Yuri Nuller
Encyclopedia
Yuri Lvovich Nuller (1929 - November 10, 2003, Saint-Petersburg) was a Soviet
and Russia
n psychiatrist and professor. He spent many years investigating the problem of anxiety
.
Yuri's father, Lev Moiseevich Nuller, a Soviet diplomat in France
, was called back from abroad with his family in 1938, arrested and executed by NKVD
on July 28, 1941. In 1950 Yuri himself was arrested under the preposterous accusation that he had been recruited by France's secret service at the age of three. He was sentenced to 10 years in camps and freed only in 1955, two years after Stalin
's death. Yuri went on with his studies, and in 1959 had graduated from the First Leningrad Medical Institute and started working at Svirsky mental hospital, a former Alexander-Svirsky Monastery
and Svirlag
concentration camp. After several months' work he became a head of the acute ward, and in two years defended a Ph.D. thesis, "A strategy for clinical trials of antidepressant drugs and its implementation in the trials of chloracizine and phenylethylhydrazine". In 1972 he upheld a thesis for a Doktor nauk
degree, "Clinical investigations of antidepressant drugs".
As a person, Yuri is remembered for his kindness, morality and superb intellectual qualities that put him in the ranks of Russian intelligentsia
. He abstained from visible dissident activities, but befriended some dissidents known in the West. As a psychiatrist, Yuri Nuller was noted for his high professionalism. Novel psychotropic medications were introduced in his clinic, and he strived to create new treatment strategies, aiming primarily to relieve anxiety
. His technique was christened a "Diazepam
test": high doses of the drug were introduced acutely and the psychiatrist tried to interpret, judging on the changing anxiety level and the symptoms that became more prominent, what may have caused the disorder.
Yuri Nuller had more than 130 publications and became an author of two books. He was a thesis advisor, with two Ph.D. and five doctoral dissertations defended under his supervision. During the last 12 years of his life he was the head of a department at the St.Petersburg V. M. Bekhterev Psychoneurological Research Institute.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n psychiatrist and professor. He spent many years investigating the problem of anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
.
Yuri's father, Lev Moiseevich Nuller, a Soviet diplomat in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, was called back from abroad with his family in 1938, arrested and executed by NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
on July 28, 1941. In 1950 Yuri himself was arrested under the preposterous accusation that he had been recruited by France's secret service at the age of three. He was sentenced to 10 years in camps and freed only in 1955, two years after Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's death. Yuri went on with his studies, and in 1959 had graduated from the First Leningrad Medical Institute and started working at Svirsky mental hospital, a former Alexander-Svirsky Monastery
Alexander-Svirsky Monastery
Alexander-Svirsky Monastery is a Russian Orthodox monastery situated deep in the woods of the Leningrad Oblast, just south from its border with the Republic of Karelia...
and Svirlag
Svirlag
Svirlag, SvirLAG was a Soviet forced labour camp run by NKVD's GULAG Directorate...
concentration camp. After several months' work he became a head of the acute ward, and in two years defended a Ph.D. thesis, "A strategy for clinical trials of antidepressant drugs and its implementation in the trials of chloracizine and phenylethylhydrazine". In 1972 he upheld a thesis for a Doktor nauk
Doktor nauk
Doktor nauk is a higher doctoral degree, the second and the highest post-graduate academic degree in the Soviet Union, Russia and in many post-Soviet states. Sometimes referred to as Dr. Hab. The prerequisite is the first degree, Kandidat nauk which is informally regarded equivalent to Ph.D....
degree, "Clinical investigations of antidepressant drugs".
As a person, Yuri is remembered for his kindness, morality and superb intellectual qualities that put him in the ranks of Russian intelligentsia
Intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a social class of people engaged in complex, mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them...
. He abstained from visible dissident activities, but befriended some dissidents known in the West. As a psychiatrist, Yuri Nuller was noted for his high professionalism. Novel psychotropic medications were introduced in his clinic, and he strived to create new treatment strategies, aiming primarily to relieve anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
. His technique was christened a "Diazepam
Diazepam
Diazepam , first marketed as Valium by Hoffmann-La Roche is a benzodiazepine drug. Diazepam is also marketed in Australia as Antenex. It is commonly used for treating anxiety, insomnia, seizures including status epilepticus, muscle spasms , restless legs syndrome, alcohol withdrawal,...
test": high doses of the drug were introduced acutely and the psychiatrist tried to interpret, judging on the changing anxiety level and the symptoms that became more prominent, what may have caused the disorder.
Yuri Nuller had more than 130 publications and became an author of two books. He was a thesis advisor, with two Ph.D. and five doctoral dissertations defended under his supervision. During the last 12 years of his life he was the head of a department at the St.Petersburg V. M. Bekhterev Psychoneurological Research Institute.