DOI: 10.17720/2409-5834.v3.1.2016.09c
I.E. Rozanova1, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Leading Researcher,
O.A. Trefilova2, Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, Associate Professor,
I.A. Rozanov2, 6th-year student at the Medical-prophylactic Faculty
1Solzhenitsyn House for the Russian Diaspora;
2I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, The Ministry of Health
of the Russian Federation, Moscow (Russian Federation)
The article presents a biography of Princess T.A. Volkonskaya (also known as Thérèse Dubois, Tereza Dubua, and La Princesse). She began her medical work as a nurse in World War I, and at the end of the war found herself in Constantinople, where she received a medical degree. The education she got in Constantinople was not recognized in France, where Volkonskaya moved to live, and she had to change her field of work. So, she was engaged in sewing women’s clothing and was quite successful in it.
By the beginning of World War II, France was one of the centers of Russian emigration; and doctors were one of the most significant professional groups among Russian emigrants in terms of numbers and influence on the European scientific community. The war forced Volkonskaya to remember her skills as a doctor. Volkonskaya, as well as many other Russian emigrants, became a member of the French Resistance. Volkonskaya actively participated in the guerrilla movement: provided medical assistance to the wounded, conducted agitational work. After the war, she did everything possible to preserve the memory of those who fought against the Nazi occupiers. Volkonskaya’s biography is a prime example of the fate of Russian emigre doctors, who in difficult conditions remained faithful to their vocation.
In the article documents from the archive of Solzhenitsyn House for the Russian Diaspora are cited.
Keywords: T.A. Volkonskaya, Russian emigre doctors, World War II, the French Resistance
