Medal "For Zeal".

[CtahhR]

Researching this Plague Prevention Service exhibition a bit over the last year I've found two photographs of the Railway workers during the time period Tarnavskij was in service.

I would suggest the most probable candidate to speculate as being Tarnavsky is the chap top right in the second picture, up against the locomotive.

I also found the full (illustrated) report of the expedition that was published in 1913. Although almost forgotten today this was the last major outbreak of the "black death" and was still infecting the Soviet Union's eastern areas until the 1920's.

Here is an extract from the report.

IMMEDIATELY following on the International Plague Conference held in Mukden in April, 1911, the Chinese Government, anxious to carry out the recommendations of the Conforence, instituted the North Manchurian Plague Prevention Service. The chief of these recommendations were briefly:
(a) Systematic investigations should be made as to whether epizootic plague occurs among Tarbagans and other rodents, and, if such exists, an accurate investigation should be made of the nature of the infection.
(b) A general improvement in the sanitary condition of cities and villages, especially with regard to overcrowding, is desirable.
(c) Education of the public by lectures and the issue of pamphlets and handbills, explaining preventive measures in simple language.
(d) The need for isolation of pneumonic-plague patients being urgent, permanent hospitals should be available.
(e) Hospital accommodation for suspected cases of plague should be provided.
(f) Contact quarantine stations should be constructed'.
The primary object of the scheme was the formation for North Manchuria of a medical service equipped and ready to act and control any situation that might arise through an outbreak of plague in the district, and also to maintain hospitals at Harbin (the headquarters of the Service), Aigun (Taheiho), Sansing, Lahasusu, Manchouli, and any other town in the district where such an institution might be necessary.
In addition medical service was to be given to the poor and destitute,and when the hospital accommodation was not required for plague cases, general medical, surgical and infectious diseases were to be treated in the wards. Further, medical officers in the Service were to instruct the people in general hygiene, etc.
It was hoped that the Service would develop into a Public Health Service for the whole of China. The funds for building the hospitals were to be derived from the current revenue of the three Manchurian Provinces, while the Service was to be maintained out of the Maritime Customs dues.

On the morning of May 26th, 1911, I arrived at Manchouli to make enquiries as to the conditions under which hunting took place, and to gather information which would prove useful in making arrangements for an expedition into the Tarbagan country later in the year. My observations made at that time are embodied in this Report. I left Manchouli on the evening of May 29th and returned to Harbin. About this time of the year large numbers of coolies arrive in Harbin principally from the province of Shantung to find work in the north. Most of them obtain employment along the Sungari and Amur rivers. On May 30th I saw a train reach Harbin station with over 1000 coolies; like others from Shantung, they possessed a fine physique and were in the best of health. Soon afterwards official business took me to Peking.
In the beginning of July rumours were afloat that a large number of Tarbagans were dying in the neighbourhood of Scharasone (Transbaikalia, Siberia). On July 11th I left Tientsin with orders to organise an expedition to investigate the matter, as the Chinese Government were most anxious that all measures should be taken to forestall a possible spread of Plague to man. The Manchurian authorities agreed to build hospitals for Plague at all the important centres and instructed me to staff them with properly qualified medical officers; and from the Viceroy at Mukden downwards, all the officials took great interest in the proposed expedition. I quote the following from the Peking Daily News:
Tarbagan Epidemic in Siberia spreading southwards. (Special Dispatch to the P.D.N.)
HARBIN, July 13th.
" My correspondent at Station Manchouli wires that the Tarbagan epidemic of Siberia is spreading southwards towards the Chinese frontier. Dead marmots are now found as far south as Scharasone which is only thirty-five miles north of the Russian-Chinese frontier. Local measures are sufficiently strict to prevent the disease from entering Manchuria. Some members of the Chinese Scientific Expedition for the study of Tarbagan diseases have already arrived here."
Arriving at Harbin on July 15th, I called on Professor Zabolotny, who was at that time working at certain plague problems in the Russian Laboratory of that town. After showing me his specimens and telling me the results of his investigations-a note of which appears in this Report -he invited me and my party to proceed with him to Manchouli in a special car provided by the Chinese Eastern (Russian) Railway I gladly availed myself of the invitation. It is interesting to note that this was the first scientific expedition sent out by the Chinese Government.