THE HISTORY OF HOMEOPATHY IN RUSSIA

Alexander Ostrovsky, director of the OLLO Homeopathic Center

The first record of Homeopathy in Russia dates to 1824. Shtegeman and Bizhel may be considered the first Russian homeopaths. In 1827, Doctor Bizhel wrote the scholarly work "A theoretical and Practical Trial of Doctor Hahnemann's Treatment Methodology," for which the Legion of Honor order was conferred on him. During the 1830 cholera epidemic, homeopathic doctors actively rendered medical assistance to the victims of epidemic.

The epidemic's intensification and the difficulties in treating cholera compelled the Russian medical community to send a letter to Hahnemann. The letter contained a detailed description of the symptoms of the disease, as well as a request to indicate appropriate remedies. Camphora, Arsenicum, Veratrum, Cuprum were indicated by Hahnemann. The effect of the first application of these remedies was remarkable and thereafter these remedies were extensively used during cholera epidemics all over the world.

In 1830-31 statistics on cholera treatment by allopathic remedies were published the by Foreign Ministry ( 63 percent mortality) and by homeopathic treatment (11 percent mortality). Doctors practicing homeopathy must know the glorious names of the public figures who saved thousands of people in those disastrous times: admiral S. I. Mardvinov, S. I. Korsakov, A. I. Lvov, D.I. Adam, Peterson, Cherminskiy. We would like to dwell more on some of the doctors who contributed greatly to the promotion of homeopathy at that time.

Doctor Dal was born in 1801. In 1823, he entered the Medical University, where Pirogov and Inozemtsev, P. H. D. scholars in medicine, studied at the same time. Among the medical community of that time, which was stridently against homeopathy, Dal had no equal in his opposition. However, watching the recovery of homeopathic patients, he turned from persecutor into one of the most ardent defenders of homeopathic treatment. Obtaining the position of head of the management office at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Dal not only convinced Minister Perovskiy of the benefit of homeopathy but persuaded him to open a specialized homeopathic department of 50 beds at the Unskilled Labourers' Hospital.

In 1898, in the eighth issue of the magazine " Doctor- Homeopath," a letter written by Dal to the Duke Odoevskiy was published, where Dal's adherence to homeopathic treatment was vividly expressed. The author described the false croup his son was suffering from and how he managed to remove it, which made him come to believe even more in homeopathic treatment.

The widely renowned chief doctor of Tiflis Military Hospital I. A. Pribylov, who was highly respected by Ermolov and Arndtom, and who had accompanied The Emperor Nickolas the first in his tour of the Caucasus, used Homeopathy extensively not only in a private homeopathic practice but quite often in hospitals.

The well known in homeopathic community doctor Graufogel in 1872, delivered a course of lectures at Helsingfors Hospital but temporally quit this work, since he was called to the bed side of the favourite of Alexander the Second, Duke Allerberg. The patient was laid up with rheumatic paralysis and could not move. The patient completely recovered in six weeks. Graufogel was awarded the Order of Ann, second degree. During his brief stay in Finland, Graufogel became a well known doctor and had a big practice, although the regional inspector's reference about him was not satisfactory.

The first attempt to set up a homeopathic society was made in 1858. It was the project of doctor - homeopath Deriker, who was one of the most ardent defenders of homeopathy. Nevertheless, the attempt failed due to unfavorable attitude of Lanskoy, Home Affairs Minister.

Several years later, in 1870, Minister of Home Affairs Timashev approved the new charter of the Saint Petersburg Society of the Doctors Homeopaths. The society was supported by the Tsar's family and high clergy.

The creation of this Society made possible the publication of the journal of the Society of The Doctors Homeopaths. The journal was subsidized by Fleming, the founder of the first homeopathic drug store in Russia.

Charity was always part of the Saint Petersburg Homeopathic Society's activities. In 1874, an open letter from Doctor Deriker to the Red Cross society was published. In this letter, Doctor Deriker tells of how doctors homeopaths left for Serbia. He also suggests treating open wounds with arnica lotion, which is especially helpful under war conditions. To bandage wounds, he recommended dissolving one part Arnica tincture in 4-6 parts water.

Pavel Soloviev is also known as an ardent promoter of Homeopathy. It was he who laid the cornerstone of the Homeopathic Hospital named after Alexander the Second.

The lecture " On Homeopathic Douses" delivered by P.H.D. Doctor in medicine L. Brazol was a landmark in the development of Homeopathy. The effect of the low concentration of substances was summarized in this lecture. In particular, he described high sensitivity to Ipecacuanha and experiments conducted by Doctor Mollen on the effect of Tartarus oemeticus (Antimonium tartaricum) in 6D solution, which transforms lung tissues. He also spoke about experiments carried out by Professor Arnold on the effects of one millionth of a gram of Strichninum on frogs, which provoked symptoms of tetanus. The lecture emphasized the high sensitivity of unhealthy organs and body systems as well as the importance of this factor for the effect of the small doses.

L.Brazol arrives at the conclusion of the dominating importance of the similarity principal. He considered the dose issue to be of minor importance. He finished this lecture with the words "endlessly minor causes entail endlessly serious consequences and thus a human body, as everything in the natural world, is none other than a homeopathic laboratory."

The magazine "Doctor Homeopath," edited by A.F. Fleming, began to be published in 1890. Articles written in Russian as well as translations of foreign articles that summarized cases cured by homeopathic remedies were published in this magazine.

Thus, in the course of the the 19th century, Homeopathy survived thanks to individual enthusiasts, who were supported by high ranking persons loyal to homeopathic methods.

These people managed to create a community of like-minded people and promote Homeopathic methodology in different parts of the country.

In January 1896, apart from the Saint Petersburg Society of Homeopathy Adherents, there was the Saint Petersburg Society of Doctors Homeopaths, two hospitals and a drug store operating under their auspices. There also were societies of doctors homeopaths in Kiev, Odessa, Chernigov, Charkov, Poltava, Warsaw, Vilnus and Moscow. Members of the State Council, relatives of the Tsar's family and representatives of the clergy belonged to Homeopathic Societies.

Further, we will give a short record of the history of The Moscow Homeopathy Adherents Society. It was inaugurated in December of 1894. General N. F. Fedorovskiy was elected the president of the society.

A year later, N.K. Boyanus became the chairman of the society's council board. The favorable attitude of the Minister of Home Affairs, as well as of the Moscow public, increased the membership of the society to 166 people in one year. By 1896, two homeopathic drug stores and one hospital had been set up in Moscow.

The head of the hospital D. S. Trifonovskaya, doctors V.N. Dunkel, P.A. Muchin and V. U. Shtrub were the most active advocates of Homeopathy in Moscow.

Doctor Frenkel, who moved from Saint Petersburg to Moscow and started a big private homeopathic practice, played an essential role in the promotion of Homeopathy in Moscow. He wrote two books, "The Pathogenesis of Homeopathic Remedies" and " Treatment of Internal Disease by Homeopathic Remedies". The magazine "Homeopathic Review" was edited by him too.

The major event in the life of the Homeopathic community was The All Russian Homeopathic Congress, which was held in Russia from 20- 22 October 1913 in Saint Petersburg. Delegates from all over the country took part in the congress. The congress was held in the assembly hall of the Kalashnikova Grain Exchange and was very well organized.

X.X. Roop was elected the chairman of the first Russian Congress of Homeopathic Adherents. There were two papers presented, "What Is Homeopathy" by L.E.Brazol and "Biological Bases of Homeopathy" by Dunkel. Doctor Lutsenko gave a talk on "Cancer Treatment by Homeopathy" and Doctor Frenkel discussed "The Possibility of Organizing Homeopathy Department in Russia."

The most vital issues of the future development of Homeopathy in Russia were considered at the Congress. The creation of a homeopathic pharmacopoeia was one of these issues. The W. Schwabe pharmacopoeia was suggested as the basic pharmacopoeia, supplemented with new remedies. It was recommended to start medical educational homeopathic courses. Medical inspectors were supposed to control the preparation of homeopathic medicine. Some of the issues raised at the Congress are still vital.

At this point, we can complete the review of the pre-Revolutionary period in the development of Russian Homeopathy.

In post-Revolutionary times, the most important step in the life of Russian Homeopathy was the foundation of the All-Russian Homeopathic Society of Doctors Homeopaths in Moscow in 1920. Doctor Sokolov, the remarkable promoter of Homeopathy, became its first chairman. It was he who was the head of the Moscow delegation at the first Russian Congress of Homeopathic Adherents. V.N. Sokolov managed to collect around him such talented doctors as V. V. Postnikov, V.N. Dunkel and some others. In The All-Russian Society of Doctors Homeopaths, they studied Homeopathic methodology, published Russian and foreign literature and promoted Homeopathy among the medical community. In 1938, during the time of Stalin's repression, the society was closed. V.V. Postnikov and D. Kegeli died of serious diseases after they were released from prison. In 1936, homeopathic clinics were opened in Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev and Riga. One of the oldest Homeopathic drug stores functions in Riga. It is 150 years old now. In 1958, The Moscow Homeopathic Society was opened. V.I. Ribak was elected its first president. The society held clinical analytical sessions with patients, republished classics of Homeopathy and organized the training of doctors homeopaths. A number of remarkable doctors played a very important role in the promotion of Homeopathy both in the 19th and 20th centuries. They are Moscow doctors N.M. Vavilova, S. A. Mukhin, I.M. Lipnitskiy, V.I. Varshavskiy. Their high professional skills and effectiveness in treating patients promoted the stability of Homeopathy and preservation of Homeopathic methodology. It also helped to educate a new generation of doctors. Each of them wrote a manuscript and trained disciples who continued their Guru's cause. The books written by N.M. Vavilova and T. M. Lipnitskiy are still used as manuals for doctors practicing Homeopathy.

The Public Health Services Administration doubted the efficiency of the Homeopathic method and repeatedly arranged experiments to study the comparative efficiency of homeopathic and conventional methods. Four clinical experiments were conducted from 1937 to 1975.The experiments were carried out at hospitals practicing conventional methodology. Quite often the professors and specialists responsible for the experiments had a negative attitude to the research they participated in. However, the obvious positive results of treatment and objectivity of some participants in the experiment made the survival of the homeopathic method possible in Moscow and some other cities in the Soviet Union. The period between 1968 and 1974 was the most difficult time for Soviet Homeopathy. In 1968, the notorious Order 610 was issued. It banned the teaching of Homeopathy as well as the publishing of Homeopathic literature. The Moscow Homeopathic Society was disbanded and 20 Homeopathic remedies were banned.

In 1975, by the order of the minister of Public Health Services, an experiment is conducted at six Moscow clinics and research centers in Moscow to test the efficiency of Homeopathic Method of treatment. The names of the doctors who took part in this experiment must be mentioned. They are Doctor Lipnitskiy, who was in charge of the experiment, doctors L.E Seletskiy, L.S. Korsakov, V.G. Glaz, A.B. Khazanova, A.C. Trubitsin, O.G. Chaikin, N.P. Vavilov, S.O. Sarapina, L.A. Kaplan, E.G. Klimova, A.M. Shelepenko, Z.P. Freyman, N.M. Kononova, Y.Z. Lubchin, L.D. Umanskiy, S.G. Order, A.D. Sokolova, L.O. Zilbertrud.

These doctors, skillfully using S. Hahnemann's method, achieved the best possible results in this experiment. It is impossible to disregard the activities of the Popov family dynasty. D.V. Popov and his daughter T. D. Popova organized a Homeopathic service in Kiev and later on in Ukraine. The Popov's commitment and great experience in homeopathic treatment contributed to the creation of the Popov Homeopathic School.

The positive constructive attitude of the Ministry of Public Health made Homeopathy an officially recognized method of treatment. A Federal Center on Homeopathy and Conventional Medicine has been set up. Scientific research Center "Farmatsie" is playing a key role in the promotion of Homeopathy and the creation of a pharmacopoeia.

As the final point of our review, we would like to emphasize that, in the course of the historical development of Homeopathy in our country, it remained practical medicine, which has repeatedly demonstrated its efficiency at the bedside of the sick, helping our compatriots to get over their ailments.

Homeopathy has always been and still remains a method that, besides profound knowledge and intuition, undoubtedly requires love and a desire to help the sick. We believe that, in the future, mankind will be able to defeat many incurable diseases with the help of Homeopathy.