May 15, 1867, 157 years ago In 1854, during the Crimean War, Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna opened a community of sisters of mercy in St. Petersburg who were trained to work in the military hospitals of besieged Sevastopol. This community became the precursor of the Red Cross Society. Russia was one of the first countries in the world to create a Red Cross society. From its early years, the Russian Red Cross Society developed its activities both within the country and beyond its borders. The society's teams worked on battlefields during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), the Greco-Turkish War (1897), the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), World War I, and other wars and conflicts. The Russian Red Cross Society also helped wounded soldiers in civilian life. They received free treatment, homes for invalids were opened, and for the families of the deceased – orphanages, widow homes, and schools for orphans. Additionally, the RRCS's activities were aimed at helping the population affected by natural disasters, fires, famine, and epidemics. By the end of the 19th century, the organization represented a complex structure with a wide network of local institutions in provincial and county towns. With its own funds, it opened permanent hospitals, free canteens, shelters, and orphanages. Sources of financing included private donations, interest from securities, and various collections. After the Revolution of 1917, the humanitarian traditions and valuable experience were adopted by the new organization, the Soviet Red Cross, and were extensively developed. In 1934, the Soviet Red Cross was accepted into the International League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. During the Great Patriotic War, the Red Cross prepared and sent a large number of nurses, medical assistants, and sanitarians to the front. They provided assistance to the wounded on the battlefields, worked in hospitals, serviced sanitary transport, organized the donor system, etc. 18 Red Cross nurses were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In the post-war period, the Soviet Red Cross continued to help foreign nations eradicate dangerous infectious diseases and develop healthcare. Sanitary teams worked on eradicating epidemics in Manchuria, Poland, North Korea. Hospitals were opened in Iran, Ethiopia, Algeria, North Korea. In the 1960s, to provide medical and social assistance to lonely sick people, war and labor veterans at home, the Society's committees created a patronage nursing service. During the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the Society's committees conducted informational work among the population, provided assistance to those affected, and sent environmentally friendly products to contaminated areas. In 1992, with the dissolution of the USSR, the document "On the liquidation of the Soviet Red Cross" was adopted. Its successor became the Russian Red Cross Society. Today, it is a public charitable organization that is a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and directs all its activities towards helping people in need.