Yevgeny Nikolayevich Podkolzin was born on 18 April 1936 in the settlement of Lepsinsk in the Kazakh SSR.
Promoted to command a battalion of the 80th Guards Airborne Regiment in 1968, he was accepted to the Frunze Military Academy in 1970.
Upon graduation in 1973, Podkolzin was appointed commander of the 331st Guards Airborne Regiment.
He rose to chief of staff and first deputy commander of the airborne forces in 1986.
Podkolzin was relieved of command of the airborne forces on 4 December 1996.