Yakovlev was born into the family of a house painter in the town of Volsk.
Yakovlev is credited with being one of the first writers to depict the Russian Revolution of 1917 on a broad canvas in his novel October (1918).
He was the author of many novels, including Fires in the Field (1934–35) and Steps (1940), and a number of stories and essays.
He also chronicled the rescue attempts made on the expeditions of Nobile and Roald Amundsen, in which he took part.
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