How did the first pharmacies appear? From the history of pharmacology: the evolution of pharmacy activity. Where and when did the first pharmacy open?
The known history of the pharmacy goes back several centuries. We invite you to find out who the first pharmacists were and how the pharmacy business began. You will also learn from the article about the profession of a pharmacist
History of medicine is a well-developed field of science. Popular science books are regularly published on a wide variety of topics: what doctors looked like and did at different times, how medical views evolved, the role of doctors in literature, music, fine arts, etc.
At the same time, there is much less information about famous pharmacists and the history of pharmacology. But in vain! The history of pharmacy is no less interesting.
As is often the case in medicine, specialized terms are based on both Latin and Greek. Pharmacy (pharmacist, pharmacologist, pharmacology) - from Lat. pharma, which means "medicine". But the word pharmacy (Apotheca) is of Greek origin and simply means “warehouse”.
The first mention of a pharmacy as a place for storing medicines is found... that's right, in Hippocrates. It seems that this man, who lived 400 years before the birth of Christ, foresaw and foresaw everything that exists in modern medicine.
The most famous pharmacist of antiquity was Claudius Galen. True, he called the pharmacy officina (similar to the modern word “office”). Galen, in addition to what he did for medicine in general (anatomical discoveries, etc.), kept a pharmacy in Rome, where he received patients and prepared medicines for them. In addition, he brought into the system a list of drugs (materia medica) compiled by Dioscorides. This world's first pharmacopoeia was the reference bible of pharmacists until the 17th century. Today, when pharmaceutical reference books are republished every year, it is even strange to think that one pharmacopoeia could remain relevant for 1600 years!
In ancient Rome, the duties of apothecaries were performed by doctors themselves. And those who couldn’t afford their services were helped by medicinal herb collectors. As a rule, these were representatives of the lower classes and retired prostitutes.
The first pharmacists and the first pharmacists
After Ancient Rome collapsed, the pharmacy business was firmly forgotten. Wars raged across the globe and hordes of barbarians rolled over. The first semblance of pharmacies appeared only several centuries later: in monasteries, monks grew medicinal herbs and treated all those in need. The first city pharmacies appeared in Venice in the 11th-12th centuries. and were ordinary shops where, along with groceries, they also sold herbs and other medicines. The first pharmacists worked there. Another 100 years later, in 1231, the first collection of laws was published, designed to somehow regulate the pharmacy business. And pharmacies acquired their almost familiar appearance, with a counter and numerous bottles of medicine, only closer to the 14th century. True, there were differences. If today it is unthinkable to imagine a pharmacy without a pharmacist in a white coat, then the inhabitants of the Middle Ages could only trust those pharmacists in whose sales area a stuffed crocodile and a unicorn horn were displayed. the first pharmacists appeared a little later.
The meaning of the word pharmacist: who is it?
The word “pharmacist” (from the Latin provisor - foreseeing) appeared only in the 15th century. The meaning of the word pharmacist denotes an exact translation. If you are wondering who the pharmacist is, then go to any pharmacy. A specialist who has special pharmacological knowledge is this employee.
Training to become a pharmacist at that time took 14 years! Four years of pharmacy apprenticeship, 10 years of assistant work and a whole host of exams.
Russia was several centuries behind Europe in the development of pharmacy. The first Russian pharmacy, which opened in 1581, served only the royal family. For everyone else, medicine was sold in grocery stores. The first pharmacy for ordinary people was opened in Moscow in 1672, and in 1701, Peter I allowed private pharmacies, and after that the pharmacy business began to develop intensively. In Moscow alone, 12 new pharmacies have opened in 10-20 years!
History of the pharmacist profession
The history of the pharmacist profession includes not only positive pages. In the Middle Ages, pharmacies sold not only medicines, but also poisons. It was from pharmacists that Shakespeare's heroes bought poisons. And in France, during the time of D'Artagnan, someone even published an announcement that the pharmacist who would give Cardinal Mazarin an enema with a poisoned tip would be paid 20 thousand ecus!
However, it was not only poisons that came out of pharmacies. The world-famous Coca-Cola also began its journey from there! First as a medicine to relieve addiction to morphine, then as a remedy for depression, neurasthenia and abdominal pain.
Laxatives have always been extremely popular. Hence, by the way, the expression “not to create antimony.” Antimony is the Latin name for antimony, which, despite its toxicity, was widely used as an emetic and laxative. It was so popular that in France, doctors sued pharmacists for 100 years, trying to ban the sale of this drug. People preferred to buy medicine rather than consult doctors, who suffered heavy losses as a result. A hundred years of judicial red tape is reflected in the catchphrase “Don’t create antimony!”
The history of pharmacy is fraught with a lot of unexpected discoveries. For example, few people know that the sandwich - bread spread with butter - was invented by none other than a pharmacist. And not just anyone, but Nicolaus Copernicus himself! Yes, his main profession was medicine. To prevent an epidemic among soldiers caused by the supply of dirty bread, Copernicus suggested that clean bread be greased with oil so that it could be easily distinguished from contaminated bread.
Copernicus is not the only famous scientist who connected his life with pharmacy. The Swedish pharmacist Karl Schele, whose name will forever go down in the history of chemistry, discovered chlorine and developed a method for producing phosphorus, obtained glycerin, synthesized and studied potassium permanganate. Even the death of an outstanding chemist occurred in a pharmacy: he was the first in the world to receive and taste... hydrocyanic acid.
Famous detective authors also worked a lot with poisons in the pharmacy: Agatha Christie (pharmacist-technician during the First World War) and Arthur Conan Doyle, who for some time worked as a pharmacist for doctor Richardson. The “parent” of Sherlock Holmes even published a note in a medical journal, “The poisonous properties of gelsemium.”
There were pharmacists-writers, pharmacists-poets, pharmacists-artists, and of course, pharmacists-scientists. And only chance prevented great travelers from being among the pharmacists. Norwegian pharmacist Fritz Zapfe was the closest friend and assistant of the famous polar explorer Roald Amundsen. Zapfe's pharmacy "Polar Star" became the official representative office of the traveler for a long time. Zapfe selected Amundsen's companions, recruited sailors, and helped with the purchase of supplies. Amundsen entrusted his idea to go to the South Pole only to Zapf, who kept this secret for almost a year. The pharmacist was also supposed to participate in the expedition, but was forced to refuse due to family circumstances.
The first Russian pharmacy, opened in 1581, served the royal family. For the common people, medicines were sold in green and mosquito shops, and such free trade in “potions” often led to poisoning and abuse of poisonous and potent substances. In this regard, the first pharmacy for the city population was opened in Moscow in 1672, and in 1701, after Peter I allowed private pharmacies and prohibited the sale of medicines in shops, the so-called pharmacy monopoly was introduced. Only one such establishment was allowed to open in a certain territory. By the end of the 18th century there were already over a hundred of them in Russia. Since the opening of the first pharmacy, the pharmacy business in the country has been in charge of the Pharmacy Chamber, transformed in 1594-1595 into the Pharmacy Order, which in turn was renamed the Office of the Main Pharmacy in 1714, the Medical Office in 1725, and in 1763 -m - to the Medical College. The activities of pharmacies were regulated by the Pharmacy Charter of the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire, published in 1789. One of the paragraphs of this charter read: “The pharmacist, as a good citizen who faithfully maintains his sworn position, is obliged to be skillful, honest, conscientious, prudent, sober, diligent, present at all times and fulfilling his position for the general good accordingly.”
An image of the state emblem was placed in the form of a stamp on Russian pharmaceutical documents, signatures and packaging. Pharmacies were exempt from taxes, military billets and other duties. The benefits were a kind of compensation for the strict regime established by the state. All medicines used for the manufacture of drugs in the pharmacy had to meet established quality standards. A pharmacist's tax (an official document with prices) was also introduced to limit the rise in prices for medicines. And the management of the establishment was entrusted only to a person who had received a special education.
The first mention of a pharmacist by name in Russian chronicles dates back to 1553, when the “Lithuanian Matyushko the pharmacist” (pharmacist Matthias) lived in Moscow.
The resettlement of foreign doctors, pharmacists and surgeons to Moscow began in the middle of the 16th century, when doctors and pharmacists appeared on the royal lists of “needed people” who were at that time invited to the court from Europe. So, in 1567, Dr. Reynold and the pharmacist Thomas Cover (Carver, Thomas) arrived in our country from London, who served at the Russian court. It is not known whether there was already a pharmacy in Moscow or any special premises where visiting pharmacists worked.
The first reliable information about the first in Russia pharmacy date back to 1581, when during the reign of Ivan IV the Terrible (Ivan IV, 1533-1584) a court pharmacy was established on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin in a stone building opposite the Chudov Monastery. They called her “Sovereign”, since she served only the Tsar and members of the royal family. At the end of the same year, at the invitation of Ivan IV the Terrible, the court physician of the English Queen Elizabeth arrived in Moscow to the royal court RobertJacob(Jacobus, Robertus). In his retinue were doctors and pharmacists / one of them, named Yakov (English) Jacob), mentioned in the royal correspondence, who served in the Sovereign Pharmacy. Initially, only foreigners (English, Dutch, Germans) worked in the court pharmacy, since in the 16th century. in Rus' there were no professional pharmacists from “born Russians” yet. However, the management of the pharmacy at all times was entrusted only to the boyar especially close to the Tsar.
Around 1620, on the territory of the Kremlin, in the building where the Sovereign's pharmacy was located, a APtekarsky Prikaz . Initially, it was conceived as a court institution for managing the sovereign's medical and pharmacy business (providing medical care to the king, his family and associates) and at the beginning of the 18th century it was called the “Near Sovereign Pharmacy Order.” Work in the Sovereign’s pharmacy was carried out daily from early morning until late evenings. On days when members of the royal family were ill, pharmacists had to “spend day and night" on duty. The prescription of medicines and their preparation in the pharmacy were associated with great rigor. To issue medicine, a doctor’s appointment was required and the permission of the boyar in charge of the pharmacy (and later - Pharmacy order.) The medicine intended for the tsar was first tested by the doctors who prescribed it, the pharmacists who prepared it, and finally by the boyar, to whom it was handed over for transmission “about the Great Sovereign.” Taking from the tsar a glass with the remainder of the medicine, the boyar was obliged “to pour what remains in it into the palm of your hand and drink.” The ritual of supplying medicines to the palace was distinguished by extreme care and luxury: the bottles, glasses and bags in which the medicines were dispensed were tied with red lace and wrapped in white wide taffeta. During the king's campaigns and trips, the doctors who accompanied him. medicines were stored in luxurious inlaid boxes. For a long time (almost a century) the Sovereign's pharmacy was the only pharmacy in the Moscow state and satisfied only court needs. The entire population of the country (the people, the army, and even the boyars) used the services of shopping arcades and shops selling herbs, honey, pickles, meat, household goods, etc. (herbs, honey, salt, meat, mosquito shops and shopping arcades). Trade in "potions" was carried out freely. All this created the preconditions for the abuse of potent and toxic substances.
Over time, the most educated Russian people stopped using the services of healers and herbal healers. The Tsar began to receive petitions for the release of medicines from the Sovereign Pharmacy, as a result of which, as an exception, they began to dispense medicines to outsiders.
Thus, for the first time, the doors of the court pharmacy were open to the Moscow population. However, medicines were dispensed to outsiders only as an exception and for an appropriate fee, in rare cases - “without money”.
It is clear that the court pharmacy could not satisfy all the petitioners, the number of which was steadily growing; In addition, the growing Russian army required a regular supply of medicines to the troops. There was a growing need to organize a public pharmacy outside the royal courtyard, which was established on March 20, 1672 by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich: “In the new guest yard - where the Order of the Great Parish was to clean out the wards, and in those wards the Great Sovereign ordered to build a pharmacy for the sale of all kinds of medicines of all ranks for people."
The “new” pharmacy was located on the New Gostiny Dvor on the street. Ilyinka, near the Ambassadorial Prikaz. By royal decree of February 28, 1673, both pharmacies were assigned the right to monopoly trade in medicines. Administratively, primacy remained with the old pharmacy: all cash from the New Pharmacy and a report on its activities were sent to the old pharmacy.
Ten years later, in 1682, a third pharmacy opened in Moscow. By decree of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich (1676-1682), it was established at the first civilian hospital at the Nikitsky Gate “for the reason that it is not convenient to go into the city with any prescription.”
Pharmacy supply drugs were carried out in various ways. Initially, medicinal raw materials for the Sovereign Pharmacy were imported from England. At the same time, some materials were purchased in shopping arcades and shops: medicinal herbs and berries - in the green aisle, lard for plaster - in the meat aisle, flammable sulfur and black resin - in the mosquito aisle, wax for plaster - in the candle aisle, etc.
In addition, every year royal decrees were sent to governors in all parts of Russia with instructions to collect various herbs for which these lands were famous for the Sovereign Pharmacy. Yes, St. John's wort (lat. Hypericum perforatum L.) brought from Tobolsk, malt (or licorice) root (lat. Radix liquiritae) - from Voronezh and Astrakhan, black hellebore root (lat. Radix consolidae) - from Kolomna, scaly (anti-hemorrhoids) herb (lat. Poligonum persicaria) - from Kazan, juniper berries (lat. Luniperus L.) - from Kostroma, Rostov and Yaroslavl, svoroborinny color - from the Moscow region, etc.
Specially compiled herbal books containing drawings and descriptions of medicinal plants helped to recognize herbs. Specially appointed purveyors were trained in methods of collecting herbs and delivering them to Moscow. Thus, in the second half of the 17th century. In the Moscow state, a unique system for collecting and procuring medicinal products developed - the state “berry duty”, failure to comply with which was punishable by imprisonment.
In addition to collecting wild berries and herbs, the supplies of Moscow pharmacies were replenished from special “sovereign apothecary gardens.” The first of them was created at the western wall of the Moscow Kremlin under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (now the Alexander Garden is located on this site). The size of the vegetable garden quickly increased, and in 1657, by decree of the tsar, it was ordered: “The sovereign’s Apothecary yard and vegetable garden should be moved... from the Kremlin-city beyond the Myasnitsky Gate and set up in the garden settlement in empty places.” Thus, apothecary gardens appeared at the Myasnitsky Gate and the Kamenny Bridge, in the German Settlement and on other Moscow outskirts, for example, on the territory of the current Botanical Garden. Planting in pharmaceutical gardens was carried out in accordance with the orders of the Pharmacy Order; pharmaceutical laboratories were created in the gardens, where plasters, ointments, and syrups were prepared, which were then supplied to the pharmacy in finished form.
A significant part of the medicines for Moscow pharmacies was imported by foreign specialists. So, back in 1602. pharmacist James Frencham (Frencham, James) brought from England a precious supply of medicines, the best for those times. The delivery of medicines by foreign doctors became not only customary, but even mandatory - doctors who did not have “medicinal herbs” were not accepted into the royal service.
As the pharmaceutical supplies imported in this way were depleted, medicinal raw materials were purchased or prescribed from “other lands” - from Arabia, Western European countries (England, Holland, Germany). The Apothecary Order either sent its attorneys there, or sent royal letters to foreign specialists - “dragists” (English) druggist - pharmacist), who supplied the requested medicines to Moscow and to special pharmacy warehouses in border cities: Polotsk, Mogilev, Arkhangelsk, etc. Thus, in 1632, the Englishman William (Ivanov) Smith (Smith, William) "by Sovereign decree was sent to English soil for pharmaceutical medicines."
The establishment of pharmacies outside Moscow is largely associated with the development of the Russian army, which in the 17th century. conducted active military operations in the south, east and west of the country. Until the 17th century There were no doctors in the army; instead, there was a system of awards “for treating wounds, for potions.” Gradually, this form of treatment for wounded and sick soldiers began to be replaced by organized medical care. At first, a few doctors (the first mention of a regimental doctor dates back to 1615) treated the wounded with their own medicines. From the middle of the 17th century. Transports with medicines from Moscow or provincial pharmaceutical warehouses began to be sent to the regiments. Thus, small pharmacies arose on the Don, in Astrakhan, Vilna, Novgorod, Kiev, Penza, Kursk, Pskov, Nizhny and other cities. There are known special royal decrees on the establishment of pharmacies in Kazan (1671), Vologda (1671), etc. The first free (i.e. private) pharmacies were established by Peter I in Moscow in 1701-1714.
With the development of pharmacies, the functions of the Pharmacy order . In the second half of the 17th century. His responsibility included not only the management of pharmacies, pharmaceutical gardens and the collection of medicinal raw materials, but also: inviting doctors (foreign together with the Ambassadorial Order, and subsequently domestic ones) to serve at the court, monitoring their work and its payment, training and distribution of doctors by position, checking "doctor's tales" (medical histories), supplying troops with medicines (from the mid-17th century) and organizing some quarantine measures. forensic medical examination, collecting and storing books, training of Russian doctors (since 1654). The range of affairs of the Pharmacy Order also included the procurement and sale of vodka, wine, beer and honey (which was one of the main sources of its financing).
The expansion of the scope of activity significantly increased the budget of the Pharmacy Order. In the 16th century and the first half of the 17th century. all his expenses were paid from the state treasury. Back in 1630, the money spent on “feed and salaries” for doctors, doctors, pharmacists and interpreters (translators) amounted to 905 rubles. In 1680 this figure reached 4000 rubles.
The staff of the Pharmacy Department also increased. In 1631, only 2 doctors, 5 doctors, 1 pharmacist, 1 ophthalmologist, 2 interpreters (translators) and 1 clerk served in it. Fifty years later, in 1681, more than 80 people served in the Pharmacy Prikaz, among them 6 doctors, 4 pharmacists, 3 alchemists, 10 foreign doctors, 21 Russian doctors, 38 students of medicine and bone-setting. In addition, there were 12 clerks, gardeners, interpreters and farm workers. Foreign doctors (who had a Doctor of Medicine degree) continued to enjoy special benefits and received very high salaries from the state - 200-250 rubles. per year, and pharmacists and doctors (i.e. surgeons) - 70-100 rubles. in year. In 1682, the income of the Pharmacy Order (10,130 rubles) already exceeded its expenditure (9,876 rubles), and a significant part of the funds came from the sale of medicines.
In 1714, Peter I renamed the Near Sovereign Apothecary Order into the Office of the Main Pharmacy and subordinated it to the archiatrist, after which the functions of this institution went far beyond the boundaries of the royal court.
Basically, it served the needs of the garrison, which was not so numerous at that time, and was organized in a European manner, as required by Peter I. The Tsar-Reformer remained true to himself in this area: he transferred the experience of Western Europe to Russian soil. During the “Great Embassy” of 1697–1698, he became acquainted with the organization of business in the pharmacies of the German principalities, and it was the German or Central European model that served as an example for the creation of a qualitatively different level of pharmacy in Russia. What happened before and what did you have to give up? In Russia, as in other countries, pharmacy arose as an integral part of medicine - its development was largely determined by the progress of the latter. Professional medical art and knowledge about medicines came to Russia along with Christianity and were transmitted through oral traditions and the nascent written language. In 1091, Bishop Ephraim of Pereyaslavl established the first hospitals, where those who applied received not only moral consolation, but also medical advice and medicine. The Orthodox Church still honors healers who belonged to the clergy, such as Pimen the Faster, Dimian the Tselebnik, Agapit the Blessed, who lived in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. At the court of Ivan III (1462 - 1505), doctors who arrived from Greece served, who also served as pharmacists. The appearance of the first pharmacy Before the advent of pharmacies, healing potions (medicines) were sold in numerous herbal and mosquito shops. Naturally, uncontrolled trade, carried out by untrained people, often led to poisoning with poisonous and potent drugs. It is clear that this situation did not suit the reigning persons in the first place: a real threat of being killed required taking action. Nikolai Karamzin in “History of the Russian State” writes: “... in 1490 Mr. Leon, brought from Italy to treat the prince’s son, was publicly executed, ... but he died anyway...”. Or “... the German Anton had the same fate in 1485, who killed the Tatar prince with drugs... and was stabbed to death under the Moskvoretsky Bridge to the horror of all foreigners, so that the glorious Aristotle wanted to immediately leave Russia...”. In 1581, under Ivan the Terrible, the first pharmacy appeared in Russia. It was the so-called “Tsar’s Pharmacy” in Moscow. The name is not accidental - it really served only the king (who, as recent research has proven, suffered from chronic syphilis) and members of his family. In 1613, the Chamber of Apothecaries was established - the highest body of medical governance. It is characteristic that the Pharmacy Chamber was located (later -Aptekarsky order) in the same building with the “tsar’s pharmacy”, directly in the Kremlin. Initially, the task of the Pharmacy Order was to supervise the treatment of the royal family, the manufacture of medicines and the work of invited foreign doctors. Then the functions of this institution expanded significantly. He was now in charge of other pharmacies that were opening, checking the documents and level of training of foreign doctors when recruiting them for service, managing doctors and pharmacists in the troops during hostilities, organizing anti-epidemic measures, collecting and breeding medicinal plants, purchasing them in other countries . However, it was only under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich that a second pharmacy appeared in Moscow in 1672, which was aimed at wealthy citizens and foreigners. At the same time, a decree was issued banning the non-pharmacy sale of drugs. 
But it was Peter I who undertook a significant reorganization of pharmacy in Russia. As a matter of fact, the very route of the “Great Embassy” determined the German model of organizing the pharmacy business. Indeed, from the moment the profession of pharmacist (pharmacist, pharmacist) began to become independent (mid-16th - early 17th centuries), pharmaceutical science and practice in Europe developed in accordance with three main models: Mediterranean, Anglo-Saxon and Central European. History of the issue It is known that the first pharmacy appeared in Baghdad. If we talk about a specific date, then the official point of view differs from the historical one. Today you can read in any encyclopedia: the world's first pharmacy appeared in Baghdad in 754. But it is known for certain that this city was founded in 762... One way or another, the first time we talked about a pharmacy was in the 8th century. In Europe, pharmacies began to appear in the 11th century, first in Spain: in Cordoba and Toledo, and then in other countries, for example, in Latvia in the 13th century, in Estonia and Ukraine in the 15th century.
But let’s return to the three models of organizing the pharmacy business that emerged in the 18th century. The Mediterranean model was used in the Italian principalities, France and the Kingdom of Aragon (modern Spain) and was based on the principle of a guild or guild. In these countries, the heads of the respective guilds were responsible for training and checking the activities of members of pharmaceutical professional associations. Pharmacists, in turn, were obliged to comply with the rules adopted for them - to provide an appropriate level of services and pay taxes to the treasury. In this case, the profession of pharmacist was considered as a trade and was regulated by relevant trade rules and laws. The Anglo-Saxon model made no clear distinction between merchants and pharmacists or, say, between pharmacist assistants and store clerks. Therefore, highly qualified certified pharmacists could work as simple apprentices in private shops, and “licensed” state (usually royal) pharmacies with a large regular clientele could be just a branch of a nearby hardware store. Pharmacists involved in the manufacture of medicines could simultaneously be teachers of practicing doctors or, conversely, be trained by the latter. Unlike the Mediterranean model, the Anglo-Saxon model did not make an explicit legal distinction between doctors, who diagnose and prescribe treatment, and pharmacists, responsible for the preparation, storage and sale of medicines. This model was most widespread in Great Britain and, accordingly, in its vast colonies, especially in North America. The main feature of the Central European model (it was formed in the German principalities) is the state management of pharmacies. In particular, this was expressed in the existence of a whole set of detailed instructions and rules that significantly limited the free development of the pharmacy profession. After the French Revolution, the Central European and Mediterranean models of the pharmaceutical sector were involved in active integration processes. As a result, on their basis, a certain general model was formed, characteristic of continental Europe as a whole. Its main distinguishing feature was the strict and scrupulous regulation of all aspects of professional activity by one or another civil structure. In contrast, the UK (both in the pharmaceutical business and in the economy as a whole) was much more liberal. In particular, drugs and other medical products could be manufactured and sold by a variety of companies or individuals. Pharmacy monopoly So, Peter I began to introduce the Central European model in Russia. On November 22, 1701, he issued a decree on the opening of private pharmacies and prohibiting the sale of medicines in herbal shops and other places. “Everyone who wishes to open a private pharmacy on their own, Russians or foreigners,” the decree said, “receives a non-monetary position and a grant of a certificate.” A year later, Peter I allowed the opening of 8 private (free) pharmacies in Moscow, providing pharmacists with great material advantages and exemption from military service. The decree states: “For all the needs and requirements, there will be eight pharmacies in Moscow again, and to build those pharmacies on large, spacious and crowded streets, without any hesitation to keep and sell in those pharmacies all kinds of medicines and medicinal alcohols and other necessary and healing drinks belonging to them.” " In addition, unlike commercial establishments, pharmacies were allowed to have the state emblem on their signs. The state monitored the high quality of medicines, and pharmacists were required to have special education confirmed by a diploma. Peter’s decree stated: “The pharmacist, as a good citizen who faithfully maintains his sworn position, is obliged to be skillful, honest, conscientious, prudent and sober, diligent, present at all times and fulfilling his position for the general good accordingly.” It is clear that compatriots at that time did not possess so many excellent qualities in addition to European education (they did not teach pharmacy in Russia at that time), and therefore until the middle of the 19th century, pharmacists, like doctors, were almost exclusively foreigners. They often passed on their business by inheritance. Reforms in the pharmacy sector were attractive, primarily due to tax exemptions and the right to display the state emblem on documentation. It is not surprising that it was in St. Petersburg that people from other countries, primarily Germany, were able to truly develop and bring Russian pharmacy to a new level of development. As already mentioned, in St. Petersburg in 1704, the “first sign” was the pharmacy in the Peter and Paul Fortress. It was located in stone barracks “near the Menshikov Bolverka”, was called Main (Upper) and served mainly the needs of the military garrison. Her staff consisted of an apothecary, a laboratory assistant (alchemist), apothecary apprentices and herbalists (pomyas). Five years later, it received the status of the Main Recipe, becoming by that time the largest in Russia. Then, during the rapid development of the city, this pharmacy moved to Millionnaya Street, where the adjacent lane is still called Aptekarsky. At the beginning of the 19th century, the pharmacy was moved to a house on the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and Fontanka and became known as Anichkova. At 66 Nevsky Prospekt, the pharmacy was located until the beginning of the 21st century, only for the convenience of serving visitors, going down from the previous second floor to the first. In itself, the first pharmacy was noticeably different from the usual modern institutions. In addition to medicines, other goods unrelated to healing were also sold. For example, it was there that the shipbuilders of one of the St. Petersburg shipyards, who were ordered to paint the ship of Empress Anna, managed to get hold of turpentine. True, the pharmacist Durup was unable to find such a huge amount of such a specific product: he had to borrow turpentine from his colleague, the pharmacist Lapin. Unfortunately, the documents of the Pharmacy Office were burned during a fire, so information about the development of pharmacies in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 18th century was largely lost. 
However, Moscow and St. Petersburg were rather an exception in encouraging the development of the pharmacy network at that time - in other cities, by imperial decree of 1701, the so-called pharmacy monopoly was introduced: only one pharmacy was allowed to open within the city limits. This elimination of competition did not help lower drug prices. However, the number of pharmacies in Russia increased significantly: by the end of the 18th century there were about a hundred of them. Following the appearance of the first state-owned pharmacy in St. Petersburg in 1704, “main pharmacies” were established by decree of December 10, 1706. This name was given to state-owned pharmacies, which dispensed prescription drugs to the population and at the same time served as central military warehouses in the regions of the state. In 1712, the Apothecary Order was also transferred from Moscow to St. Petersburg. In 1714 it was renamed the Office of the Main Pharmacy, in 1721 - the Medical College, and then the medical office, whose important task was to increase the number of medical institutions in the country, and primarily pharmacies, both state and free. At the same time, it was specifically stipulated that pharmacy, like medicine, remained under the jurisdiction of the state: all pharmacies, like hospitals and other institutions, were subordinate to the Medical Office. In St. Petersburg, in the first two decades, two large medical and pharmacy centers were established on the Vyborg side. The first hospital pharmacy was founded in 1717 at the St. Petersburg Military Land Hospital, on the basis of which the Medical-Surgical Academy was then created. The main pharmacy for supplying the fleet (from the 1730s - the “Admiralty Pharmacy”) was established on April 5, 1722 at the St. Petersburg Naval Hospital. Pharmacy Garden Of course, pharmacies were unusual for the Russian average person. The historian Yakov Chistovich, in his work “The History of the First Medical Schools in Russia” in 1883, wrote: “In the early years, a pharmacy was looked at as a warehouse where one could find everything rare and foreign, everything that was not available in ordinary trade... " To make them popular, by royal decree, soldiers and working people were given free medications according to government prescriptions. The medications also came with a free glass of vodka or a mug of beer. The order of Peter the Great said in this regard: “... even if you give medicine without wine and beer, there is little benefit, and the medicine is only a loss.” Moreover, they were given vodka infused with pine needles as an anti-scorbutic remedy. The above medicines were given to “various particular people” for a fee. During the same period, on the initiative and under the leadership of officials of the Pharmacy Order, apothecary gardens - plots of land on which medicinal plants were grown and prepared - became widespread. There they not only bred herbs that were difficult or impossible to harvest as wild ones, but also acclimatized plants imported from other countries. Later, with the advent of hospital schools, and then other similar educational institutions, apothecary gardens began to serve as a base for the training of doctors and pharmacists: here they studied botany, learned to grow and collect plants, how to properly store and prepare medicines from them. In St. Petersburg, the decree of Peter the Great on the creation of the Apothecary Garden (later the Apothecary Garden, and from 1735 the Medical Garden) was issued on February 11, 1714. 
The king entrusted its organization to “his tireless companion in traveling and collecting rarities, Robert Areskine (Erskine).” Areskin was an archiate, the head of the Medical Chancellery. Under his management were two other scientific institutions - the Library and the Kunstkamera. There is a legend associated with the construction of the Kunstkamera building - the symbol of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It is believed that the first exhibit of the Kunstkamera was a botanical object - a cut of a pine tree with the tip of a side shoot grown into the trunk. Employees of the current Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography named after. Peter the Great they say that “Peter ordered the pine tree to be cut down, the trunk with a strange branch to be preserved, and the building of the Kunstkamera to be founded in the place of the pine tree.” Already by 1736, there were 1,272 plant species in the Medical Garden. By that time, a significant territory was allocated for it, limited by the water of the Bolshaya Nevka and Karpovka (Spruce River), and on land - by Pesochnaya Street and Aptekarsky Proezd. In 1823, the Medical Garden was renamed the Imperial Botanical Garden. Not without certain incidents. The same Yakov Chistovich in the “History of New Medical Schools” in 1883 writes: “On August 19, 1776, the St. Petersburg Stadt physicist J. Lerche reported to the Medical College that, while auditing pharmacies in St. Petersburg, he found recipes for such doctors and healers (11 in number) who are completely unknown and have never been examined for the right to practice. And it was difficult to pursue them, because most of these lawbreakers lived with aristocrats, such as, for example, Prince Vyazemsky, Count Musin-Pushkin, Count Panin. As proof of their ignorance, Lerche showed a recipe from some Meyer, who demanded two ounces of sublimate from the pharmacy. According to Lerche’s report, the Medical College confirmed to pharmacies that they should not dispense anything according to prescriptions from unexamined physicians.”
The world's first pharmacy appeared in the 8th century in Baghdad - at that time the capital of the Arab Caliphate. In Europe, similar establishments opened in the 11th century in Cordoba and Toledo, and then in other countries. I’m a little late with this, but there are very interesting pages in the domestic history of the pharmacy business.
The first is the princess
As you know, back in 1963, the version about the poisoning of Tsar Ivan the Terrible and his son Tsarevich Ivan with sublimate (mercuric chloride) was confirmed. After examining the remains, a dose of about 1.3 mg was found in each, which is more than 30 times higher than the maximum permissible concentration of 0.04 mg. Where did this chemical substance that became poison come from? Most likely, from the Tsar’s pharmacy - the first in Russia and opened in Moscow in 1581 by decree of Ivan the Terrible himself. After all, mercury was then used to treat syphilis, and it could well have been present in the pharmacy.
Why "princess"? Yes, because this pharmacy served only the king and his household. Under Ivan the Terrible, in the same 1581, the Pharmacy Prikaz was created - the highest body of medical administration that existed in the Moscow state in the 10th-11th centuries. It is characteristic that it was located in the same building as the pharmacy directly in the Kremlin. This spoke of its significance, because there were 40 orders in total and not all of them were located in the very center of the capital.
However, this arrangement is not surprising - initially the task of the Pharmacy Prikaz was to supervise the treatment of the Tsar and his household, the work of invited foreign doctors, and especially the medications given to Ivan the Terrible (no matter what happened!).
Couldn't do without vodka
Where, before the advent of pharmacies, were medicines and various healing potions sold? After all, people were sick and had to be treated. Numerous herbal and mosquito shops offered remedies for improving health. Naturally, uncontrolled trade often led to the abuse of poisonous and potent drugs - such treatment was not much different from witchcraft.
Despite these “excesses,” the second pharmacy appeared in Moscow only under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, in 1672. It was aimed at wealthy citizens and foreigners - the prices there were frankly steep.
A significant contribution to the development of pharmacy in Russia was made by Peter I, who, as you know, was keenly interested in medicine and everything connected with it. Having familiarized himself with the experience of setting up the pharmacy business in Europe, in 1701 he issued a decree on the opening of private pharmacies and prohibiting the sale of medicines in green shops and other places. “Everyone who wishes to open a private pharmacy on their own, Russians or foreigners,” said this decree, “receives a non-monetary position and a grant of a letter.”
A year later, Peter I allowed the opening of eight private (free) pharmacies in Moscow, providing pharmacists with some benefits, including exemption from a number of taxes and military service. It is noteworthy that, unlike traditional stores, pharmacies were allowed to place an image of the state emblem on signs and documentation - this indicated the status of the institution.
True, there was a problem: pharmacies themselves remained unusual for ordinary people - it was necessary to somehow lure them there. Then, by order of the tsar, employees and soldiers were given medicines according to government prescriptions free of charge, and in addition, the medicines were accompanied by a glass of vodka (infused with pine needles - an anti-scorbutic remedy!) or a mug of beer. Such a neighborhood...
The same age as the city of Petrov
In St. Petersburg, the first pharmacy appeared in 1704 in the Peter and Paul Fortress. It was mainly focused on the needs of the military garrison, but five years later it received the status of the main prescription. After the development of the city, the pharmacy moved to Millionnaya Street, where the adjacent lane is still called Aptekarsky. At the beginning of the 19th century, it was moved to a building on the corner of Nevsky Prospect and Fontanka near the Anichkov Bridge, and the pharmacy itself was also called “Anichkova”. At 66 Nevsky Prospekt it existed until the beginning of the 21st century.
The emergence of a large number of private pharmacies required the publication of legislative acts on the basis of which the pharmacy business, which had become very profitable, was to develop. The first such comprehensively thought-out document can be considered the Pharmacy Charter, published in 1789. By the way, it was included in the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire.
At the same time, a pharmacy tax was issued, limiting the desire of pharmacy owners to arbitrarily set prices for medicines. This was an official government document with prices used to determine the cost of drugs manufactured in a pharmacy (as a rule, almost everything sold was produced within its walls). The pharmacy tax was periodically updated - the last one in pre-revolutionary Russia was published in 1911. Although it was revived in Soviet times: in 1928, its publication was resumed by the People's Commissariat of Health of the RSFSR.
In accordance with the law of 1873, new free pharmacies could open only with the permission of the governor, but with a representation (petition) from the local medical board. It was taken into account that one pharmacy can serve 12 thousand people annually and dispense medicines according to 30 thousand prescriptions - such is the legalized productivity.
Medical police: you won’t spoil it!
The owner of a pharmacy was required to have the title of pharmacist - a pharmacy worker with a special pharmaceutical education - or entrust its management to a person who had this title. Such a manager must be at least 25 years old. In 1815, there were 43 pharmacies in St. Petersburg: 11 state-owned (state) and 32 “free” (private).
The law also determined the necessary structure of the house to accommodate the pharmacy being opened, as well as a list of pharmaceutical equipment and devices. Compliance with these standards was monitored by a specially created medical-police department - a very strict regulatory body. Thus, for selling medicine at an inflated price, a fine was levied on the guilty pharmacy manager. In the case where a pharmacist tried to make money, not only did he pay the fine himself, but also five rubles were taken from the pharmacy manager - a large amount for those times.
The requirements for educational qualifications were not always met - there were not enough specialized educational institutions. Thus, in 1896, only 22 out of 63 owners had a pharmacist degree. Often, pharmacy managers did not have a pharmaceutical education. True, over time the situation changed for the better.
If in Europe pharmaceutical degrees for pharmacy specialists were introduced back in the 18th century, then in Russia they were established only in 1838 by the “Rules on examinations of medical, veterinary and pharmaceutical officials.” There were three of them: a pharmaceutical assistant, a pharmacist and a pharmacist. In 1845, instead of the somewhat mundane-sounding "pharmacist" degree, the highest pharmaceutical degree, the Master of Pharmacy, was introduced. The right to award these degrees after appropriate examinations was granted to several universities (primarily St. Petersburg and Moscow) and the Military Medical Academy.
Pharmacy General
The relatively small number of pharmacies was explained by the fact that the so-called pharmaceutical warehouses that sold medicines and related products in bulk were not officially classified as pharmacies. At the same time, such warehouses also carried out retail sales directly to the population, essentially performing the functions of pharmacies in one or another area of the city.
There were also pharmacy stores. At the end of the 19th century, the latter supplied troops and medical institutions of the military land and naval departments, and partly civilian institutions with medicines, dishes and other pharmaceutical items. In St. Petersburg there were initially only three of them, but since the number of pharmacies was still regulated, persons who had not received the appropriate permission opened pharmacy stores. In 1913 there were several dozen of them.
As for the location of pharmacies, the largest number of them were located in the center of St. Petersburg. On Nevsky
Avenue in 1896 there were six pharmacies, on Sadovaya and Gorokhovaya streets there were, respectively, six and five pharmacies. In the center of the capital, four homeopathic pharmacies also sold their products. In this regard, residents of the outskirts were forced to go to the city center for medicine.
