Boris Yefimov was born in Russia in 1900. His first cartoon appeared in a Kiev newspaper in 1919 and over the next few years became a regular contributor to Pravada, Isvestia, Krokodil and other leading Soviet publications.

During the Second World War Yefimov produced propaganda posters. In 1966 he became editor-in-chief of Agitplakat, an organisation for creating propaganda posters. A book featuring his work, Boris Yefimov in Isvestia, was published in 1969.