rodin was born on 19 november 1897 in bolotovo village of oryol governorate. in july 1916, he joined the imperial russian army and was sent to the 32nd reserve regiment at vladimir. in november, he was sent to the western front and became a platoon commander of the 219th kotelnichevsky regiment in the 55th infantry division. he fought in the baranovichi area. in march 1918, he was discharged with the rank of senior non-commissioned officer.