Dolnik was born in Sverdlovsk in 1938. In 1960, he graduated from Leningrad State University. For thirty years, he was the chief of the ornithological station "Rybachy" (literally "Fishers'" - after the village where it was situated). He gained a Candidate of Science degree in 1967, and the Doctor of Science in 1976. He became a professor in 1983.
