He was born in Saint Petersburg and was the younger brother of Red Navy leader Fedor Raskolnikov.
Ilyin-Zhenevsky promoted chess as an educational vehicle for developing tactical and strategical comprehension during military training, and, within the Soviet Union, he was the main person responsible for the spreading of the idea of chess as a way to teach the basics of scientific and rational thought.
The first Soviet Championship in 1920 and the 1933 match Mikhail Botvinnik – Salo Flohr were organized by him.
He was three times chess champion of the Leningrad City Chess Championship, in 1925 (jointly), 1926, and 1929.
According to Botvinnik and official sources he died in a Nazi air raid on Lake Ladoga on a ship during the siege of Leningrad, but it is believed by somethat he fell victim to the Great Purge along with the majority of the Old Guard of revolutionists.