The Moscow Plague Riot of 1771 erupted as public panic over a devastating bubonic plague outbreak clashed with the imperial state's aggressive quarantine measures. Citizens, fearing for their lives and livelihoods, protested against the government's handling of the crisis. This riot highlighted the tensions between state authority and public health, reflecting broader societal anxieties during a time of crisis.

The Moscow Plague Riot of 1771 profoundly impacted Russian literature, prompting writers under Catherine the Great to shift towards neoclassical civic poetry. This new direction emphasized secular order and rationality, as poets sought to address the tensions between superstition and state authority in their works.