He lost his father at a young age and his mother was a former student and widowed, with three children and found herself in a difficult financial situation.

[1] In 1913, he dropped out of school and volunteered to join the Russian Imperial Guard.

[1] He began his military career in the Life Guards in the Sapper Battalion and the Main Engineering Directorate.

[2] During the Russian Civil War, he joined the Armed Forces of South Russia in the 3rd Army Corps and participated in the First Kuban Campaign where he was promoted to colonel.

[2] Following the Russian Civil War, he left exile to Latvia where he served in the Latvian Army in 1922.