New Books in Russian and Eurasian Studies

Matthew P. Romaniello, "Europe's Laboratory: Climate and Health in Eighteenth-Century Russia" (Cornell UP, 2025)

·1 hr 11 min·5 clips

Matthew Romaniello explains why he threw out his first draft and shifted focus to 18th-century travelers' medical descriptions of Russia.

Host Erika Monahan introduces historian Matthew Romaniello and his third monograph, 'Europe's Laboratory: Climate and Health in Eighteenth-Century Russia,' published by Cornell University Press in 2025. Romaniello explains his academic path, starting with an interest in Russia during the Cold War and shifting from modern to earlier history. He describes the book's origin, revealing he discarded an initial draft on tobacco and refocused on 18th-century travel narratives that applied humoral medical theory to Russia. The humoral framework, based on balancing bodily fluids and external 'non-naturals' like climate and diet, structured ethnographic observations. Romaniello illustrates how physicians stereotyped Siberian groups, such as linking meat-eating to violence or fish-eating to passivity. He discusses medical networks in Russia, noting recruitment from Leiden-trained physicians rather than French schools. A case study on scurvy shows Russian physicians contributed to British doctor James Lind's understanding, challenging Russia's isolationist image. The episode delves into Catherine the Great's smallpox inoculation campaign, highlighting its PR elements and ethical issues like kidnapping children. Romaniello analyzes French naturalist Abbé Chappe d'Auteroche's critique of Russian imperialism in Siberia and Catherine's libel lawsuits. He also examines naturalist Georg Steller's disturbing experiment on a Kamchatka woman's diet to control sexuality. The conversation touches on broader themes, such as how 18th-century accounts explained Russian empire-building through practices like banya baths. Romaniello concludes by mentioning his forthcoming work on children's health and ordinary diseases.

As heard by us

Russia becomes a working laboratory of medical exchange, where case notes helped recast scurvy as one disease.

Europe's Laboratory frames 18th century Russia as a revealing test case in the movement of medical knowledge across borders. Erika Monahan's conversation with historian Matthew Romanello follows medical journals, academy networks, and case notes, keeping a close eye on the…

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