Simferopol God-pleasing institutions during the Crimean War over 1853–1856

This article for the first time covers previously unknown pages of the history of the Simferopol God-pleasing institutions related to the period of the Crimean War. Thanks to the search among the unique materials of the State Archive of the Republic of Crimea, memoirs of contemporaries, funds of Crimean libraries and museums of Simferopol, it was possible to restore the chronicle of the terrible war days in the fate of the hospital and revive the names of forgotten doctors. The God-pleasing institutions, the largest civilian medical institution of the Taurida province, immediately after the beginning of the war accepted wounded soldiers.

Civilian doctors of Simferopol stood alongside military doctors to accept their “battle”: with a huge number of wounded, high mortality, epidemics, shortages of medicine and food. Senior doctor Fyodor Fyodorovich Bruns, in addition to medical work, carried out special care for the sisters of mercy of the Krestovozdvizhenskaya community. Junior doctor Nikolai Vladimirovich Pleshkov worked in several hospitals, carried out special assignments of the governor on sanitary and epidemiological matters. Under the vaults of the God-pleasing institutions, the great surgeon Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov himself worked, assisted by the first Sisters of Charity.

Contribution of the authors:
Zvereva E.E. — research concept, collection and processing of material, writing of text;
Kutia S.A. — research design, editing, compilation of reference list.
All authors approved the final version of the article.

Acknowledgment. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: August 23, 2023 / Accepted: December 20, 2023 / Published: December 28, 2024