Igor Kobzev was born on August 19, 1924 in Rostov-on-don, Rostov, Russian Federation. He was from the family of a railroad man. As a child, he lived for several years in the city of Voronezh, where he first went to school (1931). He moved with his parents to Moscow in 1932.
During the Great Patriotic War, he was at Liski station of the South Eastern Railway and participated in the attack on Ukraine with the Voronezh Front. He made numerous visits to Voronezh after the war.
Igor Ivanovich Kobzev is the author of many poetry collections published in Moscow, including "Moi znakomye" (1956), "Swan in Moscow" (1964), "Guslyary" (1971), "Mgnovenya" (1977), "Izbrannoe" (1985), "Ivan-ozero" (1989).
He is a founder of the museum "Slova o polku Igoreve". Kobzev devoted an essay "Gorod-sad" (Smena, 1953, № 14), the poem "V puti" and other works to the city of Voronezh. Revolutionary events and Civil War on the territory of the Voronezh Governorate are described in Kobzev’s poem "Serdtse boytsa" (Young Guard, 1959, № 12).
