“I was very lucky with my parents...”

The article is an interview with a renowned Russian scientist, Alexander Stepanov ich
Balezin, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Principal Research Fellow at the Regional Studies Department (Center for African Studies) of the Institute of World History under the Russian Academy of Sciences. A.S. Balezin reminisces about his parents,
prominent scientists who made significant contributions to fundamental and applied science. His father, Stepan Afanasievich Balezin (1904–1982), was a chemist and founder
of the school of metal corrosion inhibitors. His mother, Tamara Iosifovna Balezina
(1913–2010), a virologist and microbiologist, participated in the production of domestic
penicillin and interferon. A.S. Balezin’s parents lived through different periods of Russian
history, witnessed the emergence of new research fields and scientific institutions,
headed scientific laboratories, and authored inventions of profound significance for the
country’s national economy.