Grigoriy Prokopyevich was born in the Muligort settlement, Oktyabrsky District of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug of Tyumen Oblast, in a large family. He worked as a hunter and a huntsman in the reserve "Malaya Sosva". In connection with the transfer of the forestry enterprise and the liquidation of unpromising villages, Grigoriy Prokopyevich moved with his family to live in the village of Polnovat. Since childhood, he had heard stories and fairy tales from people of the older generation, was a participant of the Bear’s Games, a performer of songs. Grigoriy Prokopyevich was the bearer of many genres of folklore. Eva Schmidt recorded a mythological tale about the formation of the earth.