Born in Yakutia in 1887 to a family of exiled revolutionaries, Podbelsky joined the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1905.

Fearing arrest, Podbelsky fled to France in 1906.

After the October Revolution, he served as the head of the Moscow City Committee.

[1] Vadim Podbelsky died on February 25, 1920, in Moscow and was buried in Mass Grave No.

Former station Ulitsa Podbelskogo on the Moscow Metro was named in his honour.