On the Other Side of the Battle: Russian Nurses in the Crimean War Evelyn R. Benson
One redeemingfeature that emerged from the horrors of the Crimean War was the skilled and compassionate nursing care provided by women. The work of Florence Nightingale and her nurses with the Britishforces is afamiliar story. What is less wellknown is that the fighting forces on the other side of the battle lines also had their contingent of nurses who helped to alleviate the suffering of their sick and wounded. This paper discusses the events leading up to the organization of Russia’s volunteer nurses who provided care on their side of the battle.
*
*
*
he Crimean War, which had far-reachingeffects on the course of modem European history, emerges as a tragic episode of the nineteenth century. The cost in lives was enormous, and the human misery generated by the war was beyond description. In looking back on the central figures and circumstances involved in this war, we can readily understand how it came to be characterized, rather cynically, as “one of the bad jokes of history” (Guedalla, 1943, p. 67). One redeeming feature -by now a familiar story -was the work of Florence Nightingale and her group of nurses, who created a system of nursing for the British military forces. What is perhaps less well-known is that the fighting forces on the other side of the battle lines had their own contingent of nurses who dedicated themselves to the alleviation of the suffering of their sick and wounded. Florence Nightingale mentioned the Russian nurses in her “Subsidiary Notes as to the Introduction of Female Nursing into Military Hospitals in Peace and in War” (Nightingale, 1858);and one of the Russian nurses paid tribute to Florence Nightingale and to her team in her own memoirs (Bakunina, 1898). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the historical events leading up to the organization of Russia’s volunteer nurses and to describe the heroic efforts of Russian women who provided nursing service on their side of the battle during the Crimean War.
T
Background After the defeat of Napoleon and the signing of the Treaty of 1815, the four most powerful countries in Europe were Austria, Volume 24, Number 1, Spring 1992
Great Britain, Prussia and Russia. These countries continued to be plagued by considerable internal unrest that affected their relationships with each other and with the crumbling Ottoman Empire to the East. Nevertheless,for more than a generation after the Treaty of 1815, the Great Powers enjoyed a relatively peaceful coexistence through mutual accommodation; this state of relative calm was shattered by the continental revolutions of 1848 (Wetzel, 1985). Shaken by these events, the rulers of Europe no longer could count on the stability of their relationships with each other. On one side, Czar Nicholas I posed as the Defender of the Christian world against Moslem Turkey. On the other side, the ailing Ottoman Empire welcomed the support of England and France who were alarmed by the increasingly powerful position of Imperial Russia in Eastern Europe. Both sides blundered into a war that could not be justified by any logic. The objectives of their governments were vague and ill-defined (Goldie, 1981). The immediate crisis that precipitated the outbreak of hostilities was the dispute between the various Christian factions over the rights to the Holy Places in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The French ruler, Louis Napoleon, stood behind the Roman Catholic clergy while Czar Nicholas supported the Russian Orthodox. When the Czar discovered that the Turks had conceded rights to the Catholics under French protection, he demanded exclusive power for the Russian Orthodox Church in the Holy Land. Furthermore, he insisted that Turkey grant him the right to protect Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan rejected these demands and in October, 1853, Turkey declared war on Russia. At first the fighting was limited, but when the Russians succeeded in wiping out the Turkish fleet at Sinope on the Black Sea, Britain and France came to the aid of Turkey, and in March, 1854, they declared war on Russia (Crankshaw, 1976).
On the Russian Side of the Battle Having chosen the reckless path of military confrontation, none of the warring parties could turn back. As the fighting went Evelyn R. Benson, RN, MPH, Kappa Delta, i s an author and researcher in independent practice. Dr. Morton Benson translated copies of old documentswrittenin Russian.Correspondenceto 219 Myrtle Avenue, Havertown, PA 19083. Accepted for publication September 6, 1991.
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On The Other Side of the Battle: Russian Nurses in the Crimean War
on, the Russians were not prepared to cope with enormous battle casualties and other ravages of war, including starvation, epidemics and illness among the civilian and military populations. Unlike the British, whose newspaper correspondents had aroused public opinion back home with their reports about the dreadful conditions on their side, the Russians did not have a free press through which the true state of affairs could be exposed (Crankshaw, 1976). On their side, there was no public outcry for the establishment of nursing care. The need was finally made known through the efforts of Dr. Nicholas Pirogov, a leading figure in Russian medicine and a gifted and eminent professor of surgery (Palmer, 1987). In the late 1840s, Dr. Pirogov had spent a few months with the Russian army in the Caucasus. At that time he had introduced new methods which brought about improvements in the field hospitals. Pressed again into service in the Crimean War, he realized as the battles raged on that there were grave weaknesses in the Russian military medical system. Appalled by the disorder that he found in the military hospitals, he saw the dire need for nursing care, and he proposed a plan for the recruitment of trained volunteer female nurses. He immediately encountered resistance from the older generation of top military leaders, who declared that the presence of women would lead to mass rape and to an increase in syphilis. Pirogov guessed that the real reason for their negative reaction was fear that competent nurses in their midst would expose the inadequacy and inefficiency of the militarymedical establishment (Palmer, 1987). Undaunted by their opposition, Dr. Pirogov was able to speak out with great authority because of his national standing and impeccable credentials. For support of his project, he reached into the highest imperial court circles and sought the help of the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, the widowed sister-in-law of the Czar.
help of Baroness Raden, her lady-in-waiting, the Grand Duchess, using all of the resources at her command, established the Order of the Exaltation of the Cross as a semi-religious group of volunteer nurses to serve in the Crimea (ES, XXIXa, 1900). At that time, there already existed an organization of women, the Compassionate Widows, which had been established during the Napoleonic Wars under the patronage of Czar Nicholas’ mother, the Dowager Empress. In Dr. Pirogov’s view, however, this group was no longer capable of providing the care that was required by the prevailing military situation. When he appealed to the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna for help, he felt that he could count on her organizational skills for the project that he had in mind. Her concern for her country’s sick and wounded soldiers was well known, and she was more than eager to take on the task. In addition, there was a personal twist. The Grand Duchess did not have good memories of the Dowager Empress (her great aunt as well as her mother-in-law), by whom she had felt ill-treated as a young bride. Thus, it was reported that she derived satisfaction from knowing that her Nursing Order would supersede the Empress’ Compassionate Widows (Palmer, 1987). When she established the Order, the Grand Duchess called on all Russian women to serve for one year as military hospital nurses. To identify the religious aspect of their commitment, the women were expected to wear a simple brown habit and to serve without pay. They were expected to reap their reward by fulfilling their patriotic duty through self-sacrifice and spiritual devotion. The Grand Duchess assumed the responsibility of maintaining the Order out of her private funds (Palmer, 1987). During the war, she sent several groups of volunteer nurses from the Order to work under the direction of Dr. Pirogov in the Crimea (ES, XXIXa, 1900).
The Response at the Russian Court
The Role and Accomplishments of Russian Volunteer Nurses
The Grand Duchess, born in 1806, a princess of the royal House of Wuerttemberg, had come to live in St. Petersburg at the age of 17 upon her betrothal to the Grand Duke Michael, the brother of the future Czar Nicholas I. A gifted student with great personal charm and endowed with a keen intellect, she had received a superb education. From her earliest days in her newly adopted country, the Grand Duchess had captivated all of the eminent leaders of the nation,‘and eventually she commanded a very powerful position at the Russian Imperial Court (ES, XIa, 1894). Much of her life was devoted to worthy endeavors and she was known to be sympathetic to liberal causes. Her interests were wide ranging; for example, she played a prominent role in the emancipation of the serfs and in the establishment of the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music (ES,XIa, 1894). (Crankshaw, 1974). When the Grand Duchess received the call for help from Dr. Pirogov, she was enthusiastic in her response. She realized that the government was incapable of providing enough medical and nursing personnel to care for the sick and wounded. Furthermore, she was determined to create an opportunity for women to show that they could serve close to the front lines and make a real contribution to their country in a time of crisis. In 1854, with the
When the Grand Duchess’ appeal went out for volunteer nurses to serve in the Crimea through the Order of the Exaltation of the Cross, women of all social classes responded with patriotic fervor. Most of the women came from modest socioeconomic backgrounds. Indeed, some were very poor with hardly any education, while others, from middle class urban families, were a little better off (Curtiss, 1966). Other women were somewhat more affluent as the wives or widows of men who served in the government or the military. Also, there were those who came from the upper ranks of the nobility, the well-to-do, influential women who wanted to serve their country. Among these women were Mme. Aleksandra Petrovna Stakhovich, the first director of the Nursing Order, and Baroness Ekaterina 0. Budberg, both of whom had connections at the highest levels of the Imperial Court. Among others who distinguished themselves while working in the Nursing Order was Ekaterina M. Bakunina, the daughter of a former governor of St. Petersburg. At the front she assumed a leadership role in the Order, and in 1898, she published her memoirs in the journal Vestnik Evropy (Bakunina, 1898). Most of the women had no hospital experience or training: no more than a few days of observation in a hospital or clinic, where doctors had hurriedly given some lectures (Curtiss, 1966).
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Between November, 1854 and March, 1855, the nurses began to arrive in the Crimea in four different sections. Late in 1854, the first group of 29 nurses set off for the Crimea under the most primitive conditions (Curtiss, 1968). They went quickly by train from St. Petersburg to Moscow. From there, it took them one month to reach the Crimea by horse and wagon, oxcart and camel on non-existent roads (Palmer, 1987).In late November, this first unit of nurses reached Simferopol, which was the administrative center for the Crimea (Curtiss, 1966). Exhausted and weakened by their grueling trip, some of them became ill and died. The others were able to get organized by early December and they went straight to work assisting with operations, dressing wounds, distributing tea and wine to patients, and supervising auxiliary medical personnel. Under the leadership of Ekaterina Bakunina, part of the first unit was detached and sent to Sevastopol. This detachment, referred to as the second section, began working in Sevastopol in January, 1855 (Palmer, 1987). Sevastopol had become the focus of hostilities by the time the nurses arrived. The war had shifted to the Crimea after the Russians had withdrawn their forces from the Balkans in June, 1854. From then until the nurses came on the scene, the medical crisis was exacerbated (Curtiss, 1979). There had been several heavy battles -the Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman- and Sevastopol had come under siege, with constant exposure to heavy artillery. The battle casualties were horrendous with many of them left unattended on the battlefield; the Russians’ medical system was in disarray. The nurses, working closely with Dr. Pirogov, were on duty around the clock, assisting with operations, serving in first-aid stations and temporary hospitals, and bringing order out of chaos. Their working conditionsin Sevastopolwere dreadful; the nurses were exposed to extreme danger because the first-aid stations were under fire. By March, 1855,two more groups of nurses arrived,bringing to a total of 70 the number of women who came to help relieve the suffering of the sick and wounded at the front. Before the war was over, a total of 120volunteersfrom the Nursing Order served in the Crimea; they were joined by others from the ranks of the Compassionate Widows. The women gave direct care to patients, dispensed medications or prepared and distributed food, helped the doctors with operations, supervised orderlies and checked on the medical assistants, many of whom were unreliable and corrupt. It must be noted that, in spite of the common dangers to which they were exposed, some of the nurses fell to quarreling among themselves. In her memoirs, Bakunina writes about the objectionable behavior of some of the nurses. She was particularly upset by the fact that some of them were spreading rumors and malicious gossip. She describes how the situation became intolerable and required the intervention of the Grand Duchess herself (Bakunina, 1898). Nonetheless, contrary to the prejudices expressed by the senior military officers, who had been opposed to the presence of women, the Russian volunteer nurses were serious and dedicated (Curtiss, 1966). By all accounts, they withstood the rigors of battle and performed heroically. They were universally respected and admired by the soldiers with whom they shared all the dangers of war. They made no distinction in caring for their own Volume 24, Number 1, Spring 1992
O n The Other Side of the Battle: Russian Nurses in the Crimean War
or enemy soldiers (ES XXIXa, 1990). Under the most appalling conditions, they conducted themselves with dignity and bravery. They set and maintained high moral and ethical standards and they were revered by the common soldiers for their fight against the widespread corruption in the military. The famous Russian author, Count Leo Tolstoy, who had served as a young combat officer in the war, wrote of his experiences in his work “Tales of Sevastopol.” He has never been particularly noted for portraying women in a positive light, but even he extolled the performance of these women whom he observed as volunteer nurses at the Crimean front. Unlike their British counterparts, these nurses served under fire in the thick of battle and they received no pay. Sevastopol fell in September, 1855. Ekaterina Bakunina stayed until the wounded were evacuated. She was the last one to leave (Curtiss, 1966). As the war drew to a close at the end of 1855, there were 101 nurses serving in several detachments throughout the theater of operations; 17 nurses had died in the line of duty (Pirogov, 1856). After the war ended, the Order of the Exaltation of the Cross continued to function in peacetime. It administered a 16-bed hospital and outpatient clinic that provided free care to poor women. In addition, it ran a school with two classes for 30 girls who received a free education along with lunch, books and supplies (ES, XIa, 1894). Some of the goals stated in the Order’s bylaws of 1870 were “ministering to the sick in hospitals, caring for orphans, educatingpoor children, visiting prisoners, and other aspects of Christian charity” (ES, XVIa, 1895). A nurse who continued to serve for at least five years received the Order’s emblem to wear across her chest - a blue ribbon with a gold trimmed silver cross -and she was given the title ‘Sister of the Cross.’ The Order was managed by a committee, consisting of the director of nurses and the ‘sister tutor’ along with two members of the city council who were selected for three-year terms. In 1894,21 years after the Grand Duchess died, the charter for her works was discontinued,and the Order of the Exaltation of the Cross was absorbed by the Red Cross (ES, XVIa, 1895).
Discussion On the Russian side of the Crimean War, wealthy women who were highly placed at the Imperial Court organized groups of volunteer nurses under a semi-religious order -the Order of the Exaltation of the Cross. They devoted themselves to this endeavor by giving financial aid as well as personal service and moral support. After the war, the Nursing Order of the Exaltation of the Cross continued to provide humanitarian service to the civilian population. During the war, when the Order was established and the appeal for volunteers went out, women of all social classes, including poor women with little or no formal education, responded patriotically to the call. There were some, especially among the poor, whose acts of heroism were unmatched (Curtiss, 1966). Although a woman was appointed as the director of nurses during the war, the Order was clearly dominated by Dr. Pirogov. Pirogov has been described as the Russian equivalent of Florence Nightingale (Crankshaw, 1976). However, on the Russian side, 67
On The Other Side of the Battle: Russian Nurses in the Crimean War
no single, illustrious, almost legendary figure emerged to match Florence Nightingale on the British side. In part, at least, this historic circumstance may be attributed to the power of the press. The details of Miss Nightingale’s work were disseminated in stories that British war correspondents sent back to their newspapers. They were very influential in creating and spreading her fame and reputation. On the Russian side, there was no free press and there were no newspaper correspondents to bring the stories home. Nonetheless, by all accounts, the Russian volunteer nurses performed admirably under severe battle conditions in providing care to their sick and wounded. They won the affection and respect of the soldiers whom they served.
References Bakunina, E. (1898, March) “Vospominanija sestry miloserdija Krestovozdvizhenskoj obshchiny, 1854-1860” Vestnik Evropy CXC, #3 p. 134, #4 (April) pp. 518-520. Crankshaw, E. (1976) The Shadow of the Winter Palace: The Drift to
Revolution 1825-1917, London: Macmillan. Curtiss, J.S. (1966) “Russian Sisters of Mercy in the Crimea, 1854-1855),” Slavic Review 25 (l), 84-100. Curtiss, J.S.(1968) “Russian Nightingale,” American Journal of Nursing 68 (5), 1029-1031. Curtiss, J.S. (1979) Russia’s Crimean War, Durham (NC): Duke University Press. ES = Enciklopedichesw Slovar’ (1890-1910) St. Petersburg: Efron and Brokhauz. Vol XIa, 1894,600 (seeElena Pavlovna);Vol XVIa, 1895,650 (see Krestovozdvizhenskaja obshchina); Vol XXIXa, 1900, 714 (see Sestry i brat’ja rniloserdija). Goldie, S. M. (1981) (ed.) “I have done my duty:” Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War 1854-56, Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. Guedalla, P., (1943) The Two Marshalls, London. Nightingale, F. (1858) Subsidiary Notes as to the Introduction of Female Nursing into Military Hospitals in Peace and in War London: Harrison and Sons. Palmer, A. (1987). The Banner of Battle: The Story of the Crimean War, New York St. Martin’s Press. Pirogov, N.I.,( 1856, March). “Istoricheskij obzor dejstvij Krestovozdvizhenskoj obshchiny sester popechenija o ranenyx i bol’nyx, v voennyx gospitaljax v Krymui Xersonskojgubemii, s 1 dekabrja 1854po 1 dekabrja 1855,”Morskoj S b o d k 4165-197. Tolstoy, L., (undated) Tales of Sevastopol; The Cossacks, Moscow: Progress Publishers. Wetzel, D. (1985). The Crimean War: A Diplomatic History . (East European Monographs, Boulder), New York Columbia University Press.
INDIANA UNIVERSITY
ScHoOL OF “ G
UNIVERSI
INDIANA I N W R H T Y ScRoOL OF G “
School of Nursing
AssocIATE DEAN FOR RESEARCA
An NLN accredited rrmltipupore o c h l offdog the ASN, BSN, MSN and DNS on d@ Indiana population ccntenb re ai vi q rpphuhons for the ksaocEste Dean for Rarard~. Temmtmck with faculty rank of uuociatc or full p f a s o r , 12 month appointment rv.ilablc July 1,1992. Key Ledposition for research in the Scbool and UniVenity Hospitals. Developing Center for NRcaarch with a WHO Collaborating Ccnta and Wdther oncology c w Redarch Rogrlal and other lilmied research. University Hoopitrlr exaUcat *ta for nursing research. Q d l h t h m : IMned d-te. nursing mrjor preferred. Mu0rr.’8 in nursing if doctorate is not in nnmhg. MhumUU of five yerrs of middle managcownt exprkacc. Rewpbd rcItlvchcr and scholar. Eligiilc for or l i d a6 RN in Wi. Submit letter of appliion and vim with mmx, addresses and phone numbem of three refereacee to: Angela Barron McBride, PhD. RN, FAAN R o h r and Interim Dun Indiana University School of Nursing 1111 M i e Drive Iadianapolii. IN 462024107 Phone (317) 27437% FAX 017) 274-2996 Minorities and men am cnwumgd to apply. Affirmative Action/Equal Opporlunity Employer.
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PEjVNS YLVANIA
Assistant Director, Center for Nursing Research and Research Facilitator, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
The School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania is seeking a doctorally prepared nurse for a standing faculty/clinician educator position as Assistant Director, Center for Nursing Research and Research Facilitator, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Responsibilities include assisting hospital nursing staff in planning and conducting research; assisting the research center director in faculty research development activities; and teaching research-related courses. Applicants must have an ongoing research program and success in obtaining independent research funding. Please send letter of inquiry and curriculum vitae to:
II
A
1I
Lorraine Tulman, DNSc, FAAN, Chair Search Committee University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing 420 Guardian Drive Philadelphia, PA 19104-6096 An equal oppoitunlv, affirmative actioii employer
IMAGE: Journal of Nursing Scholarship
One redeemingfeature that emerged from the horrors of the Crimean War was the skilled and compassionate nursing care provided by women. The work of Florence Nightingale and her nurses with the Britishforces is afamiliar story. What is less wellknown is that the fighting forces on the other side of the battle lines also had their contingent of nurses who helped to alleviate the suffering of their sick and wounded. This paper discusses the events leading up to the organization of Russia’s volunteer nurses who provided care on their side of the battle.
*
*
*
he Crimean War, which had far-reachingeffects on the course of modem European history, emerges as a tragic episode of the nineteenth century. The cost in lives was enormous, and the human misery generated by the war was beyond description. In looking back on the central figures and circumstances involved in this war, we can readily understand how it came to be characterized, rather cynically, as “one of the bad jokes of history” (Guedalla, 1943, p. 67). One redeeming feature -by now a familiar story -was the work of Florence Nightingale and her group of nurses, who created a system of nursing for the British military forces. What is perhaps less well-known is that the fighting forces on the other side of the battle lines had their own contingent of nurses who dedicated themselves to the alleviation of the suffering of their sick and wounded. Florence Nightingale mentioned the Russian nurses in her “Subsidiary Notes as to the Introduction of Female Nursing into Military Hospitals in Peace and in War” (Nightingale, 1858);and one of the Russian nurses paid tribute to Florence Nightingale and to her team in her own memoirs (Bakunina, 1898). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the historical events leading up to the organization of Russia’s volunteer nurses and to describe the heroic efforts of Russian women who provided nursing service on their side of the battle during the Crimean War.
T
Background After the defeat of Napoleon and the signing of the Treaty of 1815, the four most powerful countries in Europe were Austria, Volume 24, Number 1, Spring 1992
Great Britain, Prussia and Russia. These countries continued to be plagued by considerable internal unrest that affected their relationships with each other and with the crumbling Ottoman Empire to the East. Nevertheless,for more than a generation after the Treaty of 1815, the Great Powers enjoyed a relatively peaceful coexistence through mutual accommodation; this state of relative calm was shattered by the continental revolutions of 1848 (Wetzel, 1985). Shaken by these events, the rulers of Europe no longer could count on the stability of their relationships with each other. On one side, Czar Nicholas I posed as the Defender of the Christian world against Moslem Turkey. On the other side, the ailing Ottoman Empire welcomed the support of England and France who were alarmed by the increasingly powerful position of Imperial Russia in Eastern Europe. Both sides blundered into a war that could not be justified by any logic. The objectives of their governments were vague and ill-defined (Goldie, 1981). The immediate crisis that precipitated the outbreak of hostilities was the dispute between the various Christian factions over the rights to the Holy Places in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The French ruler, Louis Napoleon, stood behind the Roman Catholic clergy while Czar Nicholas supported the Russian Orthodox. When the Czar discovered that the Turks had conceded rights to the Catholics under French protection, he demanded exclusive power for the Russian Orthodox Church in the Holy Land. Furthermore, he insisted that Turkey grant him the right to protect Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan rejected these demands and in October, 1853, Turkey declared war on Russia. At first the fighting was limited, but when the Russians succeeded in wiping out the Turkish fleet at Sinope on the Black Sea, Britain and France came to the aid of Turkey, and in March, 1854, they declared war on Russia (Crankshaw, 1976).
On the Russian Side of the Battle Having chosen the reckless path of military confrontation, none of the warring parties could turn back. As the fighting went Evelyn R. Benson, RN, MPH, Kappa Delta, i s an author and researcher in independent practice. Dr. Morton Benson translated copies of old documentswrittenin Russian.Correspondenceto 219 Myrtle Avenue, Havertown, PA 19083. Accepted for publication September 6, 1991.
65
On The Other Side of the Battle: Russian Nurses in the Crimean War
on, the Russians were not prepared to cope with enormous battle casualties and other ravages of war, including starvation, epidemics and illness among the civilian and military populations. Unlike the British, whose newspaper correspondents had aroused public opinion back home with their reports about the dreadful conditions on their side, the Russians did not have a free press through which the true state of affairs could be exposed (Crankshaw, 1976). On their side, there was no public outcry for the establishment of nursing care. The need was finally made known through the efforts of Dr. Nicholas Pirogov, a leading figure in Russian medicine and a gifted and eminent professor of surgery (Palmer, 1987). In the late 1840s, Dr. Pirogov had spent a few months with the Russian army in the Caucasus. At that time he had introduced new methods which brought about improvements in the field hospitals. Pressed again into service in the Crimean War, he realized as the battles raged on that there were grave weaknesses in the Russian military medical system. Appalled by the disorder that he found in the military hospitals, he saw the dire need for nursing care, and he proposed a plan for the recruitment of trained volunteer female nurses. He immediately encountered resistance from the older generation of top military leaders, who declared that the presence of women would lead to mass rape and to an increase in syphilis. Pirogov guessed that the real reason for their negative reaction was fear that competent nurses in their midst would expose the inadequacy and inefficiency of the militarymedical establishment (Palmer, 1987). Undaunted by their opposition, Dr. Pirogov was able to speak out with great authority because of his national standing and impeccable credentials. For support of his project, he reached into the highest imperial court circles and sought the help of the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, the widowed sister-in-law of the Czar.
help of Baroness Raden, her lady-in-waiting, the Grand Duchess, using all of the resources at her command, established the Order of the Exaltation of the Cross as a semi-religious group of volunteer nurses to serve in the Crimea (ES, XXIXa, 1900). At that time, there already existed an organization of women, the Compassionate Widows, which had been established during the Napoleonic Wars under the patronage of Czar Nicholas’ mother, the Dowager Empress. In Dr. Pirogov’s view, however, this group was no longer capable of providing the care that was required by the prevailing military situation. When he appealed to the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna for help, he felt that he could count on her organizational skills for the project that he had in mind. Her concern for her country’s sick and wounded soldiers was well known, and she was more than eager to take on the task. In addition, there was a personal twist. The Grand Duchess did not have good memories of the Dowager Empress (her great aunt as well as her mother-in-law), by whom she had felt ill-treated as a young bride. Thus, it was reported that she derived satisfaction from knowing that her Nursing Order would supersede the Empress’ Compassionate Widows (Palmer, 1987). When she established the Order, the Grand Duchess called on all Russian women to serve for one year as military hospital nurses. To identify the religious aspect of their commitment, the women were expected to wear a simple brown habit and to serve without pay. They were expected to reap their reward by fulfilling their patriotic duty through self-sacrifice and spiritual devotion. The Grand Duchess assumed the responsibility of maintaining the Order out of her private funds (Palmer, 1987). During the war, she sent several groups of volunteer nurses from the Order to work under the direction of Dr. Pirogov in the Crimea (ES, XXIXa, 1900).
The Response at the Russian Court
The Role and Accomplishments of Russian Volunteer Nurses
The Grand Duchess, born in 1806, a princess of the royal House of Wuerttemberg, had come to live in St. Petersburg at the age of 17 upon her betrothal to the Grand Duke Michael, the brother of the future Czar Nicholas I. A gifted student with great personal charm and endowed with a keen intellect, she had received a superb education. From her earliest days in her newly adopted country, the Grand Duchess had captivated all of the eminent leaders of the nation,‘and eventually she commanded a very powerful position at the Russian Imperial Court (ES, XIa, 1894). Much of her life was devoted to worthy endeavors and she was known to be sympathetic to liberal causes. Her interests were wide ranging; for example, she played a prominent role in the emancipation of the serfs and in the establishment of the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music (ES,XIa, 1894). (Crankshaw, 1974). When the Grand Duchess received the call for help from Dr. Pirogov, she was enthusiastic in her response. She realized that the government was incapable of providing enough medical and nursing personnel to care for the sick and wounded. Furthermore, she was determined to create an opportunity for women to show that they could serve close to the front lines and make a real contribution to their country in a time of crisis. In 1854, with the
When the Grand Duchess’ appeal went out for volunteer nurses to serve in the Crimea through the Order of the Exaltation of the Cross, women of all social classes responded with patriotic fervor. Most of the women came from modest socioeconomic backgrounds. Indeed, some were very poor with hardly any education, while others, from middle class urban families, were a little better off (Curtiss, 1966). Other women were somewhat more affluent as the wives or widows of men who served in the government or the military. Also, there were those who came from the upper ranks of the nobility, the well-to-do, influential women who wanted to serve their country. Among these women were Mme. Aleksandra Petrovna Stakhovich, the first director of the Nursing Order, and Baroness Ekaterina 0. Budberg, both of whom had connections at the highest levels of the Imperial Court. Among others who distinguished themselves while working in the Nursing Order was Ekaterina M. Bakunina, the daughter of a former governor of St. Petersburg. At the front she assumed a leadership role in the Order, and in 1898, she published her memoirs in the journal Vestnik Evropy (Bakunina, 1898). Most of the women had no hospital experience or training: no more than a few days of observation in a hospital or clinic, where doctors had hurriedly given some lectures (Curtiss, 1966).
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IMAGE: Journal of Nursing Scholarship
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Between November, 1854 and March, 1855, the nurses began to arrive in the Crimea in four different sections. Late in 1854, the first group of 29 nurses set off for the Crimea under the most primitive conditions (Curtiss, 1968). They went quickly by train from St. Petersburg to Moscow. From there, it took them one month to reach the Crimea by horse and wagon, oxcart and camel on non-existent roads (Palmer, 1987).In late November, this first unit of nurses reached Simferopol, which was the administrative center for the Crimea (Curtiss, 1966). Exhausted and weakened by their grueling trip, some of them became ill and died. The others were able to get organized by early December and they went straight to work assisting with operations, dressing wounds, distributing tea and wine to patients, and supervising auxiliary medical personnel. Under the leadership of Ekaterina Bakunina, part of the first unit was detached and sent to Sevastopol. This detachment, referred to as the second section, began working in Sevastopol in January, 1855 (Palmer, 1987). Sevastopol had become the focus of hostilities by the time the nurses arrived. The war had shifted to the Crimea after the Russians had withdrawn their forces from the Balkans in June, 1854. From then until the nurses came on the scene, the medical crisis was exacerbated (Curtiss, 1979). There had been several heavy battles -the Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman- and Sevastopol had come under siege, with constant exposure to heavy artillery. The battle casualties were horrendous with many of them left unattended on the battlefield; the Russians’ medical system was in disarray. The nurses, working closely with Dr. Pirogov, were on duty around the clock, assisting with operations, serving in first-aid stations and temporary hospitals, and bringing order out of chaos. Their working conditionsin Sevastopolwere dreadful; the nurses were exposed to extreme danger because the first-aid stations were under fire. By March, 1855,two more groups of nurses arrived,bringing to a total of 70 the number of women who came to help relieve the suffering of the sick and wounded at the front. Before the war was over, a total of 120volunteersfrom the Nursing Order served in the Crimea; they were joined by others from the ranks of the Compassionate Widows. The women gave direct care to patients, dispensed medications or prepared and distributed food, helped the doctors with operations, supervised orderlies and checked on the medical assistants, many of whom were unreliable and corrupt. It must be noted that, in spite of the common dangers to which they were exposed, some of the nurses fell to quarreling among themselves. In her memoirs, Bakunina writes about the objectionable behavior of some of the nurses. She was particularly upset by the fact that some of them were spreading rumors and malicious gossip. She describes how the situation became intolerable and required the intervention of the Grand Duchess herself (Bakunina, 1898). Nonetheless, contrary to the prejudices expressed by the senior military officers, who had been opposed to the presence of women, the Russian volunteer nurses were serious and dedicated (Curtiss, 1966). By all accounts, they withstood the rigors of battle and performed heroically. They were universally respected and admired by the soldiers with whom they shared all the dangers of war. They made no distinction in caring for their own Volume 24, Number 1, Spring 1992
O n The Other Side of the Battle: Russian Nurses in the Crimean War
or enemy soldiers (ES XXIXa, 1990). Under the most appalling conditions, they conducted themselves with dignity and bravery. They set and maintained high moral and ethical standards and they were revered by the common soldiers for their fight against the widespread corruption in the military. The famous Russian author, Count Leo Tolstoy, who had served as a young combat officer in the war, wrote of his experiences in his work “Tales of Sevastopol.” He has never been particularly noted for portraying women in a positive light, but even he extolled the performance of these women whom he observed as volunteer nurses at the Crimean front. Unlike their British counterparts, these nurses served under fire in the thick of battle and they received no pay. Sevastopol fell in September, 1855. Ekaterina Bakunina stayed until the wounded were evacuated. She was the last one to leave (Curtiss, 1966). As the war drew to a close at the end of 1855, there were 101 nurses serving in several detachments throughout the theater of operations; 17 nurses had died in the line of duty (Pirogov, 1856). After the war ended, the Order of the Exaltation of the Cross continued to function in peacetime. It administered a 16-bed hospital and outpatient clinic that provided free care to poor women. In addition, it ran a school with two classes for 30 girls who received a free education along with lunch, books and supplies (ES, XIa, 1894). Some of the goals stated in the Order’s bylaws of 1870 were “ministering to the sick in hospitals, caring for orphans, educatingpoor children, visiting prisoners, and other aspects of Christian charity” (ES, XVIa, 1895). A nurse who continued to serve for at least five years received the Order’s emblem to wear across her chest - a blue ribbon with a gold trimmed silver cross -and she was given the title ‘Sister of the Cross.’ The Order was managed by a committee, consisting of the director of nurses and the ‘sister tutor’ along with two members of the city council who were selected for three-year terms. In 1894,21 years after the Grand Duchess died, the charter for her works was discontinued,and the Order of the Exaltation of the Cross was absorbed by the Red Cross (ES, XVIa, 1895).
Discussion On the Russian side of the Crimean War, wealthy women who were highly placed at the Imperial Court organized groups of volunteer nurses under a semi-religious order -the Order of the Exaltation of the Cross. They devoted themselves to this endeavor by giving financial aid as well as personal service and moral support. After the war, the Nursing Order of the Exaltation of the Cross continued to provide humanitarian service to the civilian population. During the war, when the Order was established and the appeal for volunteers went out, women of all social classes, including poor women with little or no formal education, responded patriotically to the call. There were some, especially among the poor, whose acts of heroism were unmatched (Curtiss, 1966). Although a woman was appointed as the director of nurses during the war, the Order was clearly dominated by Dr. Pirogov. Pirogov has been described as the Russian equivalent of Florence Nightingale (Crankshaw, 1976). However, on the Russian side, 67
On The Other Side of the Battle: Russian Nurses in the Crimean War
no single, illustrious, almost legendary figure emerged to match Florence Nightingale on the British side. In part, at least, this historic circumstance may be attributed to the power of the press. The details of Miss Nightingale’s work were disseminated in stories that British war correspondents sent back to their newspapers. They were very influential in creating and spreading her fame and reputation. On the Russian side, there was no free press and there were no newspaper correspondents to bring the stories home. Nonetheless, by all accounts, the Russian volunteer nurses performed admirably under severe battle conditions in providing care to their sick and wounded. They won the affection and respect of the soldiers whom they served.
References Bakunina, E. (1898, March) “Vospominanija sestry miloserdija Krestovozdvizhenskoj obshchiny, 1854-1860” Vestnik Evropy CXC, #3 p. 134, #4 (April) pp. 518-520. Crankshaw, E. (1976) The Shadow of the Winter Palace: The Drift to
Revolution 1825-1917, London: Macmillan. Curtiss, J.S. (1966) “Russian Sisters of Mercy in the Crimea, 1854-1855),” Slavic Review 25 (l), 84-100. Curtiss, J.S.(1968) “Russian Nightingale,” American Journal of Nursing 68 (5), 1029-1031. Curtiss, J.S. (1979) Russia’s Crimean War, Durham (NC): Duke University Press. ES = Enciklopedichesw Slovar’ (1890-1910) St. Petersburg: Efron and Brokhauz. Vol XIa, 1894,600 (seeElena Pavlovna);Vol XVIa, 1895,650 (see Krestovozdvizhenskaja obshchina); Vol XXIXa, 1900, 714 (see Sestry i brat’ja rniloserdija). Goldie, S. M. (1981) (ed.) “I have done my duty:” Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War 1854-56, Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. Guedalla, P., (1943) The Two Marshalls, London. Nightingale, F. (1858) Subsidiary Notes as to the Introduction of Female Nursing into Military Hospitals in Peace and in War London: Harrison and Sons. Palmer, A. (1987). The Banner of Battle: The Story of the Crimean War, New York St. Martin’s Press. Pirogov, N.I.,( 1856, March). “Istoricheskij obzor dejstvij Krestovozdvizhenskoj obshchiny sester popechenija o ranenyx i bol’nyx, v voennyx gospitaljax v Krymui Xersonskojgubemii, s 1 dekabrja 1854po 1 dekabrja 1855,”Morskoj S b o d k 4165-197. Tolstoy, L., (undated) Tales of Sevastopol; The Cossacks, Moscow: Progress Publishers. Wetzel, D. (1985). The Crimean War: A Diplomatic History . (East European Monographs, Boulder), New York Columbia University Press.
INDIANA UNIVERSITY
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INDIANA I N W R H T Y ScRoOL OF G “
School of Nursing
AssocIATE DEAN FOR RESEARCA
An NLN accredited rrmltipupore o c h l offdog the ASN, BSN, MSN and DNS on d@ Indiana population ccntenb re ai vi q rpphuhons for the ksaocEste Dean for Rarard~. Temmtmck with faculty rank of uuociatc or full p f a s o r , 12 month appointment rv.ilablc July 1,1992. Key Ledposition for research in the Scbool and UniVenity Hospitals. Developing Center for NRcaarch with a WHO Collaborating Ccnta and Wdther oncology c w Redarch Rogrlal and other lilmied research. University Hoopitrlr exaUcat *ta for nursing research. Q d l h t h m : IMned d-te. nursing mrjor preferred. Mu0rr.’8 in nursing if doctorate is not in nnmhg. MhumUU of five yerrs of middle managcownt exprkacc. Rewpbd rcItlvchcr and scholar. Eligiilc for or l i d a6 RN in Wi. Submit letter of appliion and vim with mmx, addresses and phone numbem of three refereacee to: Angela Barron McBride, PhD. RN, FAAN R o h r and Interim Dun Indiana University School of Nursing 1111 M i e Drive Iadianapolii. IN 462024107 Phone (317) 27437% FAX 017) 274-2996 Minorities and men am cnwumgd to apply. Affirmative Action/Equal Opporlunity Employer.
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PEjVNS YLVANIA
Assistant Director, Center for Nursing Research and Research Facilitator, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
The School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania is seeking a doctorally prepared nurse for a standing faculty/clinician educator position as Assistant Director, Center for Nursing Research and Research Facilitator, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Responsibilities include assisting hospital nursing staff in planning and conducting research; assisting the research center director in faculty research development activities; and teaching research-related courses. Applicants must have an ongoing research program and success in obtaining independent research funding. Please send letter of inquiry and curriculum vitae to:
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Lorraine Tulman, DNSc, FAAN, Chair Search Committee University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing 420 Guardian Drive Philadelphia, PA 19104-6096 An equal oppoitunlv, affirmative actioii employer
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