Purkayev was conscripted into the
Imperial Russian Army in 1915, and reached the rank of
praporshchik before joining the
Red Army in 1918. He became a member of the
Communist Party in 1919. During the
Russian Civil War he served in the capacity of a company and battalion commander, and after completing the
Vystrel officer training course in 1923, he served as a regimental commander (
24th Rifle Division), staff officer and commander of a division until 1936 when he commenced studies at the
Frunze Military Academy. From 1938 Purkayev served as the Chief of Staff of the
Belorussian Military District, as the Soviet military attaché in Berlin at the start of the Second World War in 1939, and participated in planning of the
Soviet invasion of Poland. From July 1940, Purkayev served as the Chief of Staff of the
Kiev Special Military District, and from the start of the
Soviet-German War, serving as the Chief of Staff of the
Southwestern Front (June–July 1941), and later of the
60th Army and
3rd Shock Army. In 1942–43 he served as commander of the
Kalinin Front and from April 1943, the
Far Eastern Front (from 1945,
2nd Far Eastern Front). From September 1945 to January 1947 Purkayev served as the commanding officer of the
Far Eastern Military District during which time he was nominated to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1946–1950). From June 1947, Purkayev was the Chief of Staff and 1st Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Far Eastern Forces. From July 1952 to his death Purkayev served as the Chief of the Higher Education Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of USSR. ==Honours and awards==