Nikolai Antonovich
Dollezhal
1899-1990
Nikolai Antonovich Dollezhal was a Soviet power engineer, nuclear‑reactor designer, and professor. He became a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1953 and an academician in 1962. Twice named Hero of Socialist Labour (1949, 1984), his life (1899–2000) spanned a period of intense technological transformation in which he played a leading role. His engineering solutions and scientific developments laid the foundation for the country’s civilian nuclear industry and significantly strengthened its defence capabilities. After graduating from the Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School (MVTU) in 1923, Dollezhal accumulated wide experience in leadership positions within heavy industry. His work at the Institute of Nitrogen Machinery Engineering, Khimmashstrest, and the Bolshevik plant in Kiev during the 1930s and 1940s, together with his leadership of the Ural Heavy Machinery Plant during the Great Patriotic War, provided a solid basis for his later achievements. In the postwar years he managed the Research Institute of Chemical Machinery, deepening his expertise in complex mechanical engineering. The high point of Dollezhal’s career was his central role in the creation and development of nuclear power. In 1952 he founded NIKIET (the Research and Design Institute of Power Engineering), where, under his leadership, the reactor for the world’s first nuclear power plant in Obninsk was developed. Commissioned in 1954, that project demonstrated the peaceful potential of atomic energy and inaugurated a new era in electricity generation. At the same time, Dollezhal made important contributions to nuclear propulsion systems for submarines, substantially enhancing the country’s naval capabilities. Dollezhal’s impact extended beyond engineering practice to education and theory. Recognizing the need for highly trained specialists in the emerging nuclear industry, he established the Department of Nuclear Power Plants at MVTU in 1961 and led it for 25 years, training generations of engineers and scientists. His theoretical work — for example, on self‑acting valves in piston compressors — earned recognition in mechanical engineering and underpinned further research. For his outstanding contributions Dollezhal received numerous state honours, including two titles of Hero of Socialist Labour, Stalin Prizes, a Lenin Prize, and USSR State Prizes. His name is commemorated in Akademika Dollezhal Square in Moscow, where a bronze bust stands before the building of the N. A. Dollezhal Research and Design Institute of Power Engineering (NIKIET). The site symbolizes his contribution to Russian science and technology and commemorates his talent for turning innovative ideas into practical reality.
Address: Moscow, Akademika Dollezhal pl., 1, building 4
