Products of the Atom (April-June, 1899)
Atomic era and Russia]
The discovery of radium moved various parts of the society of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, it began to be sold and exported as a miracle medicine, and put into paint, clothing, upholstery and much more.
The only place in Europe and North America where radium was not greeted with emotion was Russia, where many radium items were banned, and virtually all radium "medicine" was banned as well.
Many thought, without foundation, that radium had revitalizing properties, but the Russian authorities (governmental and scientific), had their doubts.
This led Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov and the Moscow scientific institutes (mainly medical) to develop the "Moscow Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research, Report of the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. "
Or simply the Moscow Report, to shorten the name.
That it established investigation procedures to verify not only advances in research, but also to ensure the safety of the people of the Russian Empire regarding new discoveries, precisely such as the use of radium in daily life.
The report established three ethical principles for the use of human subjects for research:
1-Respect for people: The autonomy of all people must be protected, treat them with courtesy and respect, and allow informed consent. Researchers must be truthful and not mislead any of the participants.
2-Beneficence: The philosophy of "Do no harm", in addition to maximizing the benefits for the research project and minimizing the risks for the research subjects.
3-Justice: It is guaranteed that reasonable, non-exploitative and well-considered procedures are administered in a fair and equitable way (the fair distribution of costs and benefits to potential research participants).
These principles remain the basis of the human subjects protection regulations in Russia.
The Moscow Report was the basis according to which Moscow created the Sovety po Institutsional'nomu Obzoru or SpIO (Советы по институциональному обзору, translated as Institutional Review Boards or IRB) an appropriately constituted group, that has been designated by the authorities to monitor and review biomedical (and other kinds of) research involving human subjects (or that are important for human security, such as harmful materials like lead).
These formations review the research proposals with human subjects, or that involve human subjects, in order to guarantee that the research complies with the ethical foundations of the aforementioned regulations.
And they also guarantee research regarding the medical safety of the population, precisely avoiding the use of materials with unknown dangers (such as radium in its time).
Applying these principles to conducting research requires careful consideration of informed consent, risk-benefit assessment, and careful selection of research subjects.
Among these applications is:
* -Ensure that the study is approved by a SpIO.
* -Obtain the informed consent of the patient
* -Ensure that the patient understands the full scope of the experiment and, if not, will contact the study coordinator.
* -Ensure that the patient has not been forced to perform the experiment by coercion (threat, harassment or other use of force).
* -Be careful with other effects of the clinical trial that were not mentioned, in addition to informing the coordinator of the corresponding study and the competent authorities.
* -Support the privacy of the patient's identity, in addition to protecting and / or respecting the motivation to join or reject the experiment.
* -Ensure that all patients receive care for their conditions and problems, at a minimum.
Due to the Moscow Report, the rest of the world "enjoyed" radium and its alleged properties until the 1930s. While Russia never had a radium fever, in fact the bans continued and only highly controlled investigations were conducted.
This is because Russia was the father country of radiobiology, so they knew much more than the rest about protective measures (and were leading the investigation in this regard) and were much more suspicious about the use of radium.
The Moscow report and the investigations of various scientists and SpIO organizations were the basis for the investigation and prohibition of the use of various materials harmful to human health, such as radium, lead or asbestos. In products such as construction, paint, etc.
Of course in other parts of the world this was seen more as paranoia, eccentricity or simply that Russia rejected the progress of other Western countries.
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[Golden cultural age]
The period April-June 1899 continues to be quite remarkable in the golden age of Russian culture, for example on April 26, in Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland, the composer Jean Sibelius presents his First Symphony.
And on June 6, the state celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of the poet, playwright and novelist Aleksandr Pushkin.
Johan Julius Christian Sibelius was a Russian composer and violinist of Finnish origin, belonging to the late-romantic period and early in the modern / modernist period.
Sibelius is considered one of the greatest Russian composers, and the greatest within the Finnish nation. During a period of chaos, Sibelius established much of the Finnish musical identity, within the great Russian identity.
This is a product of the policies of the Russian government (of men like Alexander III and Mikhail Skobelev), the idea of Rodina, or Russia as a great homeland where diverse ethno-cultures can exist and interact in various ways.
It is precisely on these ideas that the Finnish elites and populations grew up in 1899, the educated (university) people knew Russian and commonly taught it to their children. And with the fear that it was the Fashoda war, they became strongly attached to the Russian government, led by Tsar Alexander III.
Sibelius was attached to this idea, Russia respected Finnish culture and the Finns would stay in Russia, it was a fairly simple idea.
Also so he could export his music to the Finns and people in other parts of the Empire, much more public and fame, consequently.
The centenary of the birth of Aleksandr Pushkin was another notable issue, he was one of the most important fathers of Russian literature (unfortunately in general very poorly translated abroad, except for some Italian translations), so Saint Petersburg greatly celebrated the centenary of his birth.
Actually the event was national, but the capital was the most important place since it has one of the biggest population of Russia, it was the seat of the goverment and the cultura impact of the city in the rest of Russia.
This is associated with the fact that from Alexandrian times on, Saint Petersburg would be the cultural capital of Russia in terms of festivals, fashion, literature, painting, photography and many other types of arts.
With this, the Russian government also acquired the custom of celebrating the centenary of the births or deaths of its greatest cultural idols, as for example a centenary was celebrated again for Pushkin in 1937 in honor of the year of the poet's death.
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[Far East]
On June 25, four journalists (Al Stevens, Jack Tournay, John Lewis and Hal Wilshire) from Denver, United States, created a false story that was spread by local newspapers (Times, Post, Republican and Rocky Mountain News) and nationals soon, what would later be known as the Great Wall of China hoax.
Tsar Alexander III and Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty were said to have offered various contracts to American companies to demolish the Great Wall of China to establish a highway.
The proposal was obviously false, what happens is that the journalists were looking for a story that was not going to "hurt anyone", and as a story in the United States was going to be more verified, the journalists thought of a story in Germany or Japan, until they finally made a news from Russia and China.
Soon after the story got out of control, national newspapers in the United States included quotes from a Chinese Mandarin that confirmed the story, with illustrations and comments about the demolition of the wall.
Then the story spread to Europe.
A supposed rapprochement of Russia and Qing made world trade like never seen before.
Of course it was terminally false, and Russians and Chinese alike were indifferent or outraged at such a lie. The Russians had precisely made protections of their small part of the Great Wall of China in Manchuria and they did not have the kind of relationship with China to carry out such a project.
On the other side, the emperor was under house arrest, unable to discuss such a thing.
The deception would be one of the beginnings of yellow journalism or yellow press as it is known.
Despite this, there were several other infrastructure, industrial and tourism projects in the Far East. Any road would be less famous than a portion of the Great Wall of China.
But even so there was a constant expansion of the railway system in the Far East, the population grew and needed schools, hospitals and so on, there were renovations of the city, immigrants and migrants arriving in the region, etc.
In particular, we could mention the success of the Alexandrian policies in Inland Manchuria with the Manchu cultural revival, which made it possible to save the Manchu language and alphabet from danger, the pacification of the countryside and the technical-industrial development.
In Korea there is the success of the industrialization and modernization of the former independent country, and in the Far East the success of the New Silk Road, megaprojects such as the Trans-Siberian, and the success of companies such as SEiPK.
Or we can also talk about cultural differences.
In the east of the Russian Empire, more specifically in the Far East, there was a great influence of Asian artistic styles, but taken to a more modern touch and with a certain Russian-Orthodox influence of course.
This is because Koreans, Han Chinese and Manchu, among other Asian ethnic groups, formed a large part of the population, which lived together precisely with Russians and other more European-American ethnic groups-cultures.
Cities like Vladivostok had a strong European presence but Asian neighborhoods, while cities like Seoul, mainly Asian, got Russian-European neighborhoods.
As a result, when a new city was created (naturally or at the initiative of the government), there were interesting mixtures of all the cultures and cultural influences of the Russian Empire, the influence of the activity of the government and its population, the influence of capitalism. and the spirit of the people, etc.
Mangyongdae]
**Perspective of the Kim family.
Mangyongdae, a town of just over 8000 inhabitants near Mungyungbong Peak (translated as All-Seeing Peak), near Pyongyang, a much larger city exceeding 80,000 inhabitants.
In this small town of Mangyongdae there lived a man named Kim Bo-hyon, 27, who worked in the local shoe factory to feed his children. Among them the young Kim Hyong-jik.
"Come on son, get up." Kim Bo-hyon exclaims for his son to go to school, not before Hyong-jik prepared himself of course.
A Russian citizen like family members could send his children to a public school, but the relatively humble family preferred to send their eldest son (Kim Hyong-jik) to one of the schools created by nearby Orthodox missionaries.
"His son is talented despite being so young." One of the Orthodox missionaries mentions Kim Bo-hyon before the Korean man drops out of school after leaving his son.
"Yes, he spends many nights studying at a candle light." Kim Bo-hyon proudly replies.
"Have you thought about sending him to Pyongyang? There are much bigger schools there, here your son cannot exploit his full potential." The missionary exclaims.
"... I can afford a big dinner every month after many work days, but I don't have enough money to send my son to Pyongyang." The Korean explains.
"No problem, I think we can solve that." The missionaries exclaim.
Shortly after, Kim Hyong-jik obtained a scholarship to study in one of the schools in Pyongyang, the city called Jerusalem of the East (named for the influence of Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Christianity in the city).
There he would start the path of Hyong-jik to the medical career (when he grew much more of course).
Even a low-income Korean family (with 6 children by the 20th century) could obtain certain opportunities in the Russian Empire during the Alexandrian period, be it scholarships in institutions by the Russian Empire, simple but honest jobs, food from local restaurants at least once a month, etc.
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[International]
On April 11, after the very obligatory consent of King Carlos VII, Guam was ceded by the British to the United States, which in return recognized the situation in Puerto Rico.
In addition, Anglo-American relations take a more positive trend.
May 3, Tsar Alexander III and his family visit Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary (the regency without a monarch).
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* [Fashoda]
It is May 13, when soldiers of the Empire of Brazil trying to crush the Christian extremist movement in Alagoas, accidentally (or perhaps on purpose) invade the territory of the Republic of the United States of Brazil.
This supposes the resumption of hostilities in the Portuguese-speaking regions of Latin America. With the Republic of the United States of Brazil being supported by the British Empire, while the Empire of Brazil is supported by the German Empire, Venezuela and to a lesser extent the Second French Empire (and to a much lesser extent the Second Mexican Empire, for Opinions of Emperor Maximilian).
The Federation of Rio Grande do Sul remains out of the new Brazilian front of the Fashoda war, which seriously marks an intervention of Brazilian volunteers in British Guyana, and new problems in the South Atlantic.
From the 18th to the 25th of May most of the Fashoda war in Africa stops, temporarily of course.
May 30 and 31, British and German expeditions along all the Chinese coasts (north and south) lead to various incidents with the natives and members of the Chinese navy.
In particular, the most damaging were various disturbances that the Germans caused in northern Chinese ports, causing more problems for the Chinese population towards foreigners.
This only supports the rise and rise of the so-called Boxers, which are only the results of the increase in foreign imperialism in China and Chinese xenophobia as a consequence of said imperialism.
Some Chinese, however, claim to use Fashoda (allying with a side or being semi-independent) to recover lost territories from western barbarians (Germany-France or the United Kingdom).
June 12, various ports and cities of the Empire of Brazil and the United States of Brazil are mutually destroyed in the Fashoda war, similar to how other points are destroyed throughout the globe.
June 27, the Second French Empire and Germany begin to develop the first modern anti-aircraft artillery against British airplanes and airplanes.
Although with mixed success.
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May 14, 1899, the National Football Club is founded in Uruguay.
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*[Diplomacy?]
On May 18, a Dutch administrator, Willem de Beaufort, contacted Tsar Alexander III through Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov.
Willem proposed to the Russian Tsar the need to end the terrible Fashoda War, which involved the use of chemicals and flamethrowers (among other horrible practices) in warfare.
Surprisingly, Tsar Alexander III accepted and proposed holding a peace conference in The Hague, Germany, to try to end the Fashoda conflict and establish a series of regulations regarding the war.
Unfortunately, although Germany could accept Russia as a neutral diplomatic mediator, Georges Boulanger and Louis Alexander Mountbatten (of the most important leaders and statesmen of France and the United Kingdom), refused to participate in such a meeting yet.
Although a brief 1-week truce was reached on the African and ocean fronts, the conflict continued in America and some regions of Arabia.
For their efforts, Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov and Tsar Alexander III won a Nobel Peace Prize. Not very useful or important, but at least they had tried.
The proposals included:
* Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes.
* Convention with respect to the Laws and Customs of War on Land.
* Convention for the Adaptation to Maritime Warfare.
* Declaration concerning the Prohibition of the Discharge of Projectiles and Explosives from Balloons or by Other New Analogous Methods.
* Declaration concerning the Prohibition of the Use of Projectiles with the Sole Object to Spread Asphyxiating Poisonous Gases.
* Declaration concerning the Prohibition of the Use of Bullets which can Easily Expand or Change their Form inside the Human Body such as Bullets with a Hard Covering which does not Completely Cover the Core, or containing Indentations.
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*[Firipin]
On June 5, notable events occur in the Philippine liberation war against Japanese colonial rule, after the assassinations of almost all Philippine political leaders such as Emilio Aguinaldo, the Filipinos have found and elected a new leader.
This is General Antonio Narciso Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta, a controversial figure within some of the Philippine rebels, but who have accepted him as a leader against the Empire of Japan.
The general and new "President of the Philippines" Antonio Luna leads an aggressive guerrilla war between the Filipinos against the Japanese authorities.
The Japanese military authorities suffer various defeats in the interior of the islands against the three-level strategy of the ex-sniper, which has formed and evolved the Philippine guerrillas towards a new model, where, for example, the Luna Sharpshooters snipers (ル ナ 狙 撃 隊, Runa sogeki-tai) and the Black Guard (ブ ラ ッ ク ガ ー ド, Burakkugādo for the Japanese).
However, the Japanese, although they may respect General-President Luna, do not intend to surrender, the war between the Philippines and Japan will continue.
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June 9, United States boxer James J. Jeffries knocks out British boxer (Cornish-born) Bob Fitzsimmons, winning the world heavyweight champion title.
June 17, the German mathematician David Hilbert publishes Grundlagen der Geometrie.
On June 9, Arthur Edward Jeune "James" Collins obtained the highest score in individual cricket (628 not out). That it is not surpassed until more than 100 years later.
June 27, Johan Vaaler patents the paperclip.
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[Diplomacy: Russia and Rio Grande do Sul]
June 20.
After the conflicts began in the South Atlantic and the Brazilian front in the Fashoda war, Tsar Alexander III sent a detachment of the imperial navy stationed in Namibia to the Federation of Rio Grande do Sul.
With the other Brazilian states at war again, and Rio Grande do Sul unable to enter the conflict once again, the Russian Empire offers unofficial protection (at a price of course) to the authorities.
Rio Grande do Sul accepts, although it is not a Russian protectorate, both states increase their commercial ties and Russian investment in the region increases.
Rio Grande do Sul may get the option to maintain its neutrality under Russia, and Russia gains another market in South America, and potentially future allies in the region.
Although it all depends on how future events unfold, Rio Grande do Sul is not an Alexandrian priority.