Flown back to Soviet lines in late 1942, he became commander of the 7th Guards Cavalry Corps in October 1943, which he led for the rest of the war.

The son of an official,[1] he graduated from a realschule and worked as a ledger clerk at the uyezd food committee in Usman.

After graduation, Konstantinov became a platoon commander at the courses in February 1920, fighting with consolidated cadet detachments on the Southern and Turkestan Fronts.

In October 1924 he was appointed an instructor of the 2nd rank at the Kyrgyz section of the school, and from July 1925 temporarily served as a squadron commander there.

Between October 1925 and September 1926 Konstantinov studied at the Cavalry Officers Improvement Course (KUKS) in Novocherkassk, and upon graduation returned to his previous position.

A month later, in October 1926, the school was disbanded, and Konstantinov became assistant chief of staff of the 8th Turkestan Cavalry Division of the Volga Military District.

For successes in combat training of the regiment, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star in 1936, and that year received the rank of major on 29 January 1936.

During the Battle of Białystok–Minsk on 29 June, 15 kilometers southwest of Minsk, Konstantinov was severely wounded, and after recovering fought with a partisan detachment in Belarus.

After completing the course in May 1947, he was appointed chief of the 2nd section of the Ground Forces Directorate of Combat Training Planning.