After graduating from the A.S. Popov Higher Naval Radio Electronics School in 1976, he served in the USSR Navy from 1976 to 1985. After graduating from the Naval Academy command faculty in 1987, he gave lectures in the A.A. Grechko Department of Naval Management. In 1992, he graduated from the main course of the Military Academy of the General Staff, after which he was asked to enter the doctoral program at the academy. After completing his doctorate studies,
he worked at the RF Armed Forces General Staff Military-Strategic Research Center between 1995 and 2007. Since 2012, he has been working as a columnist for the weekly Military Industrial Courier magazine. He holds a doctorate in military sciences. Between 2013 and March 2015, he was the President of the Academy of Geopolitical Issues. He is the Vice President of the Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences.