Jānis Volkolakovs (April 28, 1931, Riga – December 20, 2020, Riga) – Soviet and Latvian cardiac surgeon and educator.

• Officer of the Order of the Three Stars.
• Performed the first operation using artificial blood vessels.
• Full member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, emeritus scientist.

Biography: Born in Riga to prison warden Vasily Volkolakov and his wife Tekla. Studied at Riga 15th Primary School and Riga 1st Secondary School. In 1950, he began studies at the Riga Medical Institute, later continuing in clinical residency. In 1958, he was appointed head of the surgical department at Ludza District Hospital. Worked at Riga 1st Children’s Hospital and Riga 2nd City Hospital. In 1968, he defended his doctoral dissertation on congenital heart defect surgery. In 1969, he led the newly established Latvian Center for Cardiovascular Surgery. Retired in 1998 but continued as a consultant. Scientific Work: 485 scientific publications, 5 monographs. Full member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences (1994), member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. Awards:

• Order of the Three Stars, 4th Class (1998).
• Latvian President’s Certificate of Honor (2019).
• USSR State Prize (1973) – for developing and implementing new surgical methods.
• P. Stradiņš Award for medical achievements (2002).