Kuzikov was born in 1960 in the
Tajik SSR. He was reported to have had an unstable youth. His father frequently abused his mother, eventually causing her death from injuries sustained in 1973. After the incident, Kuzikov and his brother were adopted by their aunt. Kuzikov claimed to have lost compassion after her death and no longer felt disgust at the sight of blood. Kuzikov later studied as a welder and, at age 20, moved to
Vyborg for military service. Shortly after, in 1982, he committed his first known crime when he attacked a colleague with a wrench. He avoided legal punishment after being diagnosed with
schizophrenia. After undergoing forced treatment, he moved into an apartment in
Saint Petersburg (then Leningrad), where he began a short-lived marriage. ==Murders and arrest==