Vetlyanka. The named epidemic caused a case that had a very hard effect on Botkin's state of mind. At the beginning of 1879, he noticed swelling of the lymphatic glands of the whole body in many patients, accompanied by other signs, on the basis of which he concluded that the plague had already been brought to St. Petersburg, although it had not yet manifested itself in a clearly expressed form. Soon after that, he found in one of the visitors to his dispensary, the janitor Naum Prokofiev, undoubted signs of a mild form of bubonic plague; dismantling the patient in the presence of students, Botkin recognized the need to strictly separate him from the rest of the patients, although he presented this case "as an illustration of his views on the existence of not completely isolated and mild forms of infectious diseases," and categorically stated that "from this case, even if there were several of them, before the plague epidemic - there is a huge distance "and made a reservation that this case is no doubt easy and will end happily for the patient. The news of the appearance of the plague in St. Petersburg quickly spread and caused extreme panic. Two commissions, one from the mayor, the other from the medical council, examined the patient and declared that he did not have the plague, but an idiopathic bubo that had developed on syphilitic soil; a foreign specialist in syphilis also disagreed with Botkin's diagnosis, who, nevertheless, on the basis of the undoubted signs of the plague, defended his diagnosis. The patient recovered, and the society that quickly calmed down armed itself against Botkin; this was expressed in the fierce attacks of the press, accusing him of lack of patriotism and some kind of conspiracy with the British. Violent insults continued for several weeks, but Botkin remained convinced until the end of his life that his diagnosis was fair. At the very first meeting of the Society of Russian Doctors after this incident, two addresses were read to Botkin: from all members of the Society and from the doctors of the city of St. Petersburg; the second of them was signed by 220 doctors. Warm sympathy was expressed to him in these addresses, and the large audience present at the meeting gave him a warm ovation. Such a cordial reception served Botkin as a great consolation in misfortune, which nevertheless had a harmful effect on his state of health. At the same meeting of the Society, it turned out that other doctors observed diseases similar to the plague in hospitals and in private practice; one of these cases, which proceeded under the supervision of V.I. Afanasyev, even ended fatally.

The scientific activity of S. P. Botkin had an extremely beneficial effect on his students. At the time described, many of them had already made a scientific name for themselves, following the example and guidance of the teacher. Soon an independent group formed around Botkin. medical school; many of the doctors who were his residents and assistants received independent professorial chairs at provincial universities and at the academy. Botkin took an active part in the struggle between Russian and German doctors; however, he did not follow the spirit of national enmity, but only sought to support doctors of Russian origin. “That is why,” says A. N. Belogolovy, “meeting exclusively Russian names among his students, we see at the same time that these students were not wiped out, as was the case with their predecessors, but now they enjoy an independent position, and that’s all unanimously recognize that both the material improvement of their fate and the moral uplift of their self-consciousness, they owe to a large extent to Botkin, both as a teacher and as an energetic defender of their interests.

Around 1881, when the transfer of hospital and sanitary affairs to the jurisdiction of the St. Petersburg city government was carried out, many of the vowels of the Duma expressed a desire to see S. P. Botkin in their midst. On March 21, 1881, he wrote to the chairman of the commission of public health, V.I. Likhachev: in my hands - the right is not easy, especially since you do not feel enough strength in yourself to conscientiously complete another new task. On the other hand, it is ashamed to evade a position in which, perhaps, you will bring some benefit " . Elected to the public councils, Botkin became a member and deputy chairman of the public health commission. Since January 1882, he took an ardent part in the organization and activities of the city barracks hospital for contagious patients as its trustee; she became his favorite brainchild, he spared no time, labor and money, and as a result, a clinical setting of the case was possible for the city hospital. In 1886, elected honorary trustee of all city hospitals and almshouses, Botkin made numerous fundamental improvements in them. Detailed instructions about the activities of Botkin, as a member of the city government, are in the report of the mayor, Likhachev (January 29, 1890). “Throughout his almost 9-year stay in the city public administration,” it says there, “S. P. Botkin did not cease to take the most ardent part in all matters relating to the improvement of the capital through sanitary measures and the improvement of hospital affairs, delved into the details developed projects for new hospitals, followed a more appropriate distribution of patients, especially chronics, among medical institutions, advising at the first opportunity to allocate chronics and incurables to a special hospital, for which he recognized the main building of the Peter and Paul Hospital as the most suitable. Botkin's activities were so beneficial for the city that after his death, the Duma immortalized his memory by staging his portraits in the Duma Hall and in 8 city hospitals. In addition, the city barracks hospital was named Botkinskaya.

Since 1870, Botkin worked hard as an honorary physician; from now on, his free time supply is already very limited. In 1871, he was entrusted with the treatment of the seriously ill Empress Maria Alexandrovna. In subsequent years, he accompanied the Empress several times abroad and to the south of Russia, for which he even had to stop lectures at the academy. In 1877, Botkin accompanied Emperor Alexander II to the war. Departing in May, he returned in November. His letters from the theater of war to his second wife describe his activities in the war, his mindset and his impressions as a doctor who passionately loves his homeland. In addition, they provide precious material that illuminates many incidents of that era, the state of the army and the establishment of sanitary and medical affairs in the war. After Botkin's death, these letters were published and made up a highly interesting book: Letters from Bulgaria to S. P. Botkin. St. Petersburg, 1893. Botkin's private practice was constantly in the background. He treated patients who came to see him or invited him to his house with the same attention as he treated patients in the clinic, but he was aware that the first kind of activity is much less scientific and less useful, according to independent of the doctor. circumstances. In the clinic, the doctor has the opportunity to visit the patient daily and subject him to a comprehensive and thorough examination using various methods, the use of which, with very rare exceptions, is impossible in private practice. The doctor observes private patients only in fits and starts, and at home admission, an extreme lack of time for examining the patient joins this. The treatment of private patients takes place in an insufficiently scientific environment, etc. It is not surprising, therefore, that already in 1863 he wrote to A. N. Belogolovy: “Three weeks since the lectures began; occupies and vitalizes, the rest you pull like a strap, prescribing a mass of almost useless drugs. This is not a phrase and will let you understand why the practical activity in my polyclinic is so burdensome to me. Having an enormous material of chronicles, I begin to develop a sad conviction about the powerlessness of our A rare polyclinic will pass by without a bitter thought, for which I took money from more than half of the people, and forced them to spend money on one of our pharmacy products, which, having given relief for 24 hours, will not change anything significantly. Forgive me for the blues, but today I had a home reception, and I am still under the fresh impression of this fruitless labor. From this letter it is clear that Botkin had bouts of that state of mind, which Pirogov dubbed the apt word "self-criticism." However, private practice, which so depressing Botkin, brought very great benefits, although it did not give such brilliant results as clinical practice. In addition to home visits, Botkin had a consultative practice, which was especially precious for patients and for doctors. At consultations, he provided doctors with enormous help, solving many cases, scientifically confusing and complex, with his authoritative opinion. Thus, Botkin's extraordinary popularity arose very quickly and continuously increased throughout his entire career. A huge number of patients sought to entrust their health to him, and, according to the just expression of Belogolovy, "each new patient became an unconditional admirer of him," and "Botkin's exploits, as a practical humanist doctor and the most skillful fighter for the life entrusted to him ... were deeply imprinted with ardent gratitude in the hearts persons saved by him and their relatives.

Botkin's private life proceeded peacefully among his family. He was a family man in the best sense of the word and extremely caring for his loved ones. Botkin's favorite pastime was playing the cello, to which he devoted his leisure time and which he often took a great interest in. Botkin was married twice. The death of his first wife, Anastasia Alexandrovna, nee Krylova (died in 1875), was a great misfortune for him, but time healed him, and he remarried Ekaterina Alekseevna Mordvinova, nee Princess Obolenskaya. Botkin almost did not use public pleasures; they were replaced by his scientific activity. His entertainment was Saturdays, on which his friends and acquaintances gathered; at first it was a close circle of professors; in the early 70s, the community that attended Saturdays grew, and zhurfixes turned into crowded, noisy receptions, which greatly consoled the good-natured, hospitable host. Botkin earned a lot, but was not at all money-loving; he lived simply, without any frills, and if he lived almost all the income, then this was facilitated by his extensive charitable work.

In 1872 Botkin was elected to the rank of academician; at the same time he was awarded the title of honorary member of the Kazan and Moscow universities. Since then, expressions of sympathy from society and the scientific world have often been repeated. By the end of his career, he was an honorary member of 35 Russian medical scientific societies and 9 foreign ones. In 1882, admirers and students of Botkin celebrated the 25th anniversary of his scientific activity. The celebration took place in the hall of the City Duma and was remarkable for the sympathy with which everyone reacted to it. Russian society. Petersburg Medical Academy, all Russian universities and many Russian and foreign medical societies elected Botkin as their honorary member. The reading of welcoming speeches and telegrams continued for several hours. The Medical Academy in its address characterized his merits with the following significant words: "Today marks the 25th anniversary of your glorious activity. Having brought you great fame as a talented teacher, practical doctor and scientist, this activity had an unusually beneficial effect on the development and success of medicine in our country. ". Meanwhile, Botkin's forces were already broken and needed rest. In the same year, 1882, he developed heart disease, which was destined to bring him to the grave. Until this year, he suffered from biliary colic, which in last years disturbed him less than usual; in the winter of 1881-1882, following an attack of hepatic colic, signs of an organic heart disorder developed. Severe pains forced him to spend 3 days in a chair in complete immobility. Treating him at the time, Neil Eve. Sokolov noticed signs of inflammation of the pericardial sac and an enlarged heart. The beginning of this disease Dr. Sokolov attributed to 1879, when a cruel injustice violated his mental balance. After recovering from an attack of heart disease, Botkin immediately set to his usual activities; performing the prescribed treatment, he tried to avoid a sedentary lifestyle, walked a lot, in the summer he did physical labor on his estate and in the following years felt good. In 1886, he chaired the commission at the Medical Council on the issue of improving sanitary conditions and reducing mortality in Russia. The goal for which this commission was convened turned out to be completely unattainable; taking a broad look at its task, the commission came to the conclusion that "without reorganizing the administration of medical and sanitary institutions, it is not only impossible to do anything to improve the sanitary situation of the population, but it is also impossible to argue about what, in the complete absence of data, on which such reasoning could to lean on." Therefore, the works of the commission did not give any practical results and caused great disappointment. In the same year, Botkin's beloved son died, and under the influence of grief, his heart attacks resumed, which soon took on the most severe character. Botkin suspected his real illness, but stubbornly denied it and tried to explain all the signs of the influence of hepatic colic. Subsequently, insisting on the treatment of gallstones, he told Dr. Whitehead: "after all, this is my only clue; if I have an independent heart disease, then I'm lost; if it is functional, reflected from the gallbladder, then I can still get out" . Botkin's delusion was supported by the fact that, along with a disorder of cardiac activity, he also had attacks of hepatic colic from time to time. Having recovered from his heart disease, he again began to lecture, and during the whole winter he did not reduce anything from his usual studies. In 1887 he went to Biarritz for sea bathing, but the very first bathing caused him a severe attack of suffocation; treatment with cold showers gave a much more satisfactory result. In autumn, Botkin worked a lot in Paris, where French scientists (Charcot, Germain-Se, and many others) gave him an ovation and gave banquets in his honor. Returning to St. Petersburg, he worked hard for another two years, during which his illness advanced greatly. In the interval between these two years (autumn 1888) he was treated by bathing in the Princes' Islands, after which he studied the establishment of medical institutions in Constantinople. In August 1889 he went to Arcachon, from there to Biarritz, to Nice, and finally to Menton. The attacks of the disease quickly intensified. At Menton, he subjected himself to a milk cure, which made a great improvement. Denying his underlying illness, he continued to be treated, mainly for gallstones. Influenced by the doctors around him, he wanted to listen to his heart with a self-listening stethoscope, but after listening, he hurriedly removed the instrument, saying: "Yes, the noise is quite sharp!" - and no longer repeated this study. Anticipating the possibility of death, he summoned his relatives from St. Petersburg. For the treatment of hepatic colic, he invited the English surgeon Lawson Tait, who became famous for the surgical removal of gallstones. The surgeon recognized the infringement of the gallstone, but refused to operate due to the weakening of cardiac activity. After that, Botkin consulted with a German therapist, prof. Kussmaul, but the disease was irresistibly going to a fatal outcome, and soon death, in the words of A. N. Belogolovy, "carried away its irreconcilable enemy from the earth."

Printed works of S. P. Botkin: 1) The formation of stagnation in the blood vessels of the mesentery of the frog from the action of medium salts ("Military Medical Journal", 1858, part 73). 2) Quantitative determination of protein and sugar in the urine by means of the Pfenzke-Soleil polarization apparatus ("Mosk. Med. Gaz.", 1858 No. 13). 3) Quantitative determination of milk sugar in milk by means of the Pfenzke-Soleilevsky apparatus ("Mosk. Med. Gaz.", 1858, No. 19). 4) About the absorption of fat in the intestines. Dissertation ("Military Medical Journal", 1860, part 78, IV). 5) On the physiological action of atropine sulfate ("Med. Bulletin", 1861, No. 29). 6) Ueber die Wirkung der Salze auf die circulirenden rothen Blutcörperchen ("Virch. Arch.", Bd. 15 [V], 1858, Heft I and II). 7) Zur Frage von dem Stoffwechsel der Fette im thierischen Organismus ("Virch. Arch.", Bd. 15 [V], 1858, N. III and IV). 8) Untersuchungen über die Diffusion organischer Stoffe (3 articles) ("Virch. Arch", Bd. 20 (X), 1861, N. I and II). 9) An essay on the successes of private pathology and therapy in 1861-62. ("Military Medical Journal", 1863 and 1864). 10) A case of portal vein thrombosis ("Med. Bulletin", 1863, No. 37 and 38). 11) Preliminary report on the epidemic of relapsing fever in St. Petersburg ("Med. Bulletin", 1864, No. 46). 12) Return to etiology. fever in St. Petersburg ("Med. Bulletin", 1865, No. 1). 13) Ans St.-Petersburg ("Wien. Wochenblatt", No. 22, 1865). 14) The course of the clinic of internal diseases. Issue. I - 1867, II - 1868, issue. ІII - 1875 15) Preliminary report on the present epidemic of cholera ("Epidem. Sheet", 1871, No. 3, appendix). 16) Archive of the Clinic of Internal Diseases, 13 volumes, 1869-1889. 17) "Weekly Clinical Newspaper", since 1881. 18) Auscultatory phenomena during narrowing of the left venous orifice, etc. ("St.-Petersb. med. Wochenschrift", 1880, No. 9). 19) Clinical lectures (3 editions). 20) General principles of clinical medicine (St. Petersburg, 1887). 21) From the first clinical lecture ("Med. Bulletin", 1862, No. 41). 22) Speech on the occasion of the election to the chairmen of the General. Russian Doctors (Proceedings of the Society, 1878). 23) The news of the plague in the Astrakhan province. (ibid., 1878). 24) Obituary of N. M. Yakubovich (ibid., 1878). 25) Speech on the 50th anniversary of Pirogov (ibid., 1880). 26) Speech on the article in Arch. Pfluger Pr.-Assoc. Tupoumova (ibid., 1881). 27) Speech on the death of N. Iv. Pirogov (ibid., 1881). 28) Regarding the illness of Iv. S. Turgenev (ibid.). 29) Speech on the occasion of the anniversary of R. Virkhov ("Ezhen. Wedge. Gaz.", 1881, No. 31). 30) Obituary of N. Al. Bubnov ("New Time", 1885, No. 3168). 31) Obituary of Yak. Al. Chistovich ("Ezhen. Klin. Gaz. ", 1885, No. 31). 32) Letter on the death of Prof. A.P. Borodin (ibid., 1887, No. 8). 33) Speech about French clinics (Proceedings of the General Russian Doctors, 1887 34) Speech on the visit to Constantinople (ibid., 1888) 35) Letters from Bulgaria 1877 (St. Petersburg, 1893).

V. N. Sirotinin, "S. P. Botkin", biography at the course of the clinic of internal diseases, ed. 1899, St. Petersburg. - N. A. Belogolovy, "S. P. Botkin", St. Petersburg, 1892 - His own, "Memoirs", Moscow, 1898 - A. I. Kutsenko, "Historical sketch of the department of academician therapist. clinics of the Imperial Military Medical Academy", 1810-1898, diss., St. Petersburg, 1898 - "Letters from Bulgaria to S. P. Botkin.", St. Petersburg, 1893 - V. Verekundov, " Historical sketch of the department of diagnostics and general therapy", diss., St. Petersburg, 1898 - Protocols of the conference Imp. Military Med. Academy for various years. - Manuscript files of the Academy. - Zmeev, "The Past of Medical Russia", 1890, article by M. G. Sokolov. - Various works by S. P. Botkin.

N. Kulbin.

(Polovtsov)

Botkin, Sergei Petrovich

Brother of Vasily and Mikhail Petrovich B., famous clinician and public figure; was born in 1832 in Moscow. His father and grandfather are famous tea merchants. He received his early education at the Ennes boarding school. Thanks to the influence of people belonging to the well-known circle of Stankevich, S.P. decided to enter Moscow University, but there turned out to be an obstacle - admission to all faculties in the late 40s. was extremely limited; Unlimited admission turned out to be at one medical faculty and S.P., against his will, had to enter there in 1850. In 1855, in the midst of the Sevastopol campaign, S.P. completed the course and was immediately sent at the expense of the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna to the theater of operations, where he worked in the Bakhchisarai infirmary of the Grand Duchess, under the guidance of N.I. Pirogov. At the end of the war, having earned a very flattering review from Pirogov, S.P. went abroad for improvement. He worked abroad in all the best clinics and laboratories: in Paris - with Claude Bernard, in Berlin in the clinics of the famous prof. Traube, at the Virchow Pathological and Anatomical Institute and in the laboratory of Hoppe-Seyler "a. Returning, B. was invited by the president of the Medico-Surgical Academy, Dubovitsky, as an adjunct to Prof. Shipulinsky. The following year, S. P. replaced Prof. Shipulinsky , having been appointed ordinary professor at the Therapeutic Clinic of Baronet Villiers. As a scientist, S. P. acquired an honorable and distinguished name in literature, not only Russian, but also abroad. S. P. had the rare good fortune to act in the field social activities at one of the best moments in the historical life of Russia, after the Crimean campaign, when all spheres of public life were engulfed in feverish activity, when new trends introduced a desire to reorganize the entire public and state life. The same trend, the same renewal then touched the Medico-Surgical Academy. S.P. was the first to create the Clinic on European principles. He introduced into it the latest research methods, the so-called clinical analysis of patients. In addition to the clinic, S. P. considered posthumous confirmation of diagnoses to be very important for the success of teaching; to this end, not a single case passed without an autopsy, and the listeners had the opportunity to verify how pathological and anatomical changes corresponded to intravital recognition. At the same time, in the laboratory of the Clinic, under the direction of S.P., a lot of young people always worked on various issues of scientific and practical medicine. S.P. created a whole school of students, of which more than 20 people have occupied and currently occupy departments of private pathology and therapy at various universities in Russia. Of these, many have become famous, such as the late Prof. Koshlakov, prof. V. A. Manassein, Polotebnov, Stolnikov and many others.

In the early 60s, S.P. was appointed an advisory member of the medical council of the Ministry of the Interior and the military medical scientific committee, since 1873 an honorary life physician. Then he was elected chairman of the Society of Russian Doctors in St. Petersburg. The activity of S.P. in public institutions, as a vowel of the city duma, was extremely fruitful. Since the transition of hospitals to the jurisdiction of the city, S.P. has constantly worked in the newly established sanitary and hospital commissions. On his initiative and instructions, the city energetically took up the improvement of the maintenance of hospitals and set about building new ones - the community of St. George and the Alexander Barracks Hospital. In addition, he also drew attention to the lack of medical care among the poor class of the metropolitan population; the city duma, at his suggestion, set up the Institute of Duma Doctors, which has been successfully functioning to this day; on his own initiative, work was begun on the development of data on the caregivers of the city's almshouses. This study was undertaken partly for the practical purpose of determining the number of people who make up the population of almshouses in need of medical assistance, partly from the scientific point of view - to collect material for studying the insufficiently developed question of old age. this study, made by Dr. A. A. Kadyan, came out after the death of S. P. Botkin ("Population of St. Petersburg city almshouses" by A. A. Kadyan).

In 1886, S.P. was appointed chairman of the commission on the issue of the improvement of Russia. This commission has collected precious material on the question of the sanitary condition of our vast fatherland; but, unfortunately, the work of the commission, due to the death of the chairman, was temporarily stopped. S. P. was also very sympathetic to the question of women's medical courses; although he did not personally teach at them, he took to heart the fate of the courses that ended prematurely and vigorously sought to establish them again at one of the city hospitals. In favor of the Women's Medical Courses, S.P. left the capital of the late Kondratiev, who transferred S.P. 20 thousand rubles for some charitable purpose. S. P. Botkin died on December 12, 1889 in Menton from a liver disease complicated by heart disease. All classes and institutions, among which the famous clinician worked, tried to perpetuate the memory of the deceased. Thus, the City Duma named the Aleksandrovskaya barracks hospital after Botkin, exhibited B.'s portrait in all city hospitals and almshouses, and established several elementary schools named after him. The Society of Russian Doctors has opened a subscription for the establishment of the "Botkin Charity House for poor doctors, their widows and orphans." In addition, the Botkin capital was established for awards for the best writings on therapy. The Weekly Clinical Newspaper, published by the famous clinician, was turned into Botkin's Hospital Newspaper. In addition, the Society of Russian Doctors formed a fund for issuing a prize in memory of the 25th anniversary of Botkin, and many former patients raised capital for a scholarship named after S.P. in one of the women's educational institutions. S. P. Botkin was a member of the Vienna Academy of Sciences, many foreign scientific societies, a corresponding member of the Society for Internal Medicine in Berlin and an honorary member of almost all universities and scientific societies in Russia.

Botkin's published works: "Stagnation formed in the blood vessels of the mesentery of a frog, from the action of medium salts" ("Military Medical Journal." 1853); "Quantitative determination of protein and sugar in the urine by means of a polarizing apparatus" ("Moscow. medical. gas.", 1858, No. 13); the same "Definition of milk sugar" ("Mosk. Med. Gaz.", 1882, No. 19); "On the absorption of fat in the intestines" ("Military medical journal", 1860); "On the physiological action of sulfuric acid atropine" ("Med. Vestn." 1861, No. 29); "Ueber die Wirkung der Salze auf dio circulirenden rothen Blutkörperchen" ("Virchow's Archive", XV, 173, 1858); "Zur Frage von dem Stofwechsel der Fette in thierischen Organismen" ("Virchow's Archive", XV, 380); "Untersuchungen über die Diffusion organischer Stoffe: 1) Diffusionsverhältnisse der rothen Blutkörperchen ausserhalb des Organismus" ("Virchow's Archive", XX, 26); 2) "Ueber die Eigenthümlichkeiten des Gallenpigment hinsichtlich der Diffusion" ("Virchow Archive", XX, 37) and 3) "Zur Frage des endosmotischen Verhalten des Eiweis" (ibid., XX, no. 39); "A case of thrombosis of the portal vein" ("Med. Vestn.", 1863, 37 and 38); "Preliminary report on the epidemic of relapsing fever in St. Petersburg" ("Med. Vest.", 1864, No. 46); "On the etiology of relapsing fever in St. Petersburg ("Med. V.", 1865, No. 1); "Course of the clinic of internal diseases" (issue 1-1867; issue 2-nd - 1868 and issue 3- th - 1875); "Preliminary report on the epidemic of cholera" (supplement to No. 3 "Epidemiological leaflet" for 1871); "Archive of the clinic of internal diseases" (7 volumes, from 1869 to 1881); "Clinical lectures", 3 editions, since 1881 published under his editorship of the "Weekly Clinical Newspaper".

(Brockhaus)

Botkin, Sergei Petrovich

The famous Russian doctor and professor V.-Medits. Academy (1832-89). In addition to clinical and practical activities, B. worked twice at the theater c. actions: 1st time in Sevastopol in 1855, immediately after the end of Moscow. university, in the Pirogov detachment; 2nd time - in 1877 as a lb.-med. imp. Alexander II. In his memoirs about Sevast. activities and letters about Bulgaria, B. is portrayed as an ardent patriot who broadly understood the needs of the military-sanitary affairs and sincerely mourned his deplorable state. ( FROM.P.Botkin, Letters from Bulgaria [to his wife] 1877, St. Petersburg, 1893; H.A white-headed, S. P. Botkin, St. Petersburg, 1892, And.Kulbin, Botkin).

(Military Enc.)

Botkin, Sergei Petrovich

(1832-1889) - an outstanding clinician in the field of internal diseases. Genus. in Moscow. In 1850 he entered the medical faculty of Moscow University. The greatest influence on B. at the university was made by Professor F. Inozemtsev, who attracted young people with his critical attitude to medical theories, which were then considered unshakable. After graduating from the university (in 1855), B. spent a short time in the war, working in Simferopol. Soon after, B. went abroad, where until 1860 he worked under the guidance of the largest representatives of medical thought of that time - Virchow, Ludwig, Claude Bernard, Goppe Seiler, Traube, etc. In 1860 B. was invited by the St. Petersburg Medical and Surgical Academy (later Military -Medical Academy) for the post of adjunct of a therapeutic clinic; in defense of his doctoral dissertation "On the absorption of fats in the intestines" moved in 1862 to the post of professor at the same clinic. Here he worked until the end of his life. From the very beginning of his activity, B. enthusiastically surrendered to the reorganization of the clinic according to the Western European type: he arranged the first clinical laboratory in Russia, also opened the first clinical outpatient reception of patients and created a center of scientific work from his clinic, gathering around him young doctors, of whom many later became first-class scientists (N. A. Vinogradov, V. A. Manassein, Yu. P. Chudnovsky, I. P. Pavlov, M. V. Yanovsky, N. Ya. Chistovich, M. M. Volkov, etc.). In his research and pedagogical activity B. carried out the ideas he had adopted from his Western European teachers, ch. arr., from Virchow and Claude Bernard. Like them, he opposed the natural scientific study of the patient both to abstract theories not based on experiment, and to the crude empiricism of his predecessors and many contemporaries. - Throughout his life, B. looked at practical medicine as a natural science: "The techniques used in the practice of research, observation and treatment of the patient should be the techniques of a natural scientist who bases his conclusion on the largest possible number of strictly and scientifically observed facts" ( 1862, introductory lecture). And already at the end of his life (1886) he again says: "Knowledge of physics, chemistry, natural sciences, with the widest possible general education, is the best preparatory school in the study of scientific practical medicine. " Therefore, for B. "the ability to apply natural science to individual cases is the art of treating itself." It was in this direction that the scientific activity of B. and his school developed. B. was engaged in little public activity, and only towards the end of his life did he pay some tribute to her. Being in 1881-89 a member of the St. In 1886, B. was appointed chairman of the government commission formed under the Medical Council to improve the sanitary condition and reduce mortality in Russia, but did not show himself in this role. , developed by B., is very extensive, but the scientific interest is especially significant. ny his theories in the field of cholelithiasis, catarrhal jaundice, typhoid fever, heart disease and circulatory disorders. B.'s literary heritage is small in volume and consists, in addition to a few journal articles, in his classic "Course of the Clinic of Internal Diseases" (3 volumes, ed. 1867-75), "Clinical Lectures" and containing a presentation of his main views "General Foundations of Clinical Medicine ". B. was also the founder, editor and active collaborator of two left a deep mark in Russian. medical literature of periodicals: "Archive of Professor Botkin's Clinic of Internal Diseases" (since 1862) and "Weekly Clinical Newspaper" (since 1881), which published the best works of students of his school. B.'s public views were not distinguished by certainty, and, for example, in such a historical document as "Letters from Bulgaria" (1877), he does not go beyond a pale and casual criticism of individual manifestations of the then military reality.

Lit.: Belogolovy, N. A., S. P. Botkin. His life and medical activity, Moscow, 1892; his own, Memoirs and Articles, Moscow, 1898; Sirotinin, V. N., S. P. Botkin (biographical sketch in the appendix to Part I of S. P. Botkin's "Course of the Clinic of Internal Diseases", 3rd edition, 1912).

Z. Solovyov.

Botkin, Sergei Petrovich

(September 5, 1832 - December 12, 1889) - Russian. general practitioner, materialist scientist, founder of physiology. referrals to clinical medicine, a major public figure. Born in Moscow into a merchant family. In his youth, B. got acquainted with the views of the philosophical circle of N. V. Stankevich - A. I. Herzen - V. G. Belinsky, who gathered in the Botkins' house.

In 1855 B. graduated from medical school. Faculty of Moscow. university; with a detachment of N. I. Pirogov, he took part in the Crimean campaign, acting as an intern at the Simferopol military hospital. In 1856-60 he was on a business trip abroad. In 1860 he defended in St. Petersburg at the Medico-Surgical. academy doctoral diss. "On the absorption of fat in the intestines" and in 1861 was elected professor at the academic therapeutic clinic.

B. was the first in Russia to create in 1860-61 an experimental laboratory at his clinic, where he produced physical. and chem. analyzes and researched physiological. and pharmacological. action of medicinal substances. B. also studied the physiology and pathology of the body, artificially reproduced various pathological animals on animals. processes (aortic aneurysm, nephritis, trophic. skin disorders) in order to reveal their patterns. At the same time, he emphasized that the clinician can only to a certain extent transfer data obtained as a result of animal experiments to humans. Research conducted in the laboratory of B. marked the beginning of experimental pharmacology, therapy and pathology in Russian. medicine. This laboratory was the embryo of the largest n.-and. honey. institutions - Institute of Experimental Medicine. B. outlined his views on medicine in 3 issues of the Course of the Clinic of Internal Diseases (1867, 1868, 1875) and in 35 lectures recorded and published by his students (Clinical Lectures by Prof. S.P. Botkin, 3rd issue. , 1885-91). B. was a true innovator who made a revolution in honey. science, the creator of natural history. and pathogenetic. method in diagnosis and treatment. He is the founder of scientific clinical. medicine.

In his views, B. proceeded from the materialistic. understanding of the organism as a whole, which is in inseparable unity and connection with its environment. This connection, first of all, is expressed in the form of metabolism between the organism and the environment,

in the form of adaptation of the organism to the environment. Thanks to the exchange, the organism lives and retains a certain independence in relation to the environment, thanks to the process of adaptation, the organism develops new properties in itself, to-rye, being fixed, are inherited. B. also materialistically resolved the problem of the origin of diseases, inextricably linking them to the cause, which is always determined exclusively by the external environment acting directly on the organism or through its ancestors. The central core of clinical B.'s concept is the doctrine of the internal mechanisms of deployment pathological. process in the body (the doctrine of pathogenesis). Criticizing one-sided concepts in pathology, B. argued that one of them, the so-called. the humoral theory of medicine, with its doctrine of movement disorders and the ratio of "juices" in the body, did not solve the problem of pathogenesis at all. Another, the cellular theory, explained only two particular cases of pathogenesis: the spread of the disease-causing principle through its direct transfer from one cell to another, per continuitatem, and the spread by transferring it through the blood or lymph. B. gave a deeper theory of pathogenesis. R. Virchow's one-sided doctrine of the body as a "federation" of cellular states that are not connected with the activity of the nervous system and the environment, B. opposed the doctrine of the body as a single whole, controlled nervous system and existing in close connection with the external environment. B. proceeded from the teachings of I. M. Sechenov that the anatomical and physiological. the substratum of all human acts. activity is the reflex mechanism. Developing this theory, he put forward the position that pathological. processes inside the body develop along reflex nerve pathways. Since in the reflex act one or another node of the central nervous system is the main member, B. paid great attention to the study of various centers of the brain. He experimentally discovered the center of sweating, the center of reflex effects on the spleen (1875) and suggested the existence of centers of lymphatic circulation and hematopoiesis. He showed the importance of all these centers in the development of the corresponding diseases and thereby proved the correctness of the neurogenic theory of pathogenesis. Based on this theory of pathogenesis, he began to build a new theory of treatment (influence on the course of the disease through the nerve centers), but did not have time to develop it to the end.

The neurogenic theory of B.'s pathogenesis puts in sight of the doctor not only one anatomical, but ch. arr. physiological or functional (through the nervous system) connections of the body and, therefore, obliges the doctor to consider the body as a whole, to diagnose not only the disease, but also the "diagnosis of the patient", . treat not only the disease, but the patient as a whole. This is the fundamental difference between B.'s clinic and clinics of the humoral and cellular schools. Developing all these ideas, B. created a new direction in medicine, characterized by I. P. Pavlov as the direction of nervism.

B. belongs big number outstanding discoveries in the field of medicine. He was the first to express the idea of ​​the specificity of the protein structure in various organs; the first (1883) indicated that catarrhal jaundice, to-ruyu Virkhov interpreted as "mechanical", refers to infectious diseases; at present, this disease is called "Botkin's disease." He also established the infectious nature of hemorrhagic. jaundice described by A. Weil. This disease is called "Botkin-Weil jaundice". Brilliantly developed the diagnosis and clinic of a drooping and "wandering" kidney.

B. published the Archive of the Clinic of Internal Diseases of Professor S. P. Botkin (1869-89) and the Weekly Clinical Newspaper (1881-89), renamed from 1890 into the Botkin Hospital Newspaper. These publications published the scientific works of his students, among which were I. P. Pavlov, A. G. Polotebnov, V. A. Manassein and many other outstanding Russian. doctors and scientists.

My scientific activity B. closely associated with the public. In 1861, he opened a free outpatient clinic at his clinic - the first in the history of clinics. treatment of patients. In 1878, being chairman of the Ob-va Rus. doctors in St. Petersburg, achieved the construction of a free hospital by the society, which was opened in 1880 (Alexandrov barracks hospital, now the hospital named after S. P. Botkin). B.'s initiative was picked up, and in others. major cities Russia began to be built at the expense of honey. about-in free hospitals. With his active participation in 1872, women's medical courses were opened in St. Petersburg - the world's first higher medical school. school for women. B. proved to be an advanced doctor during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-78. Being a life physician of Alexander II, he essentially took on the duties of the chief physician of the army: he achieved prophylactic. quinization of the troops, fought to improve the nutrition of soldiers, made rounds of hospitals, and gave consultations.

Since 1881, V., being a vowel of St. Petersburg. city ​​duma and deputy. prev. the Duma Commission of Public Health, laid the foundation for the organization of sanitary affairs in St. Petersburg, introduced the institute of sanitary doctors, laid the foundation for free home care, organized the institute of "Duma" doctors; created the Institute of School Health Doctors, the "Council of Chief Physicians of St. Petersburg Hospitals". B. was before. government commission to develop measures to improve the sanitary condition of the country and reduce mortality in Russia (1886). The tsarist government was suspicious of B.'s public activities. In 1862 he was searched and interrogated in connection with his visit to A. I. Herzen in London. In the 70s. there was a question about removing B. (together with I. M. Sechenov) from Medico-surgical. academy.

Cit.: The course of the clinic of internal diseases and clinical lectures, vol. 1-2, M., 1950.

Lit .: Pavlov I.P., Modern unification in the experiment of the main aspects of medicine on the example of digestion, in his book: complete collection works, vol. 2, book. 2, 2nd ed., M.-L., 1951; his, On the mutual relationship of physiology and medicine in matters of digestion, part 1-2, ibid., vol. 2, book. 1, 2nd ed., M.-L., 1951; Belogolovy N. A., From my memories of Sergei Petrovich Botkin, in the book: Belogolovy N. A., Memoirs and other articles, M., 1897; his own, SP. Botkin, his life and medical practice, St. Petersburg, 1892; Borodulin F. R., S. P. Botkin and neurogenic theory of medicine, 2nd ed., M., 1953; Farber VV, Sergei Petrovich Botkin (1832-1889), L., 1948 (there is a bibliography of B.'s works and literature about him).

Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Botkin, Sergei Petrovich, brother of the previous ones, famous clinician and public figure (1832 1889). His father and grandfather are famous tea merchants. He received his primary education at the Ennes boarding school in Moscow. Under the influence of people who belonged to ... ... Biographical Dictionary

Russian therapist, founder of the physiological direction in clinical medicine, public figure. Born into the family of a large tea merchant. His brother V.P. had a great influence on B. ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

- (1832 89) Russian therapist, one of the founders of the clinic of internal diseases as a scientific discipline in Russia, the founder of the largest school of Russian clinicians. Brother of V.P. and M.P. Botkin. In 1860, 61 organized a clinical experimental ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (1832 1889), doctor and public figure, one of the founders of therapy as a scientific discipline in Russia, the creator of the largest school of clinicians. Graduated from Moscow University (1855). In St. Petersburg since 1860. Since 1861 professor of the Moscow Art Academy (since 1881 ... ... St. Petersburg (encyclopedia)

Monument on Botkinskaya Street (St. Petersburg) Sergei Petrovich Botkin (5 (17) September 1832, Moscow 12 (24) December 1889, Menton) Russian therapist and public figure. Professor of Medico-Surgical Academy (since 1861). Participant ... ... Wikipedia

- (1832 1889), therapist, one of the founders of the domestic clinic of internal diseases as a scientific discipline, the founder of the largest school of Russian clinicians. Brother of V.P. and M.P. Botkin. In 1860, 61 organized a clinical experimental ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary, V. T. Ivashkin, O. M. Drapkina. The book presented to readers contains clinical observations, which are rich in modern therapeutic clinic and in particular the clinic of propaedeutics of internal diseases of the first Moscow State Medical University. AND.…

In 1907, after the death of the life physician of the Royal Family, Gustav Hirsch, the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, when asked who she would like to invite to the place of the family doctor, immediately answered: “Botkin”.

Representatives of the well-known merchant family of the Botkins in Russia were major benefactors and organizers of churches, they donated a lot to churches and orphanages. Many famous personalities belonged to this family: writers, artists, writers, art historians, collectors, inventors, diplomats, and also doctors. The father of Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin, who in April 1908 became the life physician of the family of the last Russian Emperor, was the famous Sergei Petrovich Botkin, a general practitioner, life physician of Alexander II and Alexander III, who gained fame as an outstanding scientist, subtle diagnostician, talented teacher and public figure.

Evgeny Sergeevich was the fourth child in a large family. He was born on May 27, 1865 in Tsarskoye Selo, received an excellent home education, on the basis of which he was immediately admitted to the fifth grade of the Second Petersburg Classical Gymnasium. Particular attention in the family was paid to the religious education of children, which, of course, bore fruit. The boy also received a thorough musical education, acquired a delicate musical taste. On Saturdays, the capital's beau monde gathered in the Botkins' house: professors of the Military Medical Academy, writers and musicians, collectors and artists, such as I.M. Sechenov, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, A.P. Borodin, V.V. Stasov, N.M. Yakubovich, M.A. Balakirev. The spiritual and everyday atmosphere at home had a great influence on the formation of character and the formation of the personality of the future life physician of the Royal Family.

From childhood, Eugene was distinguished by modesty, a kind attitude towards others, rejection of fights and any violence. His elder brother, Russian diplomat Pyotr Sergeevich Botkin, recalls him: “From a very tender age, his beautiful and noble nature was full of perfection. He was never like other children. Always sensitive, delicate, inwardly kind, with an extraordinary soul, he was terrified of any fight or fight. We other boys used to fight furiously. He, as usual, did not participate in our fights, but when the fist fight took on a dangerous character, he, at the risk of injury, stopped the fight. He was very diligent and smart in his studies.

The brilliant abilities of Evgeny Botkin in the natural sciences manifested themselves in the gymnasium. After graduating, following the example of his father, a doctor, he entered the junior department of the opened preparatory course of the Military Medical Academy. In 1889, Evgeniy Sergeevich successfully graduated from the academy, receiving the title of "doctor with honors" and was awarded the personalized Paltsev Prize, which was awarded to "the third highest score in his course."

Evgeny Botkin began his medical career in January 1890 as an assistant doctor at the Mariinsky Hospital for the Poor. A year later, he went to study in Germany, studied with leading European scientists, got acquainted with the organization of Berlin hospitals. In May 1893 Evgeny Sergeevich brilliantly defended his dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Medicine. In 1897 he was elected Privatdozent of the Military Medical Academy.

His introductory lecture to students reflects his attitude towards patients, which has always distinguished him: “Once the trust you have acquired from patients turns into sincere affection for you when they are convinced of your invariably cordial attitude towards them. When you enter the ward, you are greeted with a joyful and friendly mood - a precious and powerful medicine, which you will often help much more than potions and powders ... Only the heart is needed for this, only sincere cordial participation in a sick person. So do not be stingy, learn to give it with a wide hand to those who need it. So let's go with love to a sick person, so that we can learn together how to be useful to him.

In 1904, with the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin volunteered for the front and was appointed head of the medical department of the Russian Red Cross Society. More than once he was at the forefront, replacing, according to eyewitnesses, a wounded paramedic.

In his 1908 book, Light and Shadows of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905: From Letters to My Wife, he recalled: “I was not afraid for myself: I had never felt the strength of my faith to such an extent. I was fully convinced that no matter how great the risk I was exposed to, I would not be killed unless God wanted it. I didn’t tease fate, I didn’t stand by the guns so as not to interfere with the shooters, but I realized that I was needed, and this consciousness made my situation pleasant.

From a letter to my wife from Laoyang dated May 16, 1904: “I am more and more depressed by the course of our war, and therefore it hurts that we are losing so much and losing so much, but almost more because the whole mass of our troubles is only the result of a lack of people of spirituality, a sense of duty, that small calculations become higher than the concepts of the Fatherland, higher than God. At the end of the war, Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir III and II degree with swords "for the difference shown in cases against the Japanese."

Outwardly, a very calm and strong-willed doctor Botkin was distinguished by a fine mental organization. His brother P. S. Botkin describes the following incident: “I arrived at my father’s grave and suddenly heard sobs in a deserted cemetery. Coming closer, I saw my brother [Eugene] lying in the snow. “Oh, it's you, Petya; here, I came to talk with dad, ”and again sobs. And an hour later, during the reception of patients, it could not have occurred to anyone that this calm, self-confident and domineering person could sob like a child.

The family life of Evgeny Sergeevich did not work out. His wife, Olga Vladimirovna Botkina, left him, carried away by fashionable revolutionary ideas and a student at the Riga Polytechnic College, 20 years younger than her. At that time, the eldest son of the Botkins, Yuri, was already living separately; son Dmitry - a cornet of the Life Guards of the Cossack regiment - with the outbreak of World War I went to the front and soon died heroically, covering the retreat of the reconnaissance Cossack patrol, for which he was posthumously awarded the St. George Cross of the IV degree. After a divorce from his wife, the younger children, Tatyana and Gleb, whom he selflessly loved, remained in the care of Dr. Botkin, and they responded to him with the same adoration.

After his appointment as a life physician, Imperial Majesty Dr. Botkin moved with his children to Tsarskoye Selo, where the Tsar's Family lived since 1905. The duty of the life physician included the treatment of all members of the royal family: he regularly examined the Emperor, who had fairly good health, treated the Grand Duchesses, who seemed to have been ill with all known childhood infections.

Of course, the poor state of health of the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and the Tsesarevich demanded great attention and care from the doctor. Nevertheless, being a moral and extremely decent person, Evgeny Sergeevich never touched upon the health issues of his highest patients in private conversations.

Head of the Chancellery of the Ministry of the Imperial Court, General A.A. Mosolov noted: “Botkin was known for his restraint. None of the retinue managed to find out from him what the empress was sick with and what treatment the queen and heir followed. He was certainly a devoted servant to Their Majesties." The doctor's daughter Tatyana also recalls: "My father always considered any gossip and gossip about the Royal Family to be completely unacceptable, and even to us children, he did not convey anything other than already known facts."

Very soon, the life physician Evgeny Botkin sincerely became attached to his august patients, subdued by their simple and kind attitude, attention and sensitive care for everyone around him. Having suffered a serious illness on the imperial yacht Shtandart in the autumn of 1911, the doctor wrote to his eldest sons: “... I am much better and again I should only thank God for my illness: it not only gave me the joy of receiving our dear little [younger children Tanya and Gleb ] in my sweet cabin, not only brings them the joy of visiting me here, where they like it so much, but gave them the extraordinary happiness of being treated kindly by all the Grand Duchesses, the Heir Tsesarevich and even Their Majesties.

I am also truly happy, not only with this, but also with the boundless kindness of Their Majesties. To reassure me, the Empress comes to me every day, and yesterday the Sovereign himself was there. I can't tell you how touched and happy I was. By their kindness they made me their servant until the end of my days…”

From another letter, dated September 16, 1911: “Everyone was so kind to our little ones that I was simply touched. The sovereign gave them a hand, the Empress kissed their humble heads, and they themselves will write to you about the Grand Duchesses. The meeting between Alexei Nikolaevich and Gleb was incomparable. At first he said to Tanya and Gleb “you”, but soon switched to “you”. One of the first questions to Gleb was: “What is the name of this hole?” “I don’t know,” Gleb answered embarrassedly. - "Do you know?" he turned to Tanya. "I know - a half portico."

Then again questions to Gleb: “Whose crutch is this?” “Papulin,” Gleb answers quietly. [So the children of Dr. Botkin always called their father, Evgeny Sergeevich] “Whose?” - a surprised question. - "Papulin", - repeats the completely embarrassed Gleb. Then I explained what this strange word meant, but Alexei Nikolayevich repeated his question several times later, in the midst of another conversation, interested in a funny answer and, probably, Gleb's embarrassment, but he already answered boldly ...

Yesterday, when I lay alone during the day and was sad about the children who had left, suddenly, at the usual time, Anastasia Nikolaevna came to entertain me and wanted to do everything for me that my children did, for example, to let me wash my hands. Maria Nikolaevna also came, and we played noughts and crosses with her, and now Olga Nikolaevna ran in - right, like an Angel, flying in. Good Tatyana Nikolaevna visits me every day. In general, everyone spoils me terribly ... "

The children of Dr. Evgeny Botkin also retained vivid memories of the days spent in Tsarskoye Selo, not far from the Alexander Palace, where the Tsar's Family lived. Tatyana Melnik-Botkina later wrote in her memoirs: “The Grand Duchesses ... constantly sent bows, sometimes a peach or an apple, sometimes a flower or just a candy, but if one of us got sick - and this happened to me often - then by all means every day even Her Majesty inquired about her health, sent holy water or prosphora, and when I had my hair cut after typhoid, Tatyana Nikolaevna knitted a blue cap with her own hands.

And we weren’t the only ones who enjoyed some kind of exceptional location of the Royal Family: They extended their care and attention to everyone they knew, and often in their spare moments the Grand Duchesses went to the rooms of some dishwasher or watchman to babysit the children whom They everyone was very fond of it."

As can be seen from the few surviving letters of Dr. Botkin, he was especially reverently attached to the Heir. From a letter from Yevgeny Sergeevich, written on March 26, 1914, on the way to Sevastopol: “... the beloved Alexei Nikolaevich is walking under the window. Today Alexey Nikolaevich walked around the carriages with a basket of small blown eggs, which he sold for the benefit of poor children on behalf of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, who boarded the train with us in Moscow ... "

Very soon, it was the Tsesarevich who became the main object of anxiety and medical care of Yevgeny Sergeevich. It was with him that the doctor spent most of his time, often during life-threatening attacks, day and night, without leaving the bedside of the sick Alexei. From a letter from the doctor to the children (Spala, October 9, 1912): “Today I remember you especially often and clearly imagine how you must have felt when you saw my name in the newspapers under the bulletin on the state of health of our beloved Alexei Nikolaevich ... I am unable to convey You, what I am worried about ... I am not able to do anything but walk around Him ... I am not able to think about anything but Him, about His Parents ... Pray, my children ... Pray daily, fervently for our precious Heir ... »

Slept, October 14, 1912: “... He is better, our priceless patient. God heard the fervent prayers offered to Him by so many, and the Heir positively felt better, glory to Thee, Lord. But what were those days? How the years have fallen on the soul ... And now she still cannot completely straighten out - it will take so long for the poor Heir to get better and so many more accidents can be on the way ... "

In the summer of 1914 riots broke out in St. Petersburg. Crowds of striking workers walked the streets, destroyed trams and lampposts, and killed policemen. Tatyana Melnik-Botkina writes: “The reasons for these riots were not clear to anyone; caught strikers were diligently interrogated as to why they started this whole mess. “But we don’t know ourselves,” were their answers, “they hit us with trifles and they say: hit the trams and policemen, well, we beat them.” Soon the first World War, which at first caused a grandiose patriotic upsurge among the Russian people.

Since the beginning of the war, the Emperor lived almost without a break at Headquarters, which was first in Baranovichi, and then in Mogilev. The Sovereign instructed Dr. Botkin to stay with the Empress and the children in Tsarskoe Selo, where infirmaries began to open through their efforts. In the house where Yevgeny Sergeevich lived with his children, he also set up an infirmary, where the Empress and her two eldest daughters often came to visit the wounded. Once Yevgeny Sergeevich brought there the little Tsarevich, who also expressed a desire to visit the wounded soldiers in the infirmary.

“I am surprised at their ability to work,” Evgeny Sergeevich told his daughter Tanya about the members of the Royal Family. – Not to mention His Majesty, who impresses with the number of reports that he can accept and remember, but even the Grand Duchess Tatyana Nikolaevna. For example: She, before going to the infirmary, gets up at 7 o’clock in the morning to take a lesson, then they both go to dressings, then breakfast, again lessons, a detour of the infirmaries, and when evening comes, They immediately take up needlework or reading ” .

During the war, all the everyday life of the imperial medical doctor went the same way - at work, and the holidays were distinguished by visiting the Liturgy with the children in the Fedorovsky Sovereign Cathedral, where members of the Royal Family also came. Tatyana Melnik-Botkina recalled: “I will never forget the impression that gripped me under the vaults of the church: the silent, orderly ranks of soldiers, the dark faces of the Saints on blackened icons, the faint flickering of a few lamps and the pure, delicate profiles of the Grand Duchesses in white scarves filled my soul with tenderness , and fervent words of prayer without words for this Family of the seven most modest and greatest Russian people, silently praying among the people they loved, escaped from the heart.

At the end of February 1917, a wave of revolutionary events swept Russia. The Sovereign and Empress were accused of high treason and, by order of the Provisional Government, were placed under arrest in the Alexander Palace of Tsarskoye Selo. They were repeatedly offered to secretly leave Russia, however, all proposals of this kind were rejected by them. Even being imprisoned in cold Tobolsk and suffering various hardships, Alexandra Fedorovna told Dr. Botkin: "I'd rather be a scrubber, but I'll be in Russia."

The commissars of the Provisional Government suggested that the imperial retinue leave the Royal Family, otherwise the former courtiers were threatened with sharing their unhappy fate. As a person deeply decent and sincerely devoted to the Royal Family, Dr. Botkin remained with the Sovereign.

Tatyana Melnik-Botkina describes the day when her father made this decision: “... My father, who had been on duty at Their Highnesses all night, had not yet returned, and at that moment we were happy to see his carriage entering the yard. Soon his steps were heard on the stairs, and he entered the room in a coat and with a cap in his hands.

We rushed to him with greetings and questions about the health of Their Highnesses, who were already lying [seriously ill with measles], but he pushed us away so as not to infect measles and, sitting aside at the door, asked if we knew what was happening. “Of course we do, but is it all that serious?” - we answered, already now alarmed by the sight of our father, in whom something frightening slipped through his usual restraint and calmness. “So seriously that there is an opinion that, in order to avoid bloodshed, the Sovereign should abdicate the throne, at least in favor of Alexei Nikolaevich.”

We answered this with deathly silence. “Undoubtedly, protests and riots will begin here, in Tsarskoye, and, of course, the palace will be the center, so I beg you to leave home for the time being, since I myself am moving to the palace. If you value my peace of mind, then you will do it.” “When, to whom?” “I have to be back at the palace in two hours at the latest, and before that, I would like to take you personally.” And indeed, two hours later, my younger brother and I were already settled in with an old friend of our parents ... "

At the end of May 1917, Dr. Botkin was temporarily released from arrest, since the wife of his eldest son, Yuri, was dying. After her recovery, the doctor asked to return to Their Majesties, since according to the rules, a person from the retinue, released from custody, could not be allowed back. Soon he was given to know that the chairman of the Provisional Government A.F. Kerensky personally wanted to see him.

The conversation took place in Petrograd: Kerensky warned Botkin about the decision of the Provisional Government to send the arrested Family of the Sovereign to Siberia. Nevertheless, on July 30, Dr. Evgeny Sergeevich entered the Alexander Palace to the arrested, and on the night of July 31 to August 1, he was taken to Tobolsk together with members of the Royal Family.

Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin with his daughter Tatiana and son Gleb

In Tobolsk, it was ordered to observe the same regime as in Tsarskoe Selo, that is, not to let anyone out of the allotted premises. Dr. Botkin, however, was allowed to provide medical care to the population. In the house of the merchant Kornilov, he had two rooms in which he could receive patients from the local population and guard soldiers. He wrote about this: “Their confidence especially touched me, and I was pleased with their confidence, which never deceived them, that I would receive them with the same attention and affection as any other patient, and not only as an equal to myself, but also as patient, who has all the rights to all my cares and services.

Since the Sovereign, Empress and Their children were not allowed to go outside the fence, Dr. Botkin wrote a letter to Kerensky without their knowledge, in which he said that he considered it his duty as a doctor to declare a lack of exercise for the arrested and ask permission to give them walks in the city, even if under guard. Kerensky's answer soon came with permission, however, when Yevgeny Sergeevich showed the letter to the head of the guard, the latter declared that he could not allow walks, since an attempt on the Sovereign could occur.

According to Tatyana Botkin's daughter, who came to her father in Tobolsk with her younger brother, such assumptions were completely unfounded, since almost the entire population of the city belonged to the members of the Royal Family with the same loyal feelings.

In April 1918, a close friend of Ya.M. Sverdlov Commissioner V. Yakovlev, who immediately announced the doctors were also arrested. Dr. Botkin, who even with the advent of the Bolsheviks continued to wear a uniform - a general's coat and epaulettes with the monograms of the Sovereign - was demanded to remove his epaulettes. He replied to this that he would not take off his shoulder strap, but if this threatened with any trouble, he would simply change into civilian clothes.

From the memoirs of Tatyana Melnik-Botkina: “April 11 ... about 3 o'clock, my father came to tell us that, by order of Yakovlev, he and Dr. Derevenko were also declared arrested along with Their Majesties, it is not known for how long, maybe only for a few hours maybe two or three days. Taking only a small suitcase with medicines, a change of linen and washing accessories, my father put on his clean palace dress, that is, the one in which he never went to the sick, made the sign of the cross, kissed us, as always, and went out.

It was a warm spring day, and I watched him carefully cross the muddy street on his heels in his civilian overcoat and fedora. We were left alone, wondering what the arrest could mean. At about seven in the evening, Klavdia Mikhailovna Bitner came running to us. “I came to tell you in confidence that Nikolai Alexandrovich and Alexandra Fedorovna are being taken away tonight, and your father and Dolgorukov are going with them. So, if you want to send something to the pope, then Evgeny Stepanovich Kobylinsky will send a soldier from the guard. We thanked her heartily for the message and started packing, and soon received a farewell letter from my father.

The basement of the Ipatiev House, in which the Royal Family and their faithful servants were killed

According to Yakovlev, either Tatishchev or Dolgorukov, and one of the male and female servants, were allowed to go with the Sovereign. There were no orders about doctors, but even at the very beginning, having heard that Their Majesties were going, Dr. Botkin announced that he would go with Them. “But what about your children?” Alexandra Fyodorovna asked, knowing about his close relationship with the children and the anxieties that the doctor experienced in separation from them. Evgeny Sergeevich replied that the interests of Their Majesties always come first for him. The empress was moved to tears by this and thanked him very heartily.

On the night of April 25-26, 1918, Nicholas II with Alexandra Fedorovna and daughter Maria, Prince Dolgorukov, the maid Anna Demidova and Dr. Evgeny Botkin, under the escort of a special detachment led by Yakovlev, were sent to Yekaterinburg. Tatyana Melnik-Botkina writes: “I remember with a shudder that night and all the days that followed. One can imagine what were the experiences of both parents and children, who almost never parted and loved each other as much as Their Majesties, Their Highnesses loved ...

That night I decided not to go to bed and often looked at the brightly lit windows of the governor's house, in which, it seemed to me, sometimes the shadow of my father appeared, but I was afraid to open the curtain and very clearly observe what was happening, so as not to incur the displeasure of the guards. At about two o'clock in the morning the soldiers came for the last things and my father's suitcase... At dawn I put out the fire...

Finally, the gates of the fence opened and the coachmen, one after the other, began to drive up to the porch. The yard became busy, the figures of servants and soldiers appeared, dragging things. Among them stood out the tall figure of His Majesty's old valet Chemadurov, who was already ready to leave. Several times my father came out of the house, in Prince Dolgorukov’s hare sheepskin coat, as Her Majesty and Maria Nikolaevna, who had nothing but light fur coats, were wrapped in his fur coat ...

Here we set off. The train left the fence gate opposite from me and turned past the fence, straight at me, in order to then turn left under my windows along the main street. In the first two sledges sat four soldiers with rifles, then the Sovereign and Yakovlev. His Majesty was sitting on the right, in a protective cap and a soldier's overcoat. He turned, talking to Yakovlev, and I still remember His kind face with a cheerful smile. Then again there was a sleigh with soldiers holding rifles between their knees, then a cart, in the depths of which one could see the figure of the Empress and the beautiful face of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, also smiling with the same encouraging smile as the Sovereign, then again soldiers, then the sleigh with my father and Prince Dolgorukov. My father noticed me and, turning around, blessed me several times ... "

Neither Tatyana nor Gleb had a chance to see their adored father again. To all their requests for permission to follow their father to Yekaterinburg, they were told that even if they were taken there, they would never be allowed to meet with the arrested.

The prisoners who arrived in Yekaterinburg were removed from the train by the Red Army and searched. Prince Dolgorukov was found with two revolvers and a large sum of money. He was separated and taken to prison, and the rest, in cabs, to the Ipatiev mansion.

The regime of detention in the "house of special purpose" was strikingly different from the regime in Tobolsk. Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin did not find a room - he slept on the floor in the dining room with the valet Chemadurov. The house itself was surrounded by a double fence, one of which was so high that only a golden cross could be seen from the Ascension Church, located on the mountain opposite; however, as follows from the doctor's letters, it was a great pleasure for the prisoners to see the cross.

Botkin's daughter Tatyana remarked: “... Still, the first days, apparently, it was still more or less tolerable, but already the last letter, marked on the third of May, was, despite all the meekness of my father and his desire to see only good in everything, very gloomy. He wrote about how insulting it is to see undeserved distrust and to receive sharp refusals from the guards when you turn to them as a doctor with a request for indulgences for prisoners, at least for walks in the garden. If there was discontent in my father’s tone, and if he began to consider the guards harsh, then this meant that life there was already very difficult, and the guards began to scoff.”

The State Archives of the Russian Federation store the last, unfinished letter of Evgeny Sergeevich, written on the eve of the terrible night of the murder: “I am making my last attempt to write a real letter - at least from here ... My voluntary imprisonment here is not limited by time, as my earthly existence is limited. In essence, I died, I died for my children, for friends, for a cause ... I died, but not yet buried, or buried alive - anyway, the consequences are almost the same ...

The day before yesterday I was reading calmly ... and suddenly I saw a brief vision - the face of my son Yuri, but dead, in a horizontal position, with eyes closed. Yesterday, during the same reading, I suddenly heard a word that sounded like "Daddy." I almost burst into tears. And this word is not a hallucination, because the voice was similar, and for a moment I had no doubt that this was my daughter, who should be in Tobolsk, talking to me ... I will probably never hear this such a dear voice and feel those so expensive hugs with which my children spoiled me so much ...

I don’t indulge myself with hope, I don’t lull myself into illusions, and I look straight into the eyes of unvarnished reality… I am supported by the conviction that “he who endures to the end will be saved” and the consciousness that I remain true to the principles of the 1889 graduation. If faith without deeds is dead, then deeds without faith can exist, and if any of us joins deeds with faith, then this is only by the special grace of God to him ...

This also justifies my last decision, when I did not hesitate to leave my children as complete orphans in order to fulfill my medical duty to the end, just as Abraham did not hesitate at the request of God to sacrifice his only son to him.

The last Russian physician Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin, fulfilling his medical and human duty, consciously remained with the Royal Family until the last days of Their lives and together with them was martyred in the basement of the Ipatiev House on the night of July 16-17, 1918.

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By the middle of the 19th century, Russian medicine was in a terrible state. Medical historians write that most faculty in medical schools used the same information year after year, ignoring discoveries in their field and shying away from innovation. Sometimes the information transmitted to students was from the category of medieval ones, for example, it was stated about the liver that it was “an intestinal canal that was many times collapsed”, there were other inconsistencies that were taught from the departments of respected educational institutions.

At that time (and, apparently, not without reason) it was believed that foreign doctors treat better than domestic ones, so rich patients preferred to see Prussian-born doctors in their homes. The dominance of German doctors sometimes led to the fact that the doctor could not clearly communicate with his patient, due to ignorance of the Russian language.

Indeed, people from the student benches of the medical faculty often went abroad, where medical thought was more progressive. So it happened with the future great therapist, clinician and physiologist, a prominent Russian scientist Sergei Petrovich Botkin. His friend, historian T. N. Granovsky, who lived on the lower floor of his house, noted the extraordinary curiosity of the young Botkin and his outstanding abilities. Having returned from many years of wandering around European educational institutions and clinics, the young doctor began his career with reforms in the medical field. In 1860-1861, he founded a laboratory that was destined to become a scientific research experimental center. In this lab Botkin studied the effect of drugs on the human body, conducted chemical and physical research. So in Russian medicine, experimental directions in therapy, pharmacology, and pathology were born.

Sergei, born in 1832, was one of 14 children of a wealthy merchant and factory owner. The eldest son, the future famous writer Vasily Botkin, was engaged in the upbringing of children in the family. Until the age of 15, the future torch of Russian medicine was taught by his elder brother and friends, including T. N. Granovsky, V. G. Belinsky, A. I. Herzen. A philosophical circle gathered in Botkin's house, which largely shaped the views of the young man.

Botkin wanted to enter the Faculty of Mathematics, but life decided otherwise, and in the year of admission, a decree was issued to cancel admission to any faculties, except for medical. With internal resistance, Botkin chose the medical faculty. If everything had turned out differently, there would have been one more eminent mathematician in Russia, because, as you know, talented people are talented in everything.

Immediately after graduating from Moscow University in 1855 Sergei Petrovich Botkin went with a squad participate in the Crimean company. By that time, hundreds of enemy ships had already landed off the coast of Evpatoria, representing four European states that opposed Russia - Turkey, France, England and Sardinia. The losses of the Russian side numbered in the tens of thousands, the wounded were a continuous stream. Then Pirogov created field teams of nurses and opened first aid training courses, where everyone could enroll. To the moment Crimean War Pirogov had already mastered ether anesthesia, which greatly relieved the pain of the wounded during operations. In addition, he used a plaster cast, which allowed him to save the limbs of a huge number of the wounded. Botkin, being around all the time, studied with the most progressive medical compatriot and absorbed innovations like a sponge.

Thanks to his experimental laboratory at the clinic of internal diseases, Botkin was able to use research to diagnose and treat patients. He introduced the mandatory measurement of body temperature with a thermometer, the method of listening to the patient (auscultation) and tapping (percussion), physical examination, collecting information about the patient's lifestyle and anamnesis. So he received a complete vision of the disease and made an accurate diagnosis. He tirelessly taught students how to diagnose using these methods, which then became an integral part of Russian clinical practice.

Interestingly, the position of professor of the clinic of internal diseases went to Botkin not so easily. I had to overcome a fierce debate, in which, on the one hand, there were admirers of Western doctors who invited a German professor to this position, and on the other, Botkin's students, who were indignant against injustice and stood up for their teacher as a progressive young force of Russian medicine. Botkin's theoretical work and his name were already known at that time in professional circles, and he was offered the position of professor and head of the clinic.

Like any bright personality with an innovative approach, Botkin was immediately disliked by envious colleagues who did not miss the opportunity to fan the rumor about a mistake or slander the doctor. It should be noted that Botkin was a real diagnostic ace. His ear was so trained to listen internal organs through a plessimeter (a device for medical listening to a patient), that no violations could escape his attention. Once the envious had the opportunity to accuse the eminent doctor of charlatanism. Botkin diagnosed one patient with portal vein thrombosis. Such a diagnosis did not leave hope, and the patient was soon to leave the mortal world. However, he lived for a full six weeks, which gave the enemies a reason to doubt the diagnosis. An autopsy after the death of the patient showed the absolute correctness of the diagnosis, and the spiteful critics were put to shame. It was the finest hour of the great scientist, profitable offers rained down on him, and there was no end to rich patients.

In 1872, Botkin had the honor of treating the ailing Catherine II. Having rid her of weakness, he extended her health for many years, became the royal physician and simply a welcome guest at court.

One of the main merits of S. P. Botkin as a scientist was the promotion of a new theory of medicine. This happened almost simultaneously with the emergence of a new theory in Germany, where its author was Professor, under whose leadership the best of Russian doctors studied. New theory Botkin was that reflexes are the basis of all life activity. Whereas Virchow, putting forward his theory, spoke about the beginning of everything thanks to the cell. Both of these theories, independently of each other, were opposed to humoral or vital medicine, based on the theory of the vital spirit underlying every phenomenon. This theory has unshakably dominated medicine for many centuries. Thanks to the emergence of two new theories of medicine, two directions were born - anatomical, according to Virchow, and physiological, according to Botkin.

Botkin's fundamental view of the body was its inextricable relationship with the outside world. Adapting to the environment, the body changes its metabolism and forms new properties. These new characteristics of the organism are inherited and determine the survival in a changing environment. Botkin saw the origin of the disease in the inability of the body to respond to the external environment or qualities transmitted by previous generations.

Botkin saw the failure of Virchow's cell theory in limited functionality: disease, according to Virchow, is caused by the transfer of pathogens from one cell to another or, in the second version, together with blood or lymph. Botkin thought the theory about the body as a “country” consisting of cells was limited; he opposed it to the doctrine of the body as a single whole controlled by the nervous system. In this regard, Botkin paid great attention to the study of various parts of the brain. Empirically, he discovered the centers of sweating, hematopoiesis, and lymph formation. Thus, he came to the conclusion that the treatment of the disease consists in a selective effect on each of the nerve centers responsible for a particular process or organ. Unfortunately, he failed to complete the evidence and research in favor of his theory. However, he managed to prove the main point of his theory: the unity of the body as a whole, neurological and physiological connections between the organs and systems of the body, the treatment of not a disease, but a patient.

Among the exceptional discoveries of S. P. Botkin, most of them belong to the diagnosis and etiology of diseases. So, he discovered and proved the infectious nature of catarrhal (now Botkin's disease, viral hepatitis A) and hemorrhagic jaundice (Botkin-Weil jaundice), developed the diagnosis and clinical manifestations of the "wandering" kidney. Botkin successfully fought the spread of epidemics, he was instructed to reduce mortality and improve sanitary conditions in Russia, in connection with which he undertook to reorganize Russian health care, but no resources were allocated to him.

An outstanding Russian scientist and doctor, Sergei Petrovich Botkin died in 1889 in France. Two of his 12 children followed in their father's footsteps. Eugene, who served as a life doctor for the royal family of the Romanovs, followed them into exile, where he was shot, refusing to leave the disgraced family. Later he was canonized as a saint.

Botkin Evgeny Sergeevich

Russian doctor, personal physician of the family of Nicholas II, nobleman, saint of the Russian Orthodox Church. Member of the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905). Executed by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg together with the royal family.

Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin was born on May 27, 1865 in Tsarskoye Selo in the family of the famous Russian doctor Sergei Petrovich Botkin, life physician of the emperors Alexander II and Alexander III. Brother

He was educated at home and in 1878 was admitted immediately to the fifth grade of the 2nd St. Petersburg Classical Gymnasium. After graduating from the gymnasium in 1882, he entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of St. Petersburg University, however, having passed the exams for the first year, he left for the junior department of the opened preparatory course of the Military Medical Academy. In 1889 he graduated from the academy third in graduation, having received the title of doctor with honors.

From January 1890 he worked as an assistant doctor at the Mariinsky Hospital for the Poor. In December 1890, at his own expense, he was sent abroad for scientific purposes. He studied with leading European scientists, got acquainted with the organization of Berlin hospitals.

At the end of the business trip in May 1892, Evgeny Sergeevich became a doctor in the court choir, and from January 1894 he returned to the Mariinsky hospital as a supernumerary intern.

On May 8, 1893, he defended his dissertation at the Academy for the degree of Doctor of Medicine “On the question of the influence of albumose and peptones on some functions of the animal body”, dedicated to his father. IP Pavlov was the official opponent on defense.

In the spring of 1895 he was sent abroad and spent two years in medical institutions in Heidelberg and Berlin, where he listened to lectures and practiced with leading German doctors. In May 1897 he was elected Privatdozent of the Military Medical Academy.

In 1904, with the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, E. S. Botkin left for the active army as a volunteer. In the autumn of 1905, E. S. Botkin returned to St. Petersburg and began teaching at the academy. In 1907 he was appointed chief physician of the community of St. George.

At the request of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Evgeny Sergeevich was invited as a doctor to the royal family and in April 1908 he was appointed life physician to Emperor Nicholas II, repeating his father's career path. He remained in this position until his death. From the memoirs of A. A. Vyrubova: “I remember how glad I was when She finally called the doctor. Her choice settled on E. S. Botkin, a doctor in the St. George community, whom she knew from the Japanese war - she did not want to hear about a celebrity. The Empress ordered me to call him to her and convey Her will. Dr. Botkin was a very modest doctor and, not without embarrassment, listened to my words ... ".

E. S. Botkin was an advisory member of the Military Medical Scientific Committee at the Imperial Headquarters, a member of the Main Directorate of the Russian Red Cross Society. Since 1910 - a real state councilor.

E. S. Botkin

E. S. Botkin with his family

E. S. Botkin with Emperor Nicholas II

Grand Duchesses with Dr. E. S. Botkin

E. S. Botkin on the yacht "Standard"

Imperial family on the yacht "Standart"

With the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin went to the army as a volunteer. On February 22, 1904, he crossed Lake Baikal in a troika along an ice road.

He was appointed head of the medical unit of the Russian Red Cross Society (ROKK) in the Manchurian army. On May 6, 1905, Evgeny Sergeevich was granted the title of honorary life physician. He remained at the front until the end of September. "For the differences shown in cases against the Japanese," E. S. Botkin was awarded officer military orders - the orders of St. Vladimir III and II degrees with swords.

Letters from the theater of operations were published by Yevgeny Sergeevich in 1908 under the title "Light and Shadows of the Russo-Japanese War." Impressions after reading these letters by Empress Alexandra Fedorovna became an additional argument for inviting Botkin to the post of life physician of the royal family.

Image:
Convoy of the Red Cross. Photographer V.K. Bulla 1904
(Chronicle of the war with Japan. No. 05)

Tonight we are arriving in Irkutsk, where I will probably post this letter. We will stand there, it seems, for five and a half hours, and by this wonderful train we will be brought to Baikal by 9 o'clock in the morning. This is a great convenience that dearest Bac has procured for you. bac. Phew, the head of the train, who protected and patronized you in every possible way all the way.
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Only yesterday I telegraphed you about moving across Lake Baikal, since there is no telegraph in Tankhoy, where we were brought, and we left there late, at one o'clock in the morning. The journey itself was surprisingly pleasant. We rode in large koshovs in twos, where usually there are three of us, and it was extremely comfortable. I put on a woolen jersey over my shirt, then a waistcoat, jacket, summer coat, a hood around my neck, a papakha, a fur coat, mittens, and on my feet - cloak boots and felt boots. In all this I could hardly breathe - it was so hot. The weather is mild, majestic mountains all around the horizon, surrounding a vast area of ​​snow, cut here and there by wagons; they walk along the rails, but with the help of a sleigh drawn by two horses. It must be confessed that they are being driven very quietly, and no one seems to be watching them. Our coachman, a Buryat, fifteen-year-old Ivan, did not have to be urged on, and, despite the stuntedness of his three horses, he quite imperceptibly rushed us to the Seredina station, which stands at the 25th verst in the middle of the lake. On my way, I was dozing sweetly, and when I opened my eyes, it seemed to me that I was knitting a wonderful northern fairy tale. The station in the middle is a large wooden barrack, lined with felt inside and perfectly heated. Along the walls are long tables and benches. Snack is offered free of charge.

Here we met a number of inhabitants of Vladivostok who had left it before the bombardment. By the way, there were two sisters, one of whom had seven children; the senior gymnasium student, and the youngest is three weeks old, and his mother feeds him herself. Not only that, they are also bringing with them a four-month-old puppy, which is even smaller than the youngest member of the family. They are going very well. Such families are seated in koshes differently than we are, not on the seat, but right on the bottom of it, so that behind its high back they should be very well protected from the wind.

The remaining twenty or two versts flew by still imperceptibly; we overtook the troops, not freezing, but marching, cheerfully and cheerfully. Closer to the shore, in the pier of Tankhoy, we began to meet the convoys of the Red Cross, first of the Evgeniev Community, and then of ours, St. George's.

Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905 Dr. Botkin in the center.

Niva magazine, 1904

Album "Russian-Japanese War 1904-1905" S. M. Prokudin-Gorsky, 1905

After the February Revolution of 1917, Dr. Botkin stayed with the imperial family in Tsarskoye Selo, and then voluntarily followed her into exile. Using relative freedom in Tobolsk, he received patients from among the local residents and guards.

In April 1918, Dr. Botkin volunteered to accompany the royal family to Yekaterinburg, leaving his children, Tatyana and Gleb, in Tobolsk. When the Bolsheviks suggested that Botkin leave Nicholas II, Evgeny Sergeevich replied: “You see, I gave the Tsar my word of honor to remain with him as long as he is alive. It is impossible for a man of my position not to keep such a word. I also cannot leave an heir alone. How can I reconcile this with my conscience? You all need to understand this."

On the night of July 17, 1918, in the house of engineer N. K. Ipatiev, Evgeny Sergeevich was shot along with members of the royal family.

Thoughts and experiences of Yevgeny Sergeevich are reflected in his last unsent letter: “... I don’t indulge myself with hope, I don’t lull myself with illusions and look straight into the eyes of unvarnished reality”; “In general, if “faith without works is dead”, then “works” without faith can

exist, and if one of us joins the deeds and faith, then this is only by the special grace of God to him ”; “This also justifies my last decision, when I did not hesitate to leave my children as complete orphans in order to fulfill my medical duty to the end, just as Abraham did not hesitate at the request of God to sacrifice his only son to him.”

In 1981, ROCOR was canonized as a martyr. In 2016, he was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church as a passion-bearer, the righteous Evgeny Botkin, a doctor.

The children of E. S. Botkin, Gleb and Tatyana, managed to leave Russia with great difficulty. Tatyana Evgenievna married officer K. S. Melnik, whom she met in Tobolsk. In 1921, her book “Memories of the Royal Family and its life before and after the revolution” was published in Belgrade. Gleb Evgenievich Botkin became a journalist and lived in America. Tatyana Evgenievna Melnik-Botkina spent most of her life in France. Her son, Konstantin Konstantinovich Melnik (b. 1927) is a major political scientist, publisher and author of novels about intelligence. In the early 60s he was right hand French Prime Minister Michel Debre.

E. S. Botkin with his daughter Tatiana and son Gleb. Tobolsk. 1918