Danila Zhidovin was the favorite doctor of the second Russian tsar from the Romanov dynasty - Alexei Mikhailovich Tishaishiy, and then the only doctor who was recognized and admitted by his son, Fedor Alekseevich. However, despite the efforts and talents of Danila, after the death of Tsar Fyodor, Zhidovin became one of the first to be cruelly executed on charges of killing the Tsar right on Red Square.
The full name of the court physician is Stefan von Gaden, and Danila Zhidovin was named for the simplicity of the Russian pronunciation. Danila arrived in Moscow accompanied by his close friend and colleague Matveyev Artamon Sergeevich, who brought him closer to the court. Zhidovin served under the tsar since 1656, was his favorite and the only one who was freely admitted to the Grand Duchess, to the Tsarevichs, and to the ruler himself.
Education
Stefan von Gaden was born into the family of a doctor from the city of Breslau (today - Wroclaw). The young man was ambitious and dreamed of a career more than anything else. He dreamed so much that he changed his faith and became a Lutheran. And all because it was almost impossible for a Jew to become a student, the Catholic Church very tightly controlled the sphere of education.
Lviv.
Stefan moved to Lviv, where he managed to get a medical education. The diploma of the Brotherhood Collegium School, whose status was slightly lower than the university, gave the opportunity to pursue a career. Stefan von Gaden entered service in the Polish army, under the command of Nikolai Potocki.
Bohdan Khmelnytsky.
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But soon the Poles were defeated in a battle with the army of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, and Zhidovin was captured by the Tatars. He could not pay off imprisonment, so he was sold to the Turks, who, by naivety, allowed him to move calmly, thinking that he had no place to go.
Taking his chance, Danila, though not without difficulty, got to Kamenets-Podolsk by cunning, where he continued his medical work. Then, by the will of fate, he ended up in Kiev, in Buturlin's regiment, where he was engaged in the treatment of Great Russians and Maloros. The voivode was often visited by the same Artamon Sergeevich, who organized the transfer of Stephen to Moscow.
Kamyanets-Podolsky.
While still in Kiev, Stefan and Artamon became close friends against the background of the latter's passion for medicine. Alas, but it was this friendship that later served as a pretext for their murder. Stefan von Gaden's Moscow career began with the Aptekarsky Prikaz, where he held a medical assistant's position, because his foreign diploma in Russia meant nothing. But since in addition to the doctor's "paper" he also had knowledge, he was quickly recognized and soon he began to wear the proud title of doctor.
Pharmaceutical order
Alexei Mikhailovich, who reigned at that time, noticed a talented healer even before he was awarded an official title. Therefore, in honor of the new position, the ruler issued a special letter in which he listed all the merits of his favorite, and handed him over. Stephen used his high position at court not only for his own benefits, but also for other Jews, as evidenced by the preserved notes of another court physician. Since the recognition of von Gaden, the number of Jews in the city and at court has increased markedly.
Pharmaceutical order in Moscow.
After the death of Alexei Mikhailovich, Artamon, who by that time was the head of the Pharmaceutical Order, was sent into temporary exile, and Stefan remained to look after the new ruler - Fyodor Alekseevich - who was sick from birth, which is why he constantly needed a doctor. The king generously presented his favorite for any work, but despite the efforts of the latter, the disease prevailed, and soon the very young ruler, who was only 20 years old, died.
Shooting riot of 1682
Since no official paper on the right to inherit the throne was signed, this led to the enmity between the Miloslavskys and the Naryshkins. The former nominated the eldest son Alexei Mikhailovich for the throne, and the latter were for Peter. As a result, the young Peter became the new king, and Artamon Matveyev was taken on the role of his guardian. The disaffected Miloslavskys quickly organized the Streletsky revolt, the first victim of which was the innocent guardian.
Alexey Mikhailovich and Fedor Alexeevich.
They executed him, however, under a stupid, and also invented, pretext. In the book about herbs and treatment, which Matveyev published, the rebels allegedly found traces of heresy, for which, without waiting for an opportunity, they immediately burst into the room where Artamon was with his ward Peter, grabbed the first and threw him onto spears right from the porch. But they did not finish there either, the embittered crowd of stripping the unfortunate man, took him out of town, where he cut him into pieces.
"Streletsky revolt".
Watching the terrible picture, the boyars tried to escape with all their might, scattering in all directions. Further, the rebels went in search of the court physician Stefan von Gaden, but he managed to retire in the clothes of a wanderer before their arrival. They wanted to execute Stephen due to the poisoning of the king. According to the archers, Artamon allegedly gave the doctor either poison or an already poisoned apple, which Stefan gave to Fedor Alekseevich. They didn't care that the doctor, before giving something to the ruler, had to try it himself.
They came up with many excuses why all the facts proving the absurdity of their thoughts were invalid. This is understandable, their goal was to kill the doctor, and everything else is secondary. In general, no matter how hard von Gaden tried to hide, he was soon found. He hid in a grove for a while, and then, out of hunger, decided to return back to carefully shelter with his friend and have a snack. But this was not destined to come true - he was identified on the street, immediately seized and taken to the palace.
Princess Sophia.
The princesses were on their knees, begged not to touch Stephen, shouted about his innocence, but the archers were adamant. Accusing him of witchcraft, he was dragged to torture in the Constantine torture chamber. Stefan could not bear the torment and said to himself everything that the tormentors wanted. After that, the doctor was dragged out to Red Square and there they hacked the unfortunate man to pieces. Stefan's remains were buried a few days after the pogrom. The ceremony was organized somewhere in the field, outside the city, but where exactly - no one knows.