Kleschchov led partisans in Pinsk as a major general during World War II, for which he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

Kleshchev was born on 25 February 1905 in the village of Mikhnovichi in Minsk Governorate (now in Kalinkavichy District of Belarus' Gomel Region) to a peasant family of Belarusian ethnicity.

Between 1927 and 1929, Kleshchev served in the Red Army's 16th Corps Artillery Regiment, part of the Belorussian Military District at Mogilev.

In December, he crossed the front line and went to Moscow, where he was a member of the Special Group of the Central Committee of the Communist Party from February to June 1942.

Between 27 April and 10 October, he commanded the Pinsk Partisan Unit, which attacked installations of the German occupation troops, disrupted lines of communications, and destroyed equipment.

Kleshchev was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin on 1 January 1944 for his leadership of the partisans.