In 1892, on Surikov's advice, he left Krasnoyarsk to enroll at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.

One of the students he met there was Sergei Chernyshyov [ru] (no relation), who would one day become Moscow's chief architect.

Two years later, he continued his education at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg, under Professor Alexander Pomerantsev.

In 1904, he participated in the construction of the Hotel Metropol Moscow and, in 1905, began a tour of Southern Russia to seek inspiration from nature.

In the latter year, Siberia's first drawing school was opened and the Governor of Yeniseysk, Yakov Bologovsky [ru], appointed him head teacher.

Two years later, after the Soviet takeover, he was transferred to the "Department of State Structures", operated by the Provincial Economic Council, and became head of the Design Bureau.