Evgeny E. Polotsky, the Head of the Central Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology From 1937 to 1943. Portrait Against the Backdrop of the Epoch

Evgeny E. Polotsky was one of the leading obstetricians-gynecologists and health care organizers of the first half of the 20th century in Russia. This article tells about his student years, first at Smolensk State University and then at Voronezh State University, and his development as an obstetrician-gynecologist, occurred with the emerging interest in scientific and pedagogical activities. The article briefly describes his dissertation “Autotransplantation of ovaries” for the PhD degree. E.E. Polotsky held senior positions with the Voronezh Medical Institute, including as director from 1932 to 1934. From November 1934, his professional career continued at the Central Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Leningrad, the USSR (currently the Research Institute of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductology named after D.O. Ott, St. Petersburg, Russia). From 1937 to 1943, E.E. Polotsky as director of the above institute was also engaged in the organization of Evacuation Hospital No. 1015, which assisted the population during World War II and the Siege of Leningrad. Later, on January 10, 1943, in order to carry out a special assignment for the Leningrad Front, E.E. Polotsky left Leningrad for the active army. There he headed the Evacuation Hospital No. 283 of the Central Front, was the chief gynecologist of the Southern Front, then the 4th Ukrainian Front, and from January 1944 to May 1945, he was the chief gynecologist of the Belorussian-Lithuanian Military District. E.E. Polotsky completed his service with the rank of lieutenant colonel of the medical service in April 1945. After being discharged from the army and returning to Leningrad, he continued working at the Central Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology as a senior research fellow at the Department of Operative Gynecology.