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Plague Riot in Moscow, 1771

Plague Riot (Чумной бунт in Russian) was a riot in Moscow between September 15 and September 17, 1771, caused by an outbreak of bubonic plague. Image File history File links Chumbunt. ... Teamsters, armed with pipes, riot in a clash with riot police in the Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934. ... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ... is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1771 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Bubonic plague is the best-known manifestation of the bacterial disease plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. ...

The first signs of plague in Moscow appeared in late 1770, which would turn into a major epidemic in the spring of 1771. The measures undertaken by the authorities, such as creation of forced quarantines, destruction of contaminated property without compensation or control, closing of public baths, etc., caused fear and anger among the citizens. The city's economy was mostly paralyzed because many factories, markets, stores, and administrative buildings had been closed down. All of this was followed by acute food shortages, causing deterioration of living conditions for the majority of the Muscovites. Dvoryane (Russian nobility) and well-off city dwellers left Moscow due to the plague outbreak. In epidemiology, an epidemic (from [[Latin language] epi- upon + demos people) is a disease that appears as new cases in a given human population, during a given period, at a rate that substantially exceeds what is expected, based on recent experience (the number of new cases in the population during... For other uses see Quarantine (disambiguation) Quarantine is voluntary or compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The word citizen may refer to: A person with a citizenship Citizen Watch Co. ... A famine is an phenomenon in which a large percentage of the population of a region or country are undernourished and death by starvation becomes increasingly common. ... Dvoryanstvo (Russian: дворянство) refers to a category of Russian nobility. ...

The first outbursts of mass protest against the measures undertaken by the authorities took place on August 29 and September 1 in a neighborhood of Lefortovo. By early September, the rumors of an imminent uprising had already been circulating. An attempt by the Archbishop Ambrosius of Moscow to prevent the citizens from gathering at the Icon of the Virgin Mary of Bogolyubovo (Икона Боголюбской Богоматери) in Kitai-gorod as a quarantine measure served as an immediate cause for the Plague Riot. On September 15, huge crowds of Muscovites began to flow towards the Red Square at the sound of the alarm bell. Pushing aside a military unit, they burst into the Kremlin and destroyed the Chudov Monastery (archbishop's residence) and its wine cellars. Archbishop Ambrosius managed to escape to the Donskoy Monastery. // Iverskiye Gates leading to Red Square are the only extant gates of the Kitai-gorod wall. ... For other uses, see Red Square (disambiguation). ... The Moscow Kremlin (Russian: Московский Кремль) is a historic fortified complex at the very heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River (to the south), Saint Basils Cathedral (often mistaken as the Kremlin) and Red Square (to the east) and the Alexander Garden (to the west). ... The Ascension Convent in 1882 The Chudov Monastery (also known as Alexius’ Archangel Michael Monastery) was founded in the Kremlin in 1358 by metropolitan Alexius. ... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. ... A Wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphoras or plastic containers. ... Our Lady of the Don, by Theophanes the Greek. ...

On September 16, the riot gained in strength. Angry citizens captured the Donskoy Monastery, killed Archbishop Ambrosius, and destroyed two quarantine zones (Danilov Monastery and the one beyond the Serpukhov Gates). In the afternoon, most of the rebels approached the Kremlin and were met by a number of military units. The crowd demanded the surrender of Lieutenant General Pyotr Yeropkin, who had been overseeing the affairs of Moscow after Pyotr Saltykov's departure. As soon as the Muscovites tried to attack the Kremlin's Spasskiye Gates, the army opened fire with buckshots, dispersing the crowd and capturing some of the rebels. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. ... Count Pyotr Semyonovich Saltykov (Russian: ) (1697 - 1772) was a Russian statesman and a military figure, adjutant general (1762), son of Semyon Saltykov. ... It has been suggested that Lead shot, Shotgun slug, Slug (projectile), Brenneke slug, Foster slug, specialty shotgun amunition, Flexible baton round, Breaching round, Bolo Shell, Dragons Breath, R.I.P. cartridge, Rat-shot be merged into this article or section. ...

On the morning of September 17, around 1000 people gathered at the Spasskiye gates again, demanding the release of captured rebels and elimination of quarantines. The army managed to disperse the crowd yet again and finally suppressed the riot. Some 300 people were brought to trial. A government commission headed by Grigory Orlov was sent to Moscow on September 26 to restore order. It took some measures against the plague and provided citizens with work and food, which would finally pacify the people of Moscow. The commission improved services in quarantines, put an end to the burning of property, reopened public baths, permitted trade, increased food deliveries, and organized public works. At the same time, the commission was engaged in prosecuting those who had taken part in the Plague Riot. Four of them were executed; 165 adults and twelve teenagers were subjected to punishment. With the onset of cold weather, the outbreak began to subside. Around 200,000 people died in Moscow and its outskirts during the plague. Count Grigory Orlov Orlov (Орлов) is the name of a Russian noble family which produced several distinguished statesmen, diplomatists and soldiers. ... Look up Public works in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

There was another unlikely convict—the church bell that was used to start the alarm. By the order of Catherine II, an executor cut the tang from the bell. For more than thirty years, the silent bell hung on the bell tower. Eventually, in 1803, it was removed and sent to the Arsenal and, in 1821, to the Kremlin Armoury. Catherine II (Екатерина II Алексеевна: Yekaterína II Alekséyevna, April 21, 1729 - November 6, 1796), born Sophie Augusta Fredericka, known as Catherine the Great, reigned as empress of Russia from June 28, 1762, to her death on November 6, 1796. ... The Armory (Оружейная палата in Russian), one of the oldest museums of Moscow, located in the Kremlin. ...

See also

• The Black Plague
• Copper Riot
• Salt Riot