Before joining the army in 1937 Maresyev worked as a turner and then participated in the construction of Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

Despite being badly injured, he managed to return to the Soviet-controlled territory, braving blizzards and german patrol units.

Before the surgery he was lying on a stretcher with a sheet over his face and considered to be a hopeless case due to the extent of his injuries in addition to suffering from gangrene and blood poisoning.

In Omon Ra (1992) by Victor Pelevin, a Soviet military academy routinely amputates the legs of its first-year cadets to turn them into "Real Men" like Maresyev.

A Battle for Survival is a 2021 Russian WWII film written and directed by Renat Davletyarov, based on the real story of Maresyev.