Born May 1 (13), 1897, in Kraslava, present-day Latvian SSR; died June 6, 1960, in Moscow. Soviet internist; academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR (1948); Honored Scientist of the RSFSR (1944); major general in medical service.

Vovsi graduated from the medical faculty of Moscow University in 1919. In 1936 he was appointed professor and head of the subdepartment of internal medicine at the Central Institute for Advanced Training of Physicians. From 1941 to 1950 he was the chief internist of the Soviet Army. Vovsi’s main research was on the physiology and pathology of the kidneys, lungs, heart, and liver. He developed the basic principles of military field therapy, in which he was a pioneer. His most important work dealt with the serotherapy of pneumonia (1938). In his work on acute coronary insufficiency he proposed a method of classifying angina pectoris. Vovsi was awarded two Orders of Lenin, three other orders, and medals.