In 1768, Catherine the Great was inoculated for smallpox, setting a royal public health example that would end up saving countless Russian lives.

According to smallpox historian Donald Hopkins, Empress Catherine had even prepared a team of horses to rush British doctor Thomas Dimsdale out of the country should any adverse effects occur, at which point riots would have ensued. Instead, she, her son, and over 140 members of the court safely recovered and Dimsdale was awarded a Barony of the Russian Empire.