Aleksei Leonidovich Reshetov was born in Khabarovsk on April, 3rd, 1937. In 1937 his parents were subjected to Stalinist repressions: his father was executed and his mother was sent to serve a term in GULAG labor camps, first in Kazakhstan, and then, in the beginning of war, was transferred to Solikamsk, for construction of the local paper industrial complex. In 1943 she was released without the right of leaving Solikamsk, and so her children together with their grandmother moved to Solikamsk to join her in the exile. They rented accommodation in some barracks near the paper industrial complex in Borovsk District of Solikamsk. Later the family moved to Berezniki.

After leaving school Reshetov studied in Berezniki Mining and Chemical College and graduated as a mining electrician in 1956. Afterwards he worked for 26 years at the local potash industrial complex, where he showed himself as a qualified expert and a good organizer, repeatedly awarded by authorities. It was during this period when Aleksei Reshetov wrote most of his poems.

Reshetov started writing poems from 1953. His first book “Tenderness” was published in 1961 and was estimated by critics. In the 1960s-70s there appeared his collections of poetry “Clean Sheet”, Rowan Garden, “Lyrics” and others. In 1965, after the publication of his story “Kernels of Ripe Apples” Aleksey Reshetov was admitted to the Writers Union of the USSR. By that time he was already a well-known poet: his poems were included in the anthology of the best lyrical poets and articles were dedicated to his poems.

In 1982 Reshetov moved to Perm and worked as a literary adviser in the Perm Regional Literary Organization, at the same time proceeding with writing poetry. His books were published in Perm and Yekaterinburg. In 1987, for his 50th anniversary, the poet was conferred the rank of the Honorable Citizen of Berezniki. Reshetov was also awarded the Certificate of Honor of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of RSFSR in 1987, and the rank of the Honored Worker of Culture in 1994. The same year his collection of poetry “Different speech” won him the Award of the Perm Region in the field of culture and art.

In 1995 the poet moved to Yekaterinburg, and in 2002 returned to Berezniki where he died on September, 29th, 2002.

Reshetov’s Readings were first time organized in Berezniki in 1999 to find and support talented poets and writers of the Perm Region. Later the event gained the status of a regional literary festival. In 2002, the city administration named the square in front of the potash factory after Reshetov.

A complete set of Aleksey Resgetov’s works with over 800 poems was published in 3 volumes. A memorial board appeared in the house (8, Lenin's Boulevard), where the poet lived till 1982. Another memorial board saying “Poet Aleksei Reshetov lived in this house in 1982-1997” was put on House 22B, Oktyabrskaya Street in Perm.