Why Nicholas I legalized "priestesses of love", and how the system worked after the introduction of "yellow tickets"

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In the first half of the 19th century, the problem of sexually transmitted diseases truly took on the character of an epidemic: up to 15% of soldiers and citizens in large cities were infected with syphilis. The main disseminators of the disease were prostitutes, who were not controlled either by the state or by medical specialists. In 1843, Nicholas I made an attempt to rectify the situation and issued a law allowing girls of easy virtue to work after they received a special document - a yellow ticket.

What forced Nicholas I to legalize the oldest profession in Russia

It is not for nothing that prostitution is called the oldest profession - as evidenced by the facts, corrupt women existed even before our era. Moreover, in ancient civilizations there were temple prostitutes, who were not only honorably called "sisters of God", but were also protected by law along with respectable townspeople.

In the Russian Empire, however, the "priestesses of love" traditionally belonged to the lowest social strata, and their "employment" after the 17th century was officially prohibited by the state. However, despite the closure of brothels and the sending of potential "employees" to forced labor, the number of corrupt women grew, and along with it the number of infections with venereal diseases increased.

Realizing from the unsuccessful experience of his predecessors that punitive measures could not restrain prostitution and its consequences, Nicholas I came to a decision: to legalize brothel houses. In 1843, by special decree of the emperor, public women were given the right to trade their bodies legally, under strict police and medical supervision.

To whom and on what conditions were "yellow tickets" issued?

After the tsar's permission, the prostitutes were obliged to register with specially created medical and police committees, where their passports were taken away, and they were given yellow substitute tickets and examination books instead. Any 16-year-old girl could get the official status of "priestess of love", but on condition that she is no longer a virgin. Otherwise, an even older candidate would often face rejection after a medical examination. In 1901, the age limit for aspiring prostitutes was raised to 21, the time of majority under the then existing legislation.

The exchange of documents sharply limited the woman's rights. Having received a ticket, she lost the opportunity to feed herself in any other way than by selling her own body. Returning a passport in case of a desire to end the vicious existence was a complex and lengthy procedure, which was almost impossible to go through. However, the hopelessly spoiled reputation did not allow counting on any better changes in life, forcing them to engage in prostitution to old age or complete loss of health.

In addition, according to the "Rules for the owners of brothel houses" published in 1844, each holder of a yellow ticket was required to undergo a medical examination twice a week and record its results in a medical book. It was supposed to treat a prostitute upon detection of an "occupational disease" free of charge (at the expense of the state treasury). Over time, due to the heavy workload of doctors - 200-300 people in 4 hours - the examination turned into a formality, during which attention was paid only to the obvious symptoms of an already existing disease.

If the "stowaways" were identified, criminal punishment was threatened. The same measure awaited those who ignored medical examinations, being a source of infection.

The hierarchy of "priestesses of love": "camellias", "ticket kept women", single corrupt women, "lovers"

Representatives of different classes became prostitutes. According to police statistics, the bulk of the sexually corrupt contingent in Russia consisted of former peasant women - there were 47.5% of them. 36.3% fell on the bourgeois women who were previously dressmakers, flower girls, laundresses, etc. Further, the places were distributed as follows: 7, 2% - soldier women, 1.8% - noblewomen, 1.5% - foreign subjects, 1% - from the merchants and clergy. 70% of the moths were less than 25 years old.

This social heterogeneity also gave rise to differences in the lifestyle of the prostitute. At the very top were the elite "priestesses of love", who were nicknamed "Camellias" in the capital, linking the nickname with the courtesan from the novel "Lady of the Camellias" by Alexandre Dumas. These "ladies" led a secular life and moved among the aristocrats, living for their own pleasure and receiving considerable sums for the time spent with them. The "elite" usually dwelt in Moscow and St. Petersburg without yellow tickets, as they were listed as actresses, singers, teachers, or were supported by some unremarkable but rich gentleman.

Numerous ticket prostitutes replenished mainly brothels, where they were fully supported, receiving clothes, food and a certain percentage for the services provided. But there were also single "workers" among them, who offered paid sex without intermediaries in a rented apartment or, which happened less often, at home.

The third category of corrupt women engaged in prostitution from time to time - in the form of a part-time job. Amateurs were considered quite respectable members of society, often had a job, and, of course, like the "elite", were not registered with the police. The stowaways each hunted in its own way: the peasant women who came to the fair were given to the merchants; dancers and singers - to the restaurant visitors; governesses, maids, and female students found clients by placing advertisements in local newspapers.

Who got the right to open a brothel, how much did the "priestesses of love" get?

According to the aforementioned "Rules for the owners of brothel houses", the owner of the establishment could become a woman not younger than 35 and not older than 55 years, who never had problems with the law. Among other things, her duties included monitoring the health and behavior of the workers, and also providing them with regular medical examinations.

The houses of tolerance were kept at the expense of deductions from the services of prostitutes: two-thirds was received by the owner of the "business", one-third of the amount was given to a direct participant in the process. The rates depended on the size of the settlement and the capacity of the brothel. So, for a one-time visit to a prostitute paid: in Moscow - from 20 kopecks to 5 rubles; in St. Petersburg - from 30 kopecks. up to 3 rubles; in the provinces - from 10 kopecks. up to 1, 5 rubles. The income of an "elite" public woman was estimated at hundreds and sometimes thousands of rubles.

Some Soviet actresses had to play the role of a woman of easy virtue, which then led to reputational problems.