Academician Anatolii Vasilevich Nikolaev is a large scientist of our country in the field of inorganic chemistry and physicochemical analysis.

A.V.Nikolaev was born in the city of Orenburg on November, 27, 1902. In 1924, he has graduated from Leningrad state university. From 1923 to 1926, he worked in various institutions of Leningrad: at the "Lenin iskra" factory, on the experimental plant of the State institute of applied chemistry (GIPCh), in the mountain-metallurgical laboratory of VSNKH, in the Commission on the study of natural productive forces of Russia (KEPS) of AS USSR; he was involved in the publication of the collection issue "Nonmetallic minerals". The basic results of his work in KEPS that have been generalized in the book "Priirtyshskii saline area" (1931) stimulated creating the large mechanized saline manufacture based on granatka he discovered. In 1931, A.N.Nikolaev has been nominated the chief of complex Kulundinskaya expedition of AS USSR nbsp; under the recommendation of academicians A.E.Fersman, V.I.Vernadskii, and N.S.Kurnakov. During the course of the works, he suggested a schema to use Kuchukskoye lake. The schema was realized in creating Kuchukskii sulphate integrated works. Scientific results of the expedition were given in four volumes of learned works, as well as in A.V.Nikolaev's monograph "Kulunda saline lakes and the ways for their development" (1935). A total of five large manufactures and the same number of new cities appeared in Siberia and Kazakhstan as the result of the activity of the expedition.

Since 1934 A.V.Nikolaev worked in the Institute of general and inorganic chemistry (IONCh) of AS USSR, at first in Leningrad, and then in Moscow after AS USSR has moved there. In 1936, he was granted the scientific degree of Cand.Chem.Sci without defense of the theses. These years he has created a theory of river sulphate accumulation, and then a genesis theory of Inder borates; a schema of their formation has been suggested at the expense of liquid washing the boron potassium deposit.

During the war, A.V.Nikolaev has completed a series of important works on the formation of films on salts. These works have been generalized in a monograph "Protecting films on salts" (1944) and have formed a basis for creating earth containers to store water, benzine, mineral oil, for strengthening soils when creating hydraulic engineering constructions.

In 1941, A.V.Nikolaev was granted the scientific degree of Doctor of Chemistry for his work "Physicochemical study of natural borates". This work has been published later in the form of a monograph, for which he was awarded with V.I.Vernadskii premium of AS USSR in 1947.

In 1946, A.V.Nikolaev has been involved in investigations on radiochemistry, chemistry of uranium, thorium, and protactinium splitting fragments, as well as in investigations on the protection from radioelement radiations. Since 1944 to 1958, A.V.Nikolaev has the second work as a professor of the Moscow D.I.Mendeleev institute of chemistry and technology, and (1945-1954) he was in charge of the sub-faculty of the Moscow M.I.Kalinin institute of non-ferrous metals and gold.

In 1957, A.V.Nikolaev has been appointed the director of a newly organized Institute of inorganic chemistry (IICh) that was included in the Siberian Branch of AS USSR. He worked at this position up to the end of his life. In 1958, he has been elected the corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. His wide experience of work in the field of inorganic, analytical chemistry, inorganic synthesis, radiochemistry, and in physicochemical analysis has helped him to organize the modern-day institute of inorganic chemistry. Laboratories of synthesis of mineral substances, both simple, and complex ones, laboratories of a physical profile have been organized that made it possible to study properties and structure of synthesized compounds, laboratories of the physicochemical direction that made it possible to study processes of separation, purification, and analytical control.

Being at the position of the director of the Institute of inorganic chemistry, A.V.Nikolaev made for obtaining large scientific and practical results in all basic scientific fields of the Institute's activity. A.V.Nikolaev became the initiator of the creation of a department of semiconductors in the institute that was then transformed to a department of materials for microelectronics. In 1966, A.V.Nikolaev has been elected the full member of the Academy of sciences of the USSR. A.V.Nikolaev conducted a great scientific-and-organizational and pedagogical work in the Siberian branch. So he was the Chairman of the United Academic Council of the Siberian Branch of AS USSR on chemical sciences, a member of The Bureau of Presidium SB AS USSR in 1958-1963; he was in charge of the sub-faculty of analytical chemistry in 1960-1962, and since 1963, of the sub-faculty of radiochemistry in the Novosibirsk state university; he was the Chairman of the SB AS USSR Commission on the study of salt resources in Siberia and in the Far East. It should be noted that the commission has played a large role in the discovery of huge deposits of potassium salts in Eastern Siberia. A.V.Nikolaev has organized and has headed the Academic Council on extraction processes under the State Committee on science and technology under the Ministerial council of RSFSR, he was the vice-president of the Scientific Council on problems of hydrometallurgy under the State Committee on science and technology under the Ministerial council of the USSR, the editor-in-chief of magazines "Structural Chemistry" and "Izvyestiya SO AN SSSR, Syeriya khimichyeskikh nauk", the associate editor of the international magazine "Journal of the thermal analysis". He was directly involved in the organizing of the Institute of chemistry and engineering chemistry of the Siberian Branch of AS USSR in Krasnoyarsk and of the complex department in chemistry in Kemerovo. His works in the field of clathrate formation and physicochemistry of extraction in association with I.I.Yakovlev have been awarded with the N.S.Kurnakov premium of AS USSR in 1977.

A.V.Nikolaev has been awarded with orders and medals of the USSR: two Lenin Orders, Order of October Revolution, order "Honour badge", as well as four medals for the great merits in the development of the Soviet science, he has been awarded with a gold badge of the Society of the German-Soviet friendship.