 |
Nora VolkovGreat-granddaughter of Leon Trotsky, heads the American National Institute on Drug Abuse
Country:
 USA |
Content:
- Biography of Nora Volkova
- The Path to Prominence
- Connection to the Trotsky Family
- Nora's Career
- Fighting Addiction
- Collaboration with Russia
Biography of Nora Volkova
Nora Volkova, the great-granddaughter of Lev Trotsky, was born three years after Stalin's death and 16 years after her great-grandfather was killed by NKVD agent Ramon Mercader. She claims that she has 50 percent Russian blood running through her veins. Her father, Esteban Volkov-Bronstein, moved from Turkey to Mexico in 1940 and lived in the same house (No. 45) as Trotsky on Viena Street. It was here that Nora was born. However, our conversation is not only about her famous great-grandfather, but also about her own journey to fame.
The Path to Prominence
Just 10 years ago, Nora Volkova, who obtained American citizenship, became the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the largest center of its kind not only in America, but in the entire world. Dr. Volkova, as she is referred to in the United States due to her scientific title, sat down for an interview with Evgeny Bai, a correspondent from "Izvestiya".
Connection to the Trotsky Family
Dr. Volkova shared that she has felt connected to her famous family since childhood. Being born in the house where Trotsky was assassinated, she felt the walls radiating history. As a child, she explored the most closed-off rooms that stored historical relics. She read numerous books written by her great-grandfather and books about him. When she turned 17 or 18, her father started giving interviews to the press, and she learned new details about Trotsky's life from newspapers. However, her father had never spoken to her about her great-grandfather before.
Her father, at the time of Trotsky's assassination, was only 13 years old and did not have his own political views. However, the history of his family, who remained in Russia, was a painful wound for him. Her grandmother committed suicide, her grandfather never returned from a concentration camp, and her uncle was executed in a Stalinist prison. Nora's father experienced a difficult childhood and went through immense psychological trauma. It took him years to break free from his shell and start engaging with the world. He accepted Russia only recently, around ten years ago, when he received a call from a friend informing him that they found his sister alive in Moscow. Her name was Eva, and she passed away from cancer two months after meeting her brother. This was the final tragedy that Nora's family experienced. Russia had such a painful influence on her father that when Nora was 19, he convinced her not to study in Moscow.
Nora's Career
After completing her studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1981, Nora planned to continue her education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States. However, her plans changed when she came across an issue of "Scientific American" that discussed brain research using scanners to track the trajectory of radioactive elements injected into the brain. These scans revealed neurological changes in the brain during conditions such as stroke, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, or drug use. Intrigued by this, Nora redirected her path to New York University instead. Her specialization became the study of the effects of drugs on the brain. She initially focused on cocaine and opium.
Fighting Addiction
When asked if addiction is a disease, Nora confirmed that it is a disease that causes chemical changes in the brain. However, drugs alone are not capable of causing pathological addiction. It arises in a specific environment with social stressors, such as countries undergoing transitions with poverty and migration issues. She emphasized that addiction is a serious problem in the United States, with an estimated 25 million people struggling with alcohol abuse alone. Nora's institute funds 85 percent of all scientific research worldwide related to drug addiction. They recognize that addiction is an international issue, and even in the United States, the societal cost reaches $150 billion annually when considering the negative impact on productivity, family relationships, and crime associated with illegal drugs.
Collaboration with Russia
Nora expressed her personal and professional interest in studying addiction and alcoholism in Russia, as half of her blood and brain are Russian. She mentioned a recent meeting between her institute's staff and scientists from the Pavlov Institute of Physiology in St. Petersburg, where they discussed joint work in combatting HIV/AIDS and studying the effects of drugs on the human brain. She believes that Russia, due to its historical changes, is currently experiencing various stress factors and has become an attractive target for drug traffickers.
In conclusion, Nora Volkova's connection to her famous family and her passion for studying addiction have led her to a prominent position in the fight against drug addiction in the United States. Her work extends beyond America, recognizing addiction as a global issue that requires collaboration and research. She emphasizes the importance of understanding addiction as a disease and exploring innovative treatments to combat it.
