Yuri was born in Moscow in 1936. He graduated from the Moscow Surikov Institute (Graphics Department) specializing in book illustrations.

Yuri finds his inspiration in books by Nikolay Gogol, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Thomas Mann, Maurice Maeterlinck, Franz Kafka, Hans Christian Andersen, Bruno Schulz, and Shalom Aleichem. They give him the starting point, offering material for his expressions. His expertise is etchings and lithographs. For the most part the illustrations drawn by the artist are not meant for specific books. They are best described as graphic works based on his favorite books. The artist chooses his literature sources that are phantasmagoric and grotesque, and adds his own problems, thoughts and views, sometimes stepping away from the original plot.

The study of works by Francisco de Goya (especially his etchings), Pavel Filonov, Marc Chagall, and Alexander Tyshler had a special effect on Yuri’s individual style. There are no direct references to those classics in his art but one can notice Yuri’s careful consideration and respect of his predecessors’ talent.

Since 1975 Yuri has participated in national and Moscow art exhibitions. He received an award of the Tallinn Printing Triennale; took part in Biennale of Book Illustrations in Brno, Czech Republic and in group exhibitions in the United Kingdom, Germany, USA, Japan, Bulgaria. He exhibited at the Central House of Artists in Moscow with the group of artists named "Bush". Yuri’s works are owned by the State Tretyakov Gallery of Art, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, the art fund of the Russian Ministry of Culture, the Museum of Blok in Shakhmatovo, the Jewish Museum, Vilnius, Lithuania, and by private collectors in Russia, USA, and Israel.