Zakharov graduated from the Saint Petersburg State University in 2005 with a degree in history of arts.

In 2016–2018, he worked as a special correspondent for the RBK magazine, where he published an investigation on the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.

[1] While working at Proekt in 2020–2021, Zakharov authored an article revealing Vladimir Putin's alleged affair with Svetlana Krivonogikh.

[4][5] In October 2021, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation included Zakharov into the list of foreign agents.

[7] Zakharov is a two-time winner (in 2014 and 2015) of the Union's of Journalists of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region [ru] "Golden Pen" award.