In 1911, he was drafted into the Imperial Russian Army, and fought in World War I, at the end of which he was commander of a machine gun regiment.

After the Bolshevik Revolution, he returned to his native village, where he was elected chairman of the Military Revolutionary Committee.

Afterwards, 378 of his men were arrested as suspected pogromists, of whom 88 were executed, while the rest were acquitted or received prison terms.

He was one of a number of former cavalry officers to receive rapid promotion during the Great Purge, being appointed Commander of the Central Asian Military District in February 1938.

In 1941, he was elected a candidate member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, promoted to the rank of General, and appointed Commander of the Far Eastern Front.