Professor Nikolai Ustrialov was a leading pioneer of Russian National Bolshevism. Teaching at Moscow University, he was initially a member of the Constitutional Democratic party.

Starting out as a supporter of the "Whites" in the Russian Civil War Ustrialov came to view the Bolsheviks as the most likely force to restore the prestige of Russia and came to regard the Soviet Union as being "Like a radish" in that it was red on the outside but white on the inside. Ustrialov was particularly impressed by the manner in which the Bolsheviks brought the minority nations in Russia under control and saw this as a commendable act of imperialism. Seen as a radical dissident Ustrialov was forced into exile from the USSR and spent time in China and France. Nevertheless he still continued to regard the Bolshevik revolution as essentially an act of Russian nationalism and was particularly fond of Joseph Stalin and his style of leadership.

Amongst Ustrialov's written works were contributions to "The Problems of Great Russia" and "Morning of Russia", two pre-Bolshevik journals in which he called for unity amongst the Slavs and rejoiced in the overthrow of Tsarist rule. In exile he founded the journal "Okno" (Window) with other dissidents and in 1921 published his seminal collection of articles "Smena vekh " ("Change of Landmarks"), in which he expounded his theories of nationalism and that gave rise to a weekly magazine, Smena Vekh . Initially called Smenavekhites , his followers came to call themselves National Bolsheviks, borrowing the term from Ernst Niekisch.

During 1926-1935 he worked as an advisor at the China Far East Railway, (KVZhD).

In 1937, during the Great Purge, Nikolai Ustrialov, along with other KVZhDists was accused of "espionage, counter-revolutionary activity and anti-Soviet agitation" and shot.