Silayev was born on 21 October 1930 in Baktyzino, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, and graduated from the Kazan Aviation Institute in 1954 as a mechanical engineer. In 1959 Silayev became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). During his tenure at the Gorky Aviation Plant (Gorky is now Nizhny Novgorod), where he started in 1954, he advanced from the lowest level to become the plant's foreman from 1971 to 1974. Silayev then served as Deputy Minister of Aviation Industry, and was later appointed Minister of Aviation Industry in 1981 in Nikolai Tikhonov's first government. He served briefly as Minister of Machine-Tool and Tool Building Industry of the Soviet Union from 1980 to 1981. At the 26th Congress Silayev was elected to the Central Committee (CPSU). In 1985, during Mikhail Gorbachev's rule, Silayev was appointed deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers and chairman of the Machine-Building Bureau of the Council of Ministers in Nikolai Ryzhkov's first and second government. He served in these posts until he was appointed Premier of the Russian SFSR in 1990.