Oleg Sokolov was born on 9 July 1956 in Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg), Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.

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, Faculty of History of Leningrad State University.

In 1991, under the supervision of Professor Vladimir Revunenkov, 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).
The official opponents were Professor David Pritzker, a Doctor of Historical Sciences, and researcher at the Leningrad Branch of the Institute of History of the USSR Sergey Iskyul, a Candidate of Historical Sciences.
The external review was conducted by the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia.

Since 2000, he had been a Docent of the Department of Modern History, Faculty of History of St. Petersburg State University.

He is the author of a number of works on the military history of Europe of the 17th–early 19th centuries.
In 1999, he published a major study, Napoleon's Army, which was translated into French in 2003.
In 2006, he published the two-volume monograph Austerlitz.
Napoleon, Russia and Europe, 1799–1805, a study of the premises and course of Napoleon's first war against the anti-French coalition.
He translated into Russian and supplemented with extensive commentary Memoirs of the Napoleonic Wars 1802–1815 (French: Souvenirs militaires d'Octave Levavasseur : officer d'artillerie, aide de camp du Maréchal Ney (1802–1815)) by French officer Octave Levavasseur, who took part in all military campaigns (except for the Russian campaign of 1812) by Napoleon Bonaparte.

He was a prominent figure in Russian historical reenactment.
In 1976, he founded the first reenactment group of the Napoleonic era.
In February 1989, the Federation of Military History Clubs of the USSR was created and Sokolov became its president.
In subsequent years, Sokolov continued to lead the association of clubs involved in reenactment (Military-Historical Association of Russia (1996), All-Russian Military-Historical Social Movement (2006)).
Oleg Sokolov was born on 9 July 1956 in Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg), Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.
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, Faculty of History of Leningrad State University.
In 1991, under the supervision of Professor Vladimir Revunenkov, 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). The official opponents were Professor David Pritzker, a Doctor of Historical Sciences, and researcher at the Leningrad Branch of the Institute of History of the USSR Sergey Iskyul, a Candidate of Historical Sciences. The external review was conducted by the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia.
Since 2000, he had been a Docent of the Department of Modern History, Faculty of History of St. Petersburg State University.
He is the author of a number of works on the military history of Europe of the 17th–early 19th centuries. In 1999, he published a major study, Napoleon's Army, which was translated into French in 2003. In 2006, he published the two-volume monograph Austerlitz. Napoleon, Russia and Europe, 1799–1805, a study of the premises and course of Napoleon's first war against the anti-French coalition. He translated into Russian and supplemented with extensive commentary Memoirs of the Napoleonic Wars 1802–1815 (French: Souvenirs militaires d'Octave Levavasseur : officer d'artillerie, aide de camp du Maréchal Ney (1802–1815)) by French officer Octave Levavasseur, who took part in all military campaigns (except for the Russian campaign of 1812) by Napoleon Bonaparte.
He was a prominent figure in Russian historical reenactment. In 1976, he founded the first reenactment group of the Napoleonic era. In February 1989, the Federation of Military History Clubs of the USSR was created and Sokolov became its president. In subsequent years, Sokolov continued to lead the association of clubs involved in reenactment (Military-Historical Association of Russia (1996), All-Russian Military-Historical Social Movement (2006)).
Oleg Sokolov