[2] In July 2022, Azarov fell under international sanctions related to his party's support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

[3][4] Azarov was born in Kuybyshev, the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in the time of the Soviet Union.

In Azarov's youth, Kuybyshev was a closed city due to its importance in military research and manufacture and the Soviet space program.

In 1992, Azarov entered the Samara State Technical University, receiving a degree in systems engineering.

[8] From 1995 to 1998, Azarov was the deputy director for economics at the Samara boiler auxiliary equipment and pipelines factory.

He then worked in the structural production association, Volgapromkhim, which united six enterprises of Samara Oblast.

In this role, he supervised the activities of the departments of finance, economic development, urban economy and ecology, industrial policy, entrepreneurship and communications.

[11] In 2012, Azarov was one of the authors of the concept of "open government" and "municipal filter" in the elections of heads of Russian regions.

[12] On 10 October 2014, Governor Nikolay Merkushkin promoted Azarov to the executive committee of the federal council of Samara Oblast.

He was the chairman of the committee on federal structure, regional policy, local self-government and affairs of the north.

[23] In May 2019, on the lobbying of residents and businesses, Azarov agreed to expand green spaces in Samara.

[25] In 2020, Azarov initiated the reconstruction of the Togliatti embankment and construction of a bridge across the Volga river in the Klimovka area.

[34] He also enjoys reading, listing Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Mikhail Bulgakov among his favourite authors.