The contribution of the Scottish doctor Robert Erskine to the development of Russian medicine in the 18th century.

The Scottish doctor Robert Erskine (1677-1718) became Chief Doctor of Russia and personal physician to Tsar Peter the Great. Extensive archival material documents his remarkable career. From schooling in the village of Alva and apprenticeship to an Edinburgh apothecary, he went on to study medicine in Paris and Utrecht and was admitted to the Royal Society in London.