 Alexey Dushkin studied chemistry in Kharkiv for three years since 1921, then transferred to architectural college and graduated in 1930.Dushkin worked in city planning, setting up zoning plans for Donbass towns; he co-designed a college building in Kharkiv in 1932.Dushkin associated himself with VOPRA, a left-wing artistic association led by Arkady Mordvinov and Karo Alabyan.