Born into a peasant family in the Byelorussian SFSR, Golubev grew up during the war years, and spent his early career in the navy, and combining working as a machinist with political activity with the Komsomol.

Golubev developed particular expertise in Afghani affairs, and had a role in planning and then carrying out Operation Storm-333, the overthrow of incumbent Afghan president Hafizullah Amin in 1979.

He retired with the rank of general-lieutenant in 2001, and was head of the Council of Veterans of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation for a number of years.

Golubev was born into a peasant family on 9 February 1936, in the village of Pakhomlevichi, Lepiel District, in Vitebsk Region, then part of the Byelorussian SFSR, in the Soviet Union.

[1][2] He grew up during the Axis invasion and occupation of parts of the Soviet Union's western regions, and after graduating from high school, went to serve in the Baltic Fleet from 1955.

[3] In late November Golubev, then with the rank of colonel, took command of a detachment of the Zenit Spetsnaz group which had arrived in Bagram disguised as technical workers.