Vasily Ivanovich Grachev, a Russian historian and museum worker, was born in 1865 in Smolensk. He studied at a real school, where he developed an interest in history. Later, after meeting Semyon Petrovich Pisarev, the founder of the first Smolensk Historical and Archaeological Museum, Grachev began working at this museum.

In 1888 and 1913, he held the position of curator at Pisarev's museum, and from 1908, he combined this work with the duties of the head of the Smolensk Scientific Archive Commission. He was also a board member and librarian of the Smolensk Auxiliary Society of Merchant Clerks. After the 1917 Revolution and until the end of his life, Grachev worked as an instructor at the Smolensk Archive Bureau. With the establishment of Soviet power in the Smolensk province, he actively participated in the preservation of historical and cultural monuments of Smolensk. In 1918, Grachev received authority from the Artistic and Archaeological Subdepartment of the Department of Public Education of the Western Region to oversee and protect prehistoric and historical monuments of Smolensk and its surroundings, including Gnezdovo, from destruction and damage. Thanks to his efforts, the library of the Smolensk Scientific Archive Commission, where he had previously worked, was preserved.

Vasily Ivanovich owned an extensive personal library consisting of about 100 volumes, mostly dedicated to the history of Smolensk. After his death, this collection was transferred to the fund of the Written Sources Department of the Moscow State Historical Museum, where it is still kept today.

Grachev was awarded the Order of Saint Stanislaus of the 3rd degree and wrote numerous books and articles on the history of Smolensk and Smolensk region. He died in 1932 and was buried at the Tikhvin Cemetery in Smolensk, where his grave has been preserved to this day.