Alexander Nalogin

Alexander Nalogin (26th of August 1922, Krasnoyarsk, Russian SFSR – 21st of December 1993, Riga, Republic of Latvia) – an artist and a portrait painter.

Alexander Nalogin was born in a family of a blacksmith, who became a civil servant after the revolution. He finished an eight-year school in 1938 in Krasnoyarsk. In 1938-1939 Nalogin studied at Irkutsk Art School, in 1939-1941 - at Omsk Art School. He managed to finish three forms before the invasion of Nazi Germany. 

According to his autobiography, in 1941-1942 he worked as "the head cenzor of the investigation department of Norilsk prison camp". In 1942-1946 Nalogin had been serving in the army. He was awarded with the order of the Red Star and medals "For Battle Merit", "For the Capture of Konigsberg" and "For the Victory over Germany". Member of Comsomol since 1943. In the october of 1945 he was attached to the Ministry of Interior of LSSR as an artist (worked in a club).  

In 1946 he enrolled into the Latvian State Academy of Arts, however, soon was revealed, that he concealed the lack of secondary education upon admission. He promised to provide a school-leaving certificate and asked "not to create obstacles for receiving diploma". The board of the Academy agreed. In 1952 A. Nalogin defended his final work at the portrait class of Jānis Tilbergs and after having provided the school-leaving certificate of the Riga 3rd Secondary School of Working Youth, left the Academy as a licensed artist.   

Only in 1959 A. Nalogin became a member of the Union of Artists of LSSR, though he had been participating in exhibitions since 1952 and was known as an out-of-the-ordinary portrait painter. 

In 1982 he became an Honored Artist of LSSR. In 1983 his personal exhibition took place in Riga, which at that time served as a sign of recongition of professional merits. 

Alexander Nalogin died on 21st of December 1993 in Riga. 

Alexander Malnach