Resident of the town of Zvenigovo, Mari ASSR. When the war began, many guys were eager to go to the front, but they were not grown-up enough. Only in 1942, having added one year to his age, he got into the Red Army. From August 1942 to December 1942 he served in the 7th reserve rifle regiment, which was located in the city of Gorky. Then he was enrolled in the 10th training artillery regiment as a cadet. After graduation, he went to the front in the 323rd Guards Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment of the 3rd Belorussian Front, where he fought until the end of the war with the rank of junior sergeant. During the years of the war he was wounded and concussed.