Konstantin Ivanovich was born on November 2, 1901, in the village of Varvarovka, Nikolaevsky district, now Pugachevsky region, in a priest's family. He graduated from a rural school and the Nikolaev Spiritual School, then entered the Samara Theological Seminary. However, due to the Civil War, he could not continue his studies and began working as a teacher.

Since 1919, he actively participated in collecting exhibits for the local history museum in Pugachev. In 1921, Konstantin Ivanovich became the director of this museum and remained in this position until 1946.

As early as 1922, Zhuravlev began archaeological research in Pugachev and neighboring districts. He discovered and studied numerous Neolithic sites, burial mounds from the Bronze and Iron Ages, as well as monuments of the Golden Horde. The museum's collection was enriched with stone tools from the Neolithic and items from the Bronze Age, such as stone, bronze, and bone tools, ceramics, and casting molds.

Despite lacking a formal geological education, Konstantin Ivanovich showed great interest in paleontology and geology. By studying literature independently and participating in field expeditions, he became an expert in the region's geology. Almost every summer, he made trips during which he discovered and clarified geological outcrops and rock formations, as well as collected geological and paleontological materials.

In 1932, the design of the Kamyshin Dam on the Volga began, and the management of 'Nizhnevolgaproject' asked Zhuravlev to provide a geological description of the banks of the Bolshoy Irgiz River and its tributaries. He professionally conducted hydrogeological surveys, carefully examining the valleys of the Bolshoy Irgiz, Kamelik, and Sestra rivers.

Over the years of expeditions, he collected numerous paleontological samples from Mesozoic and Quaternary deposits of the Zavolzhye region.

In 1931, the development of the Savelievskoye deposit of combustible shales on the Sakma River, 35 km southwest of Pugachev, began. The Saveliev mine was extracting shale from the lower Volga layer, where remains of marine reptiles were found. Despite the difficult times for the country, when production interests prevailed over scientific ones, Zhuravlev convinced the mine staff of the importance of preserving unique finds.

Thanks to his efforts, skeletons of two ichthyosaurs were extracted and preserved. One of them, two meters long, belongs to the genus Ophthalmosauris and is now housed in the Pugachev Local History Museum. The other, larger specimen, was transferred to the Geological Museum of the Saratov Geological Exploration Office. Zhuravlev also found many individual bones, mainly vertebrae and fragments of marine reptile skeletons.

Particularly interesting is the 1933 find, a relatively complete skeleton of the pliosaur Pliosaurus irgisensis. It was better preserved than others due to the limestone concretion in which part of the skeleton, skull, neck, and right side of the body were encased. Zhuravlev conducted additional excavations and discovered the bones of the pelvis and right hind flipper.

After preparation, the skeleton was assembled and installed in the museum in 1933. It was the only pliosaur skeleton in the USSR. With the onset of the Great Patriotic War, in October 1941, the museum's exhibition had to be closed. The pliosaur skeleton was dismantled and moved to a damp room, where it remained for about two years. The pyritized bones suffered greatly from the moisture. In 1946, the skeleton was transferred to the Paleontological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

Zhuravlev also paid much attention to ethnographic research. He visited the villages of Pugachevsky, Ivanteyevsky, Perelyubsky, and Krasnopartizansky districts, recording ancient legends, rituals, tales, and folk songs, as well as collecting household utensils and everyday items.

On December 29, 2009, the Pugachev Local History Museum, to which Zhuravlev dedicated his entire life, was named after him.