 Yury studied at the Saratov Suvorov military school (1946–1953), then at the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy in Moscow, from which he graduated with honors in 1959.In 1956, while studying at the Academy he became interested in weightlifting, joined the Armed Forces sports society and soon became Master of Sport of the USSR (1957).He was noticed in 1958 when he finished third at the Soviet Union championships.