A list of measures for extending the lifetime of power-generating units with RBMK reactors is presented. The normative approaches and criteria are indicated, an assessment of the technical possibility of lifetime extension, primarily for the critical components, of at least 15 years is examined. The technical measures for safe operation after the lifetime has been exhausted are examined for the No. 1 unit of the Leningrad nuclear power plant. Finally, validation is given for the possibility of subsequent safe operation of the critical components, equipment, and pipelines of the multiple forced circulation loop up to 2018.At the end of 1998, the lifetime extension of nuclear power plants was recognized as a priority. Considering the fact that nuclear power plants with RBMK reactors contribute 50% to the total volume of the electricity produced by the concern Rosénergoatom, it is obvious that the lifetime of the units at the Leningrad, Kursk, and then Smolensk nuclear power plants will have to be extended.The work to be performed to prepare the power-generating units for lifetime extension includes the following [1]:• more thorough safety assessment;• comprehensive examination and assessment of the residual lifetime of components, systems, and structures; • technical reconstruction or upgrading to meet the criteria of the current normative documentation; compensation measures for confirming the effectiveness and reliability of safety barriers; • correction of the report on the more thorough safety assessment after upgrading; • obtaining a license at the "operational extension" stage, a necessary condition for which is that the power-generating units of nuclear power plants must meet the requirements of the current norms and rules for the use of atomic energy. The critical components of power-generating units of nuclear power plants with RBMK reactors, whose lifetime determines the operating lifetime of the unit itself, are the metal structures of the reactor, the graphite masonry, large-size equipment, and pipelines of the multiple forced circulation loop (MFCL) (steam separators, Du 900 collectors, Du 800 pipelines, bowls of the main circulation pumps, austenitic Du 300 pipelines, dispensing group collectors, vessel of the Du 800 pipeline fixture), assembly structures, first and foremost, the reactor and turbine divisions, and tables.The operations on the technical certification of the RBMK fuel channels, determining the time and start of their replacement in power-generating units, have now been well determined and do not give rise to any concerns from the standpoint of the possibility of operating power-generating units for an additional period of time after 30 yr.The normative approaches and criteria for lifetime extension of power-generating units with RBMK reactors were determined on the basis of existing normative documentation and such documentation which is under development.