He was born on 10 February 1919 in the village of Verkhnyaya Chila, today's Shilkinsky district of the Trans Baikal territory, in a peasant family. At the end of the seven years he worked in a gold mine in the village Vershina Darasuna, today's Tungokochensky district of the Trans Baikal territory, then as an electric welder of the wagon section of the Shilkinsky railway depot. Nikolai Vasilyevich graduated from the aviation club, joined the army in 1939. Served in the Far East. Joined the active army in April 1943. He fought at North Caucasus, Steppe, South, 4th Ukrainian, 3rd and 1st Belarusian fronts in the 43rd Fighter Regiment of the 278th Fighter Division. He flew Yak-7P and Yak-9 fighters. Accompanied bombers and attack aircraft, covered ground troops, launched attack on enemy ground troops, conducted aerial reconnaissance and free hunting. Was involved in the front North Caucasus as part of the 4th Air Army in the air battles in the Kuban in April-June in 1943, when the Soviet fighter planes gained complete air supremacy there. In these air battles N. V. Borodin shot down 5 enemy planes (4 of them fighter planes) with a Yak-7B fighter and was awarded the Order of the First Patriotic War. On the southern front (from October 20, 1943 - the 4th Ukrainian front) he took part in the 8th Air Force in the offensive operations Donbass, Melitopol, Nikopol-Krivoy Rog and Crimea, including the liberation of the heroic city of Sevastopol. During these operations he shot down 9 enemy planes in air battles and received two medals of the Red Banner. On the 3rd Belarusian Front he participated as a part of the 1st Air Force in the Belarusian Strategic Offensive for the Liberation of Belarus and Lithuania (Vitebsk-Orsha, Operations Minsk, Vilnius and Kaunas), where he shot down 3 enemy planes. Until August 7, 1944, First Lieutenant N.V. Borodin carried out 239 successful operations, participated in 75 air battles, in which he personally shot down 17 enemy aircraft, in addition he destroyed 2 aircraft on the ground with attack actions. By decree of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of USSR of 23 February 1945, Senior Lieutenant Borodin Nikolai Vasilyevich was awarded the title of Hero of Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star Medal for outstanding achievements in the fighting tasks of the command, courage and bravery in the fight against the Nazi invaders. On the first Belarusian front N. V. Borodin participated as a part of the 16th Air Force in the Offensive Warsaw- East Pomeranian (part of the strategic operation Vistula-Oder), the offensive Poznań and the strategic offensive Berlin. By the end of the war he had flown 265 successful missions. After fighting about 80 air battles, he destroyed 19 enemy planes personally and 3 in a group. On 24 June 1945 he took part in the Victory Parade on the Red Square in Moscow. After the end of the war he continued to serve in the Air Force of Soviet Army. He served in 43rd fighter regiment stationed in Germany. On 24 March 1946 he was involved in a car accident, was seriously injured and died on 26 March 1946.