Vladimir Basov was born in the Urazovo village, Belgorod Oblast to Pavel Basov (Basultainen) and Aleksandra Basova. His father was a Tartu alumnus of Finnish ethnicity who joined Bolsheviks during the revolution. «Basov» was his party alias later adopted as a family name. He served as an officer and political commissar up 'till his death in 1931. Vladimir's mother Aleksandra Ivanovna was a daughter of a Russian Orthodox priest from Pokrovsk. She met Pavel during the Civil War; he was a runaway and asked for shelter. During the 1920s she taught peasant children Russian language and literature. According to Vladimir Basov Jr., his father had Russian, Finnish and Georgian roots.