Pavel Balakshin was born in the village of Dementyevo, Kotlassky District, Northern Krai (now Arkhangelsk Oblast) in a Russian working-class family.

He worked as a buoy operator, sailor, helmsman in the Northern river Shipping Company, then as a locksmith on the railway.

On 19 September 1991, by the Decree of the President of Russia Boris Yeltsin, Balakshin was appointed head of administration of Arkhangelsk Oblast.

During Balakshin's administration, in 1995, dismantling of nuclear submarines in Severodvinsk began along with removal of radioactive waste from the harbor.

[4] On 21 February, Balakshin was ousted from his post by presidential decree "for gross violations when using targeted loans, allocated for the delivery of products to the regions of the Far North.