Kossakovsky was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, at the time Leningrad, U.S.S.R.[2] He began his film career in 1978, working as an assistant cameraman, assistant director, and editor at the Leningrad Studio of Documentaries.

[3] Kossakovsky's first released feature was his 1992 documentary Belovy / The Belovs.

Subsequent works include his 2002 documentary Hush!

and his 2003 documentary Russia from My Window (2003), both made from footage that Kossakovsky filmed out his bedroom window or on his street in St. Petersburg;[4] and his well-received mediation on the natural wonder of water, Aquarela (2018),[5] released in the U.S. by Sony Pictures Classics.

[citation needed] Other awards include the Special Jury Award at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam for Pavel i Lyalya in 1999, the Documentary Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival for Sreda (Wednesday), the Award of Honor at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival for Sreda, the Dok Leipzig Findling Award for Pavel i Lyala, the True Vision Award at the 2012 True/False Film Festival[7] and the Genziana d'Oro – Gran Premio Città di Trento at the 60th Trento Film Festival (2012).