Oskanov was born in 1943 in Plievo, Chechen-Ingush ASSR into a peasant family. In February 1944, together with whole Ingush and Chechen nations, he and his family deported to prison camps in Central Asia during Operation Lentil. Soon after being permitted to return to the Caucasus he returned to the newly restored Chechen-Ingush ASSR. He then entered a vocational school and studied at an aeroclub in Grozny.