Evgeny Sergeyevich Botkin was born on May 27, 1865, in Tsarskoye Selo into the family of the renowned physician Sergey Petrovich Botkin. He came from the merchant dynasty of the Botkins, distinguished by deep Orthodox faith and philanthropy. From childhood, Evgeny was imbued with virtues such as magnanimity and humility.
Having received a home education, in 1878 he entered the 2nd Saint Petersburg Classical Gymnasium, and in 1882 he became a student at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Saint Petersburg University. However, he soon chose the medical profession and enrolled in the Military Medical Academy, from which he graduated with honors in 1889. In January 1890, he began working at the Mariinsky Hospital for the Poor.
At the age of 25, Evgeny married Olga Vladimirovna Manuilova, and they had four children. Alongside his work at the hospital, he engaged in scientific research and defended his dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1893. In 1897, he became a privat-docent in internal diseases.
Since 1897, Botkin began his medical activities in the communities of the Sisters of Mercy of the Russian Red Cross Society. In 1904, during the Russo-Japanese War, he went to the Far East, where he distinguished himself as an outstanding physician and received a high administrative position.
After the war, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna wished for him to become the personal doctor of the royal family. From 1908, he served as the court physician of the Imperial Court, remaining kind and attentive to those around him.
When World War I began, he requested to be sent to the front, but the Emperor instructed him to remain with the royal family. In February 1917, after the revolution, he stayed with the royal family despite the abolition of his position.
In April 1918, Botkin volunteered to accompany the royal family to Yekaterinburg, where they were all executed on the night of July 16-17. A few years before his death, he was granted the title of hereditary nobleman and chose a motto for his coat of arms: “By faith, fidelity, and labor,” which reflected his life ideals and devotion to God and the royal family.
