He was born in Slantsy, Leningrad Oblast. He won the gold medal at the 2001 World Youth Championships, finished fourteenth at the 2002 World Junior Championships and was the runner-up to Jaroslav Bába at the 2003 European Athletics Junior Championships. His first major win as a senior athlete came at the 2005 European Cup. He also competed at the 2007 European Indoor Championships, but without reaching the final. He achieved a personal best jump of 2.33 m in Thessaloniki in June 2009. He has 2.34 metres on the indoor track, achieved in January 2005 in Glasgow.