Autopsy of the relics of the Yaroslavl miracle workers in 1919: medical examination and historical tradition

Abstract

In 1918 in Soviet Russia a campaign to uncover the relics began. In Yaroslavl in 1919, the relics of the 13th century prince Fyodor Cherny and his sons David and Constantin were discovered and examined. Yaroslavl doctors were involved in the examination; they made a conclusion in accordance with historical traditions of the remains. The article, written on the basis of archival data, provides details of medical examinations and the opinions of doctors on the remains of the princes. A conclusion about the attitude of doctors towards conducting research and campaigns to open the relics is drawn.