Boldyrev was born on 5 January 1949 in Krasnoyarsky, Volgograd Oblast. He graduated the Moscow Military Command High School (ru:Московское высшее военное командное училище) in 1971, and Frunze Academy in 1978. He served in various command positions in the Belorussian Military District, and later served in senior staff for operations department in the Transbaikal Military District. He later served as Commander of the 36th Army in 1994, and First Deputy Commander of the Transbaikal Military District in 1998.