In the early 19th century spittoons, an accessory we often come across in classic Russian literature, stood in every room of any palace and were intended for more than just spitting after chewing tobacco, a popular activity at the time. In the drawing room of Empress Maria Alexandrovna there were as many as four spittoons – the empress not only endured typhoid but also suffered from a consumptive cough.
In imperial residences consumption was a dreadful illness because in the 18th-19th centuries people did not understand the bacterial nature of the disease and, as a consequence, didn't know how to protect themselves against it. The infection could be spread by the ubiquitous spittoons, as well as by ordinary people with open symptoms of tuberculosis visiting the palace. TB was one of the most widespread infectious diseases of the time. According to Professor Igor Zimin, in 1822 the future Emperor Nicholas I (1796-1855), styled Grand Duke Nikolay Pavlovich at the time, was engaged in some matter with General Vasily Perovsky; the latter's doctor came to examine him and the doctor coughed up blood. After the meeting, the Grand Duke proceeded to his wife's chambers as if nothing had happened. And this was Nicholas I, who took the health of his loved ones very seriously! Presumably because of his youth, he didn't realize yet how dangerous his behavior was; in 1831, during a cholera epidemic, Nicholas, already Emperor, was to be much more cautious.
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