Tomsk Polytechnic University
Born in Akmolinsk, Imperial Russia (modern Nur-Sultan in Kazakhstan). He graduated from Tomsk Polytechnic University, and worked at the Soviet Research Institute of Electromechanics. Kazantsev was a member of the Soviet delegation at the 1939 New York World's Fair. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Kazantsev joined the army. He left military service in 1945 with the rank of colonel, and was awarded a number of orders, including Order of the Patriotic War and Order of the Red Star. From then on, Kazantsev settled in the "literary village" of Peredelkino and concentrated on his writings. He survived the dissolution of the Soviet Union and died in 2002.