Born in the town of Kiselyovsk, Kemerovo province. In 1989, he enrolled at the music faculty of Irkutsk Pedagogical Institute (bayan class) where, under the influence of his teacher, N. Vasileva, he began to study singing seriously. From 1989-92, he was a member of the chorus at the Irkutsk Music Theatre.

In 1997, he completed his studies at the Moscow Conservatory (Evgeny Kibkalo’s class) and in the same year he was a diploma-winner at the 2nd Sergei Rachmaninov Competition.