Ufa Governorate
Kovalev was born in the village of Kuganak, then in Ufa Governorate of the Russian Empire. In 1910, he entered the History and Philology Department of the Saint Petersburg University, before being drafted into the military in 1915. In 1922, Kovalev graduated from the Department of Social Sciences of the Saint Petersburg University. He attained the professorship and became the Head of Department of the Ancient World in the Saint Petersburg University. He also worked in the Petersburg (then Leningrad) branch of the History Institute of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. In Greek history, Kovalev denied the concept of Dorian invasion. In 1930, Kovalev published an article on the formation of ancient Macedonian state under Philip and Alexander the Great. In 1936, Kovalev published the first comprehensive Soviet textbook on ancient history for high school. He became one of the editors of the three-volume Soviet book "The History of Ancient World". There he authored two chapters, "The rise of Macedonia and the conquest of Asia" and "The philosophy and art of Greece during its heyday". In 1945–48, Kovalev published his seminal work, "The History of Rome". In 1956–60, Kovalev was the director of the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism.