Zakharov was born in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway, and spoke Norwegian as a child.
[2] In the 2017–18 season, Zakharov played for the junior team of Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg in the VTB United Youth League.
[3] In January 2018, Zakharov joined the CSKA Moscow junior team at Kaunas qualifiers for the Adidas Next Generation Tournament.
In November 2018, Zakharov drew attention as one of the best prospects at the National Prep Showcase in New Haven, Connecticut.
[11] He returned to national team duty at the 2018 FIBA U18 European Championship in Latvia, where he averaged 7.3 points and five rebounds per game over seven appearances.