This paper focuses on the personal and professional life of Nikolay Nikolayevich Blokhin, an outstanding Russian surgeon and highly innovative oncologist. In addition to a highly successful clinical career, he was a member and President of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences and Director of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences Institute of Experimental and Clinical Oncology. Although his reputation as a medical and political figure is firmly established within Russian medical history, his achievements in surgery and oncology now merit recognition by an international audience.
Keywords: History of surgery and oncology in the USSR; academician NN Blokhin.