In 1831, the first cholera epidemic broke out in St. Petersburg, which was remembered by Cholera rebellion on Sennaya Square from June 22–23. The closest to the townspeople at this time were doctors, who acted as representatives of the authorities. After the townspeople staged a hunt for doctors accused of killing patients, measures were taken to form a positive image of a doctor. To overcome the negative image was used a wide range of measures: from publications in newspapers to sermons in churches. This was an important step at this stage in the formation of the Russian medical corporation.