 Shokin was born 4 November 1952 in Kiev.After graduating from the Kharkiv Law Institute (today Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University) in 1980, Shokin worked for the Prosecutor General Office as investigator until 2001.In an interview with "Ukrayinska Pravda" he stated that he was forced to retire in 2001 after refusing to take on the case against Yulia Tymoshenko.