Situated in the Gulf of Finland, off the Russian coast near St. Petersburg, is a manmade island built as a naval fortress that once had an even more deadly purpose - one which earned it the name 'Plague Island.'

Between 1838 and 1845, Fort Alexander came to life as a strategic military base designed to control the vital Gulf of Finland, thus securing essential shipping lanes between Russia, the Baltic Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean.

Though not the first of its kind, Fort Alexander was one of the most impressive fortifications in the Gulf. Builders drove 5,535 piles, each 40 feet long, deep into the seabed, layering sand, concrete, and granite slabs on top.

Fort Alexander's massive structure spans over 54,000 square feet across three floors. At its peak, the fort housed 1,000 men and accommodated 103 cannons and an additional 34 guns on the roof.

While playing a strategic role in the Crimean War from 1853 to 1856, the fort never faced real action. However, its purpose shifted after the Russian government established the Commission on the Prevention of Plague in the late 19th century. The island became home to a state-of-the-art laboratory in 1897 dedicated to dangerous bacteriological research.

Equipped with a scientific library, containment labs, and cremation chambers for spent lab animals, Fort Alexander focused primarily on developing plague vaccines. Later, researchers delved into other deadly diseases, including tuberculosis, cholera, scarlatina, and typhus.

Between 1904 and 1907, the hazardous nature of the work led to several staff members contracting the plague, resulting in numerous fatalities, including the head doctor. Another doctor, who caught the bubonic plague, treated himself with an experimental serum and ultimately recovered.

Contemporary accounts reference plague-infected rabbits, monkeys, guinea pigs, and horses housed in a dedicated stable on the island...