One of the most important problems of modern society is the preservation of life and health of citizens, particularly during a pandemic. This problem makes it necessary to focus not only on the history of epidemics, but also on legislation in this area and, ultimately, to identify the system of values that is so needed by Russian society. The analysis of legislation in the field of protection of life and health of the population in nineteenth-century Russia led to a number of findings. Nineteenth-century legislation in the sphere of health care was not static, but developed steadily, allowing the improvement of measures aimed at combating epidemics. The specific feature of the state policy on this issue was a combination of government orders issued by the head of state and experience of ordinary people, local authorities, public organizations and, eventually, foreign legislation in epidemic control. The sanitary-epidemiological situation of individual regions in the Russian Empire was different, which facilitated the setting up of special rules for the prevention and development of epidemics. The achievements of national and foreign science and practice, as well as preventive measures in various spheres of life of the peoples of the empire, were to contribute to raising the level of general and legal culture of the population. The solution of the financial issues connected with the provision of anti-epidemic measures, contributed both to the consolidation of state and public bodies, as well as the common people in controlling the epidemics.