Nikolai Dmitrievich Avksentyev was born on November 29, 1878, in Penza. His father, Dmitry Ilyich Avksentyev, taught for some time at the Yasnaya Polyana school with Leo Tolstoy, then worked as a private attorney in Penza and from 1902 held the position of secretary of the Penza provincial zemstvo administration. He was also a member of the supervisory committee of the Society for Mutual Fire Insurance. Nikolai's grandfather, Ilya Akimovich Avksentyev, served as a clerical officer in several cities and was awarded the Order of Saint Vladimir of the 4th degree in 1861, which granted the right to nobility. In 1881, the Avksentyev family was entered into the third part of the noble genealogical book of the Penza province, and Nikolai Dmitrievich became a nobleman in the third generation.

In 1897, he graduated from Penza Gymnasium No. 1 with a gold medal and enrolled in the law faculty of Moscow University, where he headed the Union of Student United Societies. However, his fascination with revolutionary ideas led to his expulsion from the university in 1899 and his exile to Penza. Soon after, he went to Germany to continue his education and defended his doctoral dissertation, studying the works of Friedrich Nietzsche. In Germany, he also engaged in the illegal delivery of the magazine "Herald of the Russian Revolution" and the newspaper "Revolutionary Russia" to Russia.

In December 1906, Avksentyev returned to Penza due to his mother's illness, who soon passed away and was buried at the Mironositsky cemetery. His father was later buried there as well. During this time, the Socialist Revolutionary Party (SRs) was formed in Russia, aiming to overthrow the autocracy and establish a democratic republic. In 1907, Avksentyev became a member of the Central Committee of the SR party and remained in this position until 1917.

In April 1917, he was elected to the executive committee of the Petrograd Soviet and became the chairman of the executive committee at the I All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Peasant Deputies. From July 24 to September 2, 1917, he served as the Minister of Internal Affairs in the Provisional Government. In November 1917, as the chairman of the All-Russian Council of Peasant Deputies, he became the chairman of the Provisional Council of the Russian Republic. He was also elected as a deputy to the Constituent Assembly from the Penza province.

In the Penza province, elections took place on November 12 and 14, and Avksentyev received significant support. However, the Constituent Assembly was dissolved by the Bolsheviks after they refused to recognize their decrees.

Avksentyev's fate took a dramatic turn: he was arrested by the Bolsheviks and moved to the Urals, where in September 1918 he headed the Ufa Directory, which attempted to establish power in the Urals and Siberia. However, on November 18, 1918, Admiral Kolchak staged a coup, disbanding the Directory and proclaiming himself the Supreme Ruler. Avksentyev was arrested and exiled to Japan, from where he moved to France, and from 1940 lived in the USA, where he defended a dissertation for a Doctor of Economic Sciences, already holding a PhD degree.