 Born on 23 September 1953 in Panskoye, Kursk region, Alexey Maslov was educated at the Kharkiv Higher Tank Command School.His first service tours were in the Carpathian Military District, where he served as tank platoon, company, and battalion commander.In 1984, he earned a degree at the Tank Academy and was appointed as regiment commander (1986) and, later, deputy division commander within the Central Group of Forces in Czechoslovakia.