Maxim Volkov was born and raised in the streets of Volograd. Maxim had a tough childhood, if you could even call it that at all, from a young age he was exposed to gang culture and got caught up with the wrong crowd. He would associate himself with a crew that would take on small jobs, but these jobs gained them notoriety and people would start to respect Maxim and his gang of misfits. But this notoriety would gain the attention from rival gangs and without letting Maxim know, the leader would allow a much bigger gang to assume control of all members and assets. This gang would induct everyone but Maxim as he refused to leave his gang and his dignity. With this Maxim would have to flee, and flee he did, making his way half way across the world to a little European country called Chernarus. From here he would leave his life of crime behind and be conscripted into the Chernarussian Movement of the Red Star. He would serve with this group for years and gain knowledge beyond what he expected, learning much from his close comrade Boris Gurin. After his service he would immediately rejoin the fray and link up with his comrades joining a new militant group "Pravda".