THE SHATTERING RETURN OF MEASLES - Qalam

Believe it or not, measles played a crucial role in the collapse of the Russian Empire. This disease, which was almost eradicated at one point, can proudly count this downfall among its many bloody trophies. While the empire was shaken by many problems—the devastating war with Germany and Austria-Hungary, governmental impasses, public hatred for the elites and the royal family, the aristocracy’s animosity toward the Tsarist favorite Rasputin, and various unresolved social issues—history has shown us time and again that a mere coincidence, a seemingly simple event, can often have much greater consequences than a multitude of other factors.