 In 1979, he graduated with a specialist degree in physics and engineering from the Faculty of Physics and Mechanics of the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute.In 1984, he graduated with honors from the Department of Modern and Contemporary History, of Leningrad State University.In 1991, under the supervision of Professor , a Doctor of Historical Sciences, he defended his dissertation at St. Petersburg State University for the degree of Candidate of Historical Sciences on the topic of "The Officer Corps of the French Army Under the Ancien Régime and During the Revolution of 1789–1799" (speciality 07.00.03 – general history).