Saratov Governorate
Mikhail Alekseyev was born in Monastyrskoye village of the Saratov Governorate, into a peasant family. In 1933 his mother died of famine, a year later his father, a victim of political repressions, died in GULAG. In 1936 he enrolled into the Training college, then got mobilized into the Red Army and was sent to Irkutsk. In 1940, not long before the demobilization he was sent to the 2-months courses for politruks.