A Newly Discovered Neuroscientist

Nikolai Dmytrovych Zynovyev-Ikonnikov‘s (1900-1938) name was found while browsing through Pravdych-Neminsky’s case. Otherwise his name is lost from history, appearing only among thousands in the lists of Stalin repressions martyrs. Here is a story of his short life.

Zynovyev-Ikonnikov was born in St. Peterburg in 1900 in a family of peasant from Novgorod Governate, in north-western Russia. His childhood was hard and poor as he admits in own diary. Somehow his family moved to Kyiv where he attended Kyiv Realschule and met Neminsky as his teacher.  His graduation took place in 1917, the revolution year in Kyiv as well as all Russian Empire. Ikonnikov believed in revolutionary ideals and took part in almost any political demonstration or street meeting multiple of which were organized. Soon he decided to serve the laypeople and become a doctor to help peasants fight diseases.

In 1918 he entered natural section physics and mathematics department of Kyiv University. Ikonnikov also studied medical herbs at a kind of courses and in 1920 joined Academy of Sciences Acclimatization Botanical Garden as a worker for deeper study in herbs. During his last two years in the University he had taken two junior courses in Medical department.

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This page is created as a part of European History of Neuroscience Online Projects and funded by FENS History Online Project 2016 grant. Author: Oleksii Boldyriev. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.