If you sometimes think that some women in our time have become too immoral, then you definitely think. Because morals from the change of times do not change at all.

Valeria Messalina

The name Valeria Messalina, the third wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius, became a household name: it began to be used to denote unusually dissolute behavior. And it was for what. AT early years Valeria was very popular at the court of Caligula and, probably, it was there that she became addicted to free connections. Ancient authors claim that Messalina began a wild life at the age of 13. And when she was 18 years old, Caligula married her to his uncle Claudius. Claudius, oddly enough, turned out to be a champion of morality and, having become emperor, diligently eradicated the habit of debauchery in his subjects, but at the same time "did not know what was going on at his house." Messalina had absolute power over her husband and, in fact, ruled Rome with him. No one dared to open the emperor's eyes to what was really happening. And the following happened: Messalina, according to historians, did not let a single handsome man pass by. Once she fell in love with the main court actor Mnester, but he did not want to become the favorite of the empress. Then Valeria Messalina complained about him to her husband, saying that "some actor" dares not to obey her will. Claudius ordered Mnester to fulfill all the wishes of Messalina, in fact, giving the actor his place in the marital bed. Ancient authors, in particular Tacitus and Suetonius, often wrote about Messalina. They claimed that the emperor's wife secretly owned one of the Roman lupanari (brothels), and also came there at night to satisfy her lust, pretending to be a prostitute. In Rome, there was a joke that if the emperor did not have enough money to equip the army, Valeria Messalina would easily earn it overnight. In addition, Messalina once arranged a competition with the famous Roman prostitute Scylla: who can serve more men. Scylla started in the evening and retired in the morning, settling on client 25. Messalina continued until the number of men reached 50 per day. At the same time, Messalina's marriage fell apart not because of her betrayals, but because she planned to seat her lover Gaius Silius on the imperial throne. Taking advantage of the departure of Emperor Claudius, Messalina married her lover in front of witnesses. The emperor was informed about this, but he, being a gentle man, did not even give the order for the arrest of Messalina. However, he did not react in any way to the news of the death of his wife, whom the emperor's envoy stabbed with a dagger shortly after his arrest.

Wu Zetian

The Chinese empress, who actually ruled the Celestial Empire for 40 years, appeared at court as a concubine of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. The emperor's harem was very extensive, so the young concubine never received his attention. But the son of Emperor Li began to look after the girl. After the death of Taizong, Wu was exiled to a Buddhist monastery, but Li, who ascended the throne under the name of Emperor Gaozong, returned her back, and then declared her his beloved concubine. Soon, Wu Zetian managed to remove the incumbent Empress Wang and become the official consort of the emperor. Wu Zetian gave birth to four sons and one daughter, but she was much more interested in power than motherhood. In addition, Emperor Gaozong was unwell, and for the last 23 years of his life the country was actually ruled by Wu Zetian. After the death of the emperor, she left power to herself, succeeding her sons on the throne, and then completely removed them from power and declared herself emperor. Formally, Wu Zetian is the only female ruler in the entire four-thousand-year history of China. But that's not what she became famous for. And not even because during her reign, China invaded the territories of Central Asia and Korea, conquering several new provinces. And not because culture was rapidly developing in the country, but Buddhism and Taoism came under the protection of the state. Wu Zetian became famous for inventing new rules of court etiquette. Wu Zetian rightly believed that women in the court were in an oppressed position, and found very original way to humiliate men in response: since fellatio was considered a symbol of male superiority, Wu Zetian introduced a new custom for the courtiers - “licking the stamens of a lotus”. In other words, cunnilingus. With her, this sexual technique was elevated to the level of a symbol of the era of female superiority. It must be assumed that the ladies of the court were absolutely happy.

Elizabeth I Petrovna

Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, the ancestor of the Age of Enlightenment in Russia, in her personal life was distinguished by free morals, and from early youth. The beginning of her reign was remembered by contemporaries as a period of luxury and excesses. The newly-made empress constantly arranged masquerade balls, and she especially liked the so-called "metamorphoses": men dressed in women's dresses, ladies - in men's suits. There is an opinion that in this way Elizaveta Petrovna just wanted to outshine the ladies of the court: she had legs of incredible beauty, but they could only be shown in a men's suit. Elizaveta Petrovna was never married and had no recognized children, but the list of her official favorites is striking in its impressiveness: in 24 years - from 16 to 40 years old - the Empress changed seven men, but this list included only official favorites recognized at court. At the same time, some historians claim that even before the age of 20, Elizaveta Petrovna managed to have a dozen lovers. But, by the way, something else is more interesting: at some point, four lovers lived permanently under the Empress: a new favorite, twenty-year-old Nikita Afanasyevich Beketov, a former church singer Alexei Grigorievich Razumovsky, the future founder of the University and the Academy of Arts Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov and a certain Kachenovsky, a favorite, about which historians have almost no information. Elizabeth Petrovna at that moment turned 41 years old.

Countess Dubarry

Marie-Jeanne Becu, wife of the Count Dubarry, was the illegitimate daughter of a tax collector, which meant that she could not achieve success in life. But the girl managed not only to get to the court, but also to become the official favorite of the French king Louis XV. Jeanne Becu spent her childhood in a monastery, but she did not learn piety there: as soon as she reached the age of independence, she got a job as a fashionista in a fashionable Parisian atelier, where they did not pay a very large salary, but there was always the opportunity to earn extra money ... In the local police, Jeanne was dealt with the wording on the title page: "A grisette who lives with various men and receives money and gifts from them, but by no means a street girl." In the same place, in the studio, Jeanne was noticed by the impoverished nobleman Jean Dubarry - and immediately invited her to move in with him. However, there was no question of any feeling: Jean found beautiful girls, taught them the art of love, and then offered them to his rich friends, receiving a certain percentage, that is, he was simply a court pimp. Jeanne, in his opinion, turned out to be a real "diamond", and Dubarry decided to implement the most ambitious plan in his "career" - to make her the favorite of the king himself. By that time, Louis XV was already 58 years old, and, frankly, he was not very interested in young mistresses. But after a night spent with Jeanne, the king declared: “This is the only woman in France who managed to make me forget my age and my misfortunes. She taught me things I didn't even know existed." No one, except Marshal Richelieu, dared to tell the monarch that the reason for this is simple - before Jeanne, prostitutes had never come across as the king's favorites. The mistresses of the king had to come from a decent family and have the status of a respectable married lady. Louis simply did not believe his marshal, and when the truth was nevertheless revealed, he immediately demanded ... to marry Jeanne. Jean Dubarry summoned his younger brother Guillaume and immediately organized the wedding. At the same time, he took care of the bride: according to the marriage contract, Guillaume had no rights either to the state of his wife, or even to her society. The lucky bridegroom was paid a substantial amount and issued an imperial order to immediately leave the capital. And Jeanne remained at court. She was the favorite of the king until his death, which, however, did not prevent her from hosting other men in her free time from the duties of a royal mistress. During the revolution, Jeanne Dubarry was executed, and she went down in history as the last favorite of the king of the Bourbon dynasty, and not as the most depraved favorite. However, some sources claim that Jeanne even had a connection with the executioner Henri Sanson, from whose hand she accepted death on the scaffold.

Gala Dali

Elena Dyakonova, the muse of the great surrealist Salvador Dali, was convinced that creativity is impossible without free love. At 23, Elena married Paul Eluard, who gave her the nickname Gala, gave birth to a daughter and led a completely respectable family life. Until in 1921 she met the artist Max Ernst, who invited Elena to become his model. The young woman agreed and became not only a model, but also the artist's mistress. AT next year the artist moved to the house of Eluard in France. Love triangle while not hiding at all. In 1929 Paul and Gala paid a visit to the young Catalan painter Dalí. The owner wanted to meet guests at unusual form- Dali tore his shirt and rubbed his body with a mixture of fish glue, goat droppings and lavender. But, seeing the guest, he immediately ran to change clothes. On the same evening, their stormy romance began. “Soon you will be the way I want to see you, my boy,” Gala said to the artist, and he agreed with this. Gala divorced Paul and married Salvador Dali. She took care of all household chores, Dali could create without being distracted by these "little things". Gala took over all the financial affairs of her husband, and Dali became rich. Until the end of his life, he considered his wife a living myth and a modern icon. At the same time, Elena Dyakonova did not remain faithful to her husband at all: she still started romances, and Dali gave her a personal castle, which, according to the contract, he himself could not visit without the written permission of his wife. In old age, Gala Dali, no longer counting on her own charm and attractiveness, preferred to buy the intimate services of men. After the death of Gala, Dali fell into a deep depression and never recovered until the end of his life. Born on December 22, 1939 in the city of Ochamchira (Abkhazia). Father - Bokeria Anton Ivanovia (1900-1943). Mother - Bokeria Olga Ivanovna (1905-1971). Wife - Bokeria Olga Alexandrovna (born in 1940), head of the department of the clinic for propaedeutics of internal diseases of the Moscow Medical Academy named after I.M. Sechenov. Daughters: Ekaterina Leonidovna Bokeria (born in 1971), candidate of medical sciences. Bokeria Olga Leonidovna (born in 1973), Doctor of Medical Sciences. Grandchildren: Anton (born in 1995), Leo and Sofya (born in 2003).

In 1965, L. Bokeria graduated from the 1st Moscow Medical Institute named after I.M. Sechenov and entered the postgraduate course at the Department of Topographic Anatomy and Operative Surgery under Academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences V.V. Kovanov. In 1968, having completed his postgraduate studies, he was assigned as a senior researcher to the Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery named after A.N. Bakulev, with whom he forever connected his life. From 1974 to 1977 he headed the laboratory of hyperbaric oxygenation. From 1977 to 1993 - Deputy Director for Science, Head of the Department of Surgical Treatment of Heart Rhythm Disturbances. From 1993 to 1994, he served as Acting Director of the Institute of Cardiac Surgery of the Scientific Center for Cardiovascular Surgery named after A.N. Bakuleva RAMS. In 1994, after the death of a teacher and friend V.I. Burakovsky was elected director of the Institute of Cardiac Surgery named after V.I. Burakovsky A.N. Bakulev RAMS and the Scientific Center for Cardiovascular Surgery named after A.N. Bakuleva RAMS.

L.A. Bokeria owns pioneering work on the theoretical substantiation and clinical use of the method of hyperbaric oxygenation in cardiac surgery in patients with high surgical risk. He personally performed more than 200 heart surgeries in barooperative conditions, some of which were completely new in surgical practice.
In 1980, Leo Antonovich created the country's first specialized department for the surgical treatment of cardiac arrhythmias and introduced electrophysiological methods for diagnosing arrhythmias into clinical practice, which opened up a new direction in world cardiology and cardiac surgery. He was the first to introduce methods of epicardial electrical impulse destruction of accessory pathways, cryodestruction and laser photocoagulation of arrhythmogenic zones, and was the first in the country to perform implantation of an automatic cardioverter-defibrillator.

L.A.’s personal surgical experience is unique. Bokeria, obtained during several thousand open-heart surgeries. Academician Bokeria belongs to a small number of outstanding cardiac surgeons in the world who perform the entire known arsenal of heart operations using cardiopulmonary bypass for a wide variety of pathologies.

He is the initiator of the development of another new section of cardiac surgery in Russia - minimally invasive heart surgery. He performed the first successful operations using the latest techniques in patients with congenital, acquired heart defects and patients with life-threatening arrhythmias and coronary heart disease (CHD), including the use of a three-dimensional image of the surgical field, which increases the safety and reliability of operations.

Great contribution of L.A. Bokeria contributed to the problem of surgical treatment of IHD. He introduced into clinical practice new methods of physiological reconstruction of the left ventricle (LV) in patients with LV aneurysms. His great merit is the introduction into clinical practice of transmyocardial revascularization operations using a very powerful CO2 laser created by him together with Russian physicists in the most severe patients with coronary artery disease with lesions of the distal bed of the coronary arteries. A new step in the surgical treatment of this category of patients was the combination of intraoperative use of transmyocardial laser revascularization and coronary artery bypass grafting.
With the name L.A. Bokeria is associated with the opening of a new chapter in domestic cardiac surgery - the formation of approaches to the surgical treatment of terminal heart failure. He was the first to develop the concept of dynamic cardioplasty, including for the first time in the world - in children. A special merit of Leo Antonovich is the implementation of the country's first implantation of artificial heart ventricles, in particular the Novokor system, which opens up new opportunities for previously doomed patients. He developed and successfully performed new operations in severe cardiac surgery patients with various forms cardiomyopathies.

The accumulation of such clinical experience has led to active development related issues of cardiology, resuscitation, anesthesiology, cardiopulmonary bypass. So, in the Scientific Center for Cardiovascular Surgery named after A.N. Bakulev RAMS on the initiative of L.A. Bokeria created a number of new clinical units with the highest diagnostic and therapeutic potential. Departments for the surgical treatment of cardiomyopathies, non-invasive arrhythmology, tachyarrhythmias, terminal heart failure, laboratories for electrophysiology, hemodialysis, and a number of others were created.
L.A. Bokeria is one of the co-authors and developer of the Moscow-Regions-Moscow teleconferences, the purpose of which is full-fledged consultation by leading specialists of the Center for Patients and Doctors from remote regions of Russia.

In addition to intensive operational activities and heavy administrative work in the post Director General Center Leo Antonovich finds time and energy to actively engage in the methodology of medical science and teaching activities. He is the founder of the largest cardiac surgery school in the country, a talented teacher who has educated more than one generation of cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, resuscitators, and specialists in related fields. He is the head of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of the Moscow Medical Academy named after I.M. Sechenov and the Russian Academy of Postgraduate Education. Under his leadership, 76 candidate and doctoral dissertations were defended, about 40 are being prepared for defense. Many of his students are doctors of medical sciences, professors, corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Eight of his students have been awarded Lenin Komsomol, and one - the State Prize.

L.A. Bokeria, as the Chief Cardiac Surgeon of the Ministry of Health of Russia, actively contributes to the development of this area in the country. He initiated the creation of a number of scientific and practical cardiac surgery centers in Russia.
In the scientific and medical world, Leo Antonovich enjoys the highest prestige and well-deserved respect as a serious scientist and an excellent surgeon who gave life to thousands of patients.

L.A. Bokeria published over 1000 publications, of which more than 100 were published abroad. He is the author of a number of problematic monographs and the country's only guide to cardiovascular surgery. The most important monographs: “Hyperbaric oxygenation in cardiovascular surgery” (1974, 1981), “Cardiovascular surgery” (1989, 1996), “Tachyarrhythmias” (1989), “History of cardiovascular surgery” (1997, 1998) , “Minimally invasive heart surgery” (1998), “History of the Scientific Center for Cardiovascular Surgery named after A.N. Bakulev RAMS” (1998, 2002), “Lectures on Cardiovascular Surgery” (1999-2002), “Endovascular and Minimally Invasive Cardiac and Vascular Surgery in Children” (1999), “Transmyocardial Laser Revascularization” (2001), “Lectures in Cardiology” (2001), “Minimally Invasive Myocardial Revascularization” (2001), “ Science Center Cardiovascular Surgery named after A.N. Bakuleva RAMS” (2001), “Ventricular arrhythmias” (2002), “Interventional methods of treatment coronary disease heart” (2002), “Three-dimensional echocardiography” (2002), “Functional diagnostics in cardiology” (2002), “Essays on the history of coronary surgery” (2002), “Guidelines for the operation of cardiac surgery” (2002), “Surgery of mitral disease after closed commissurotomy” (2003), “Surgical treatment of ischemic mitral insufficiency” (2003), “Impaired cerebral venous circulation in patients with cardiovascular pathology” (2003).

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An excerpt from a newspaper interview NEWS"My daughter's voice didn't let me escape from the operating room"

- Each doctor in the arsenal has a story that begins with the words: "I had a patient ..."

It was about 20 years ago. A friend from Ochamchira comes to me and says: "We urgently go to us, our guy is dying from a wound in his heart!" I fly to Georgia on an evening flight via Adler. I run to the hospital at night. Do you have any idea what a district hospital is? I'm doing an operation, and in the morning I'm flying to Moscow. And I completely forget about it. Two years later I came to Ochamchira on vacation. The mountain river Galizga overflowed, which is very close to my house. The whole city washed up on the shore. They're watching. And only one person, the strongest, pulls out the floating cows from the river, fallen trees. As a tourist, I photograph everything. And suddenly he sees me, throws another cow - and rushes to me. He grabs it with dirty hands and throws it into the air. It turned out - the same guy to whom I sewed the heart.

- You operated on Zurab Sotkilava, and then accompanied him to wine tasting. Did you not trust him, were you afraid that he would get drunk?

Ha ha ha! I was president of the tasting club, and he was on the committee. I just made sure he got the grades right! As for the operation itself, it was a happy occasion when it turned out to be possible to perform an operation using a catheter (expansion of a very narrowed vessel), and the heart attack "surrendered" immediately.

- Leo Antonovich, what is your favorite toast?

For the "Golden Hippocrates"! Hippocrates is my old friend. I swore allegiance to him when I graduated from medical school. Apparently, he decided that I was a good student, and returned in the form of this heavy thing - that is, figurines and awards.

And doctors are scared

Although Leo Antonovich himself is an expert in "heart" affairs of the first class, he has never examined his heart. He says that his body is balanced. And if you start to do an examination, something is sure to go wrong in the “setting”.

- What is the secret of youth from Leo Bokeria? Amosov, for example, promoted jogging as a guarantee of long life...

I have not invented anything special in my life. First, I believe that one should not get too carried away with food. You can eat deliciously occasionally, and on other days there is something that does not cause much delight. You need to eat the usual food every day. Especially for breakfast. As for running, I am not a supporter of heavy loads. Sport games- please. Football, basketball, volleyball, hockey - by age. I also recognize static gymnastics. What it is? Try standing for a few minutes with your arm raised or on one leg. The loads are significant, and the result is like when running. I even sometimes use these techniques during operations that last for hours.

- Do you have your own talisman? What do you think about before the operation?

with daughter Olga

There was a period in my life when I began to master the problems of arrhythmia. Difficult situations arose, sometimes I wanted to escape from the operating table. My daughter's voice rescued me. At the age of two and a half, she knew all of Chukovsky by heart. She spoke badly then. But I heard her diligent voice during difficult operations. I consciously addressed this voice. He rescued both me and the patient. Usually the operation ended successfully.

Public recognition of the merits of L.A. Bokeria is that in 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2002 he was recognized by the Russian Biographical Institute as “Person of the Year”, and in 2000 - “Person of the Decade” in the nomination “Medicine”. In 2002, by the decision of Moscow Mayor Yu.M. Luzhkov was awarded the title of “Man-Legend”, winner of the All-Russian Prize of the Government, the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the “Third Millennium” Foundation “Russian National Olympus”.

Artificial ventricle of the heart "Novacor".

In 1991 he was elected a corresponding member, and in 1994 - an academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences.
Elected Fellow of the American Association of Thoracic Surgeons (1991), Member of the Board European society thoracic and cardiovascular surgeons (1992), member of the Scientific Board of the International Cardiothoracic Center of Monaco (1992), president of the Russian Scientific Society of Cardiovascular Surgeons (1994), member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences (1997), honorary member of the American College of Surgeons (1999), Director of the Center for Interventional and Surgical Arrhythmology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (1998). L.A. Bokeria - Chief Cardiac Surgeon of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (1996). In 2003 he was elected President of the All-Russian public organization National Health League.

Laureate of the Lenin (1976) and State Prizes of the USSR (1986), Honored Worker of Science Russian Federation(1994), awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree (1999), the Order of Honor (Georgia, 1999), the Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, II degree (2001).

He is an honorary citizen of the cities of Poti (1981) and Tbilisi (1999).

Lives and works in Moscow.