Vladimir Klavdievich Arsenyev was born on August 29, 1872 in St. Petersburg in the family of a railway employee Klavdiy Fedorovich Arsenyev. When the time came to think about their son’s future, his parents decided to send him to study at their own expense in a military school. On November 22, 1891, Vladimir Arsenyev, who successfully passed the exams, was enrolled as a volunteer in the 145th Novocherkassk Regiment with a secondment to the St. Petersburg Infantry Junker School. At first, Arsenyev was captured by the new situation and unusual academic disciplines, he even began to think about devoting himself to military service. But the interest in army service faded: everyday life as a cadet with constant drills and intense study took its toll. The only pleasure Junker Arsenyev attended was lectures on geography, given by the famous traveler to Central Asia M.E. Grum-Grzhimailo. He opened up a fascinating world of travel to the young Arsenyev, and in conversations that they often had after classes, he advised them to pay attention to the Far East, which was almost unknown to researchers at that time. After graduating from college on August 12, 1895, ensign Vladimir Arsenyev was sent to his native 145th Novocherkassk Infantry Regiment, and on January 18, 1896, he was promoted to second lieutenant and seconded to the 14th Olonets Infantry Regiment, which was stationed in Lomza, Kingdom of Poland. A year later, Arsenyev received his first vacation. On this visit home, he became seriously infatuated with an eighteen-year-old friend from childhood, Anya Kadashevich. Parents welcomed their son's choice. Soon the young people got married and left for Poland. On May 1, 1900, V.K. Arsenyev was promoted to lieutenant and, at his request, transferred to the 1st Vladivostok Fortress Infantry Regiment