The civil engineer Alexandr Yakovlevich Dubov was born in 1877 in
Helsinki. He lived and worked in
Finland, which at that time was part of the
Russian Empire. After graduating from the high school, he entered the School of Construction Foremen in
St. Petersburg, then he continued his studies at the Technical School in
Finland. He began his professional activity in Russia, in 1900, in
St. Petersburg, at construction of the Polytechnic Institute facilities. Here, he also collaborated with French specialists who were introducing reinforced concrete in Russia at that time, and he gained a lot of experience in this direction. In 1902–1904, he built a palace in
Gagra, on the estate of the
Duke Alexander of Oldenburg, the husband of the younger sister of the
Emperor Nicholas II,
Olga Alexandrovna. During the
Soviet times, the palace was turned into the sanatorium "Ritsa". As a token of gratitude for the successful work on the palace's construction, the Prince of Oldenburg awarded Alexandr Dubov with a silver personalized cigarette case. At the opening of the palace in Gagra, Dubov was introduced to the famous Baku industrialist
Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev, who having heeded the recommendations of the
Duke Alexander of Oldenburg that highly appreciated the skill of the builder, told Dubov about the perspectives of the urban construction in
Baku, and offered him work and help in organizing the construction activity. Alexandr Yakovlevich accepted the offer of H. Z. Tagiyev and in 1904 moved with his family from St. Petersburg to Baku. From that moment on, his work and life were associated with Baku. The first work on reinforced concrete floors in Baku was carried out by Dubov in the Tagiyev Passage building. The customer did not believe in the reinforced concrete structure and therefore signed a contract with the architect for the restoration of the building within 5 days and the compensation for damages was established three times higher the amount in case of its destruction. Later, Alexandr Dubov worked as a specialist in reinforced concrete, then as the head of construction at the "Kayalov" firm, at the same time designing in the studio of the architect
T.M.Ter-Mikelov. Subsequently, he became his deputy and co-author of a number of objects. After the
Soviet occupation, he was engaged in the construction of the State Bank Residential House (house of the bank employees) in Baku in 1926–1927, the State Bank building, a sanatorium in
Mardakan, he also took part in the restoration of the
Ismailiyya Palace. Dubov worked until he was 80 years old. He died in 1964 in Baku. Two sons of Alexandr Yakovlevich - Victor and Dmitry also became architects. == Works ==