His father is Mikhail Vladimirovich Volkov, professor, Chief Researcher of the Laboratory of Combinatorial Algebra, Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Ural Federal University.

[9] His mother is Susanna Borisovna Volkova (Kupchik), Senior Lecturer of the Department of New Information Technologies in Education, Ural State Pedagogical University.

On April 10, 2010, he organized a rally against the construction of a temple on Labour Square [ru] in Yekaterinburg — the event gathered more than 3,500 participants and became the largest protest action in the city since perestroika.

[20] He is a member of the central election committee of the Russian Opposition Coordination Council and was one of the leaders of Navalny's 2013 mayoral campaign for Moscow.

[26] According to Navalny press secretary Kira Yarmysh, tear gas was sprayed in Volkov's eyes and he was beaten repeatedly with a hammer.

The politician and lawyer Ivan Zhdanov told the media that Volkov survived the attack, which is being investigated as political terror.

In September 2024, associates of Navalny said they had obtained evidence that Leonid Nevzlin, a Russian-Israeli billionaire and former co-owner of Yukos, had ordered the attack and failed to pay $250,000 to those he hired to carry it out.