At the same time, it would be wrong to conclude that Miss Marsden fully succeeded in melting the ice and convincing the authorities and the public throughout Russia about the necessity of reconsidering their approach to the problem of leprosy. On the contrary, her activity aroused suspicions and smoldering resentment among certain groups of people in provinces, which resulted in the accusation of spying. It is quite probable that such a far-fetched charge was a result of culture difference or misunderstanding caused by Miss Marsden's persistent claims to change the living conditions of lepers not only in Siberia but in every place she visited. She tried to use every opportunity to tell about what she had seen in the Yakut area, appealing for mercy and help for the lepers. However, many people in Russia were afraid of contacting lepers and would have preferred to see them somewhere in remote places rather than in the neighborhoods. The situation might have been exacerbated by the fact that, having been granted enormous powers by the Russian Empress, Miss Marsden spent huge sums on charity at the expense of the local Governors and communities. None of the provincial officials dared to object openly to any suggestions or claims expressed by the Czarina's envoy. At the same time, it is difficult to imagine that the provincial authorities were happy to see the stout woman who openly criticized the current situation with the lepers and persistently called for charity and a new approach towards the problem of leprosy. Moreover, in Samara, where she stayed for a while on the way back from Siberia, she stopped the attempt of the local authorities to expel a dozen of lepers to remote parts of the area and made the local Governor arrange a house for lepers in the city. It is not excluded that the accusation of spying was just a kind of a revenge taken by some people who regarded Miss Marsden as a foreign intruder who shattered the piece and quiet of Russian provinces with obscure claims and requests. 

Although some newspapers published a number of wrathful articles that cast a shadow on sincerity of Miss Marsden's activity, accusing her of sabotage and espionage, the central Russian authorities in St. Petersburg refuted all the accusations as groundless. As it was said in the governmental report on Miss Marsden's research on lepers in Siberia submitted and approved by the Synod, 

The situation with Siberian lepers changed radically after the revolution 1917. The Soviet government applied drastic measures to improve social conditions of the ethnic minorities throughout the former Empire. Thorough medical examination and care became available even in the remotest places of Siberia. In 1934 an expedition of the Soviet doctors spent about 10 months in Yakutia, studying health problems of the local inhabitants. According to their report, they found only three cases of leprosy after thorough medical examination of 6 000 people. Although their report was written with certain political bias, they admit that the leprosy colony and hospital set up after Miss Marsden's expedition had been the biggest in the area and it had provided treatment for at least 450 lepers between the years 1897 and 1933, according to the archives found in the colony. In spite of the fact that the expedition did not find any case histories referring to the earlier period (1892-1897), it seems quite realistic that the colony might have provided care to no less than one hundred lepers during the first five years of its existence, in consistence with the descriptions and blueprints of the original plan⁷, because the amount of the funds raised for that purpose was quite sufficient.  

Today Miss Marsden's expedition is still remembered in Russia. Some information and short descriptions may be found in a book on the history of Yakutia⁸ and on the official WEB site of the Sakha-Yakutia republic.⁹ According to the report of the republican information agency YSIA [www.ysia.ru as of 18.10.2002], the Yakut artist Alexander Romanov started a sculpture composition devoted to Miss Marsden's visit to the lepers in the tundra, while the local poet and playwright Aisen Doidu  planned to make a movie about Miss Marsden's trip to Siberia. 

The Russian Orthodox Church also acknowledges Miss Marsedn's expedition to the Siberian lepers as an outstanding example of a Christian charity mission. The Sunday Church School of Kaliningrad's Christ the Savior Cathedral included the story of Miss Marsden's journey into the curriculum, together with the biographies of such famous women as Florence Nightingale, Elisabeth Blackwell, and Mother Theresa [www.kcxc.org/school].

Other References and links

1. Puteshestvie Miss Marsden to the Yakutsk Oblast [Traveling of Miss Marsden to the Yakutsk region], Moscow 1893.
2. Anglichanka Ekaterina Marsden v Sibiri u Prokazhennykh [English Kate Marsden visiting lepers in Siberia] St. Petersburg 1894.
3. www.stfrancisleprocy.org
4. www.bridgebuilding.com
5. www.cin.org/archives/al-bushra-bible/200205/0007.html
6. www.ewtn.com
7. www.pravchten.narod.ru

Ed. Note: Yuri Bessonov is a Russian physician who works as a translator, independent researcher and a freelance journalist in the fields of nursing history and history of hospital care. He has carried out extensive research in the history of nursing in Russia and in some European countries. 

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