Born in to the family of a teacher of the First Moscow Gymnasium and a mother who was a professional singer.
He graduated from the gymnasium and entered the Moscow State University but his studies were cut short after he was enrolled in the Red Army's Western Front and served in a field hospital.
He served in the department of internal affairs of the Kremlin and in the military school of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.
In 1930 he joined the Russian Association of Proletarian Writers and became a member of the editorial staff of the magazine "Znamya".
However he didn't participate in World War II due to his health complications and was evaluated to Tashkent in 1941.