Background
Nikolay Moiseyev was born on December 3, 1902, in Perm, Russia to the family of Dmitry Sergeyevich Moiseyev and Lidia Pavlovna Moiseyeva. His father was the captain of the Sungari vessel on the Amur River. During the Russo-Japanese War, he transported ammunition to the troops, for which he was awarded the order. Later he worked as a photographer in Perm. His mother was a seamstress and kept a household. She was a native of the Baltic provinces. From her childhood, along with her native Russian, she knew German and Polish. She knew German literature well and instilled in her son a love for it.