ABSTRACT The article dwells on the history of the use of general anesthesia in Russian medical practice in the middle of the XIX century. In the middle of the XIX century, many doctors began using ether anesthesia in medical practice and continued experiments with its composition and dosage. The apparatus for anesthesia, as well as the route of administration of the drugs, has been improved. Particular attention is paid to the use of ethereal anesthesia in the Caucasus, where before the trip by Nikolai Pirogov, military doctors successfully performed surgeries using general anesthesia with ether vapors. The article discusses changes in the legislation of the Russian Empire, in particular, the restriction of the use of ether anesthesia in the mid-1840s. The authors disclose the main reasons for Nikolai Pirogov’s trip to the Caucasus. Being a pioneer of the use of ethereal anesthesia in surgical practice, he proved with his own example the necessity and safety of the introduction of ethereal anesthesia in the daily practice of military doctors during the war in the North Caucasus. At the same time, it points out the restrictions that Nikolai Pirogov has had to observe during the application of anesthesia in the military field: more close monitoring of patients, as well as the uninterrupted supply of medicines to the medical service. The result of efforts and activities of Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov in the Caucasus included overcoming restrictions for the use of inhalation anesthesia, which is demonstrated by archival documents first introduced into scientific circulation and published in the article.