Years of study were interrupted by the Great Patriotic War as Belykh defended the Soviet Motherland. Following the war, Belykh was sent to the Mocow War Academy. In 1947, he began his work as a designer at the Moscow factory, The Red Textile workers, which he continued to paint at an amateur painter's studio.
In 1952, Belykh took part in the All Union exhibition of Amateur Artists. Highly praised by critics, the painter was invited to enter the Surikov Insitute of Art. Among his teachers were such masters as Pokargevsky, Reshetnikov and Tsyplakov.
As a Student, Belykh visited the Baltic Republics, Siberia and Lake Baikal. The grandeur and scale of the Bratskaya hydro-electric power station so inspired him, that his graduation work was "First Builders of Bratskaya Electric Power Station."
Following graduation, Belykh returned to Kostroma where he worked as a teacher, and later as a professor, at the College of Art. Belykh is one of the most active participants in regional exhibitions.
In 1964, he created a number of canvases regarding people in the lumber industry. Laborers are the main theme of Belykh's work. The spirit of his characters, rarely seen motions and conditions of nature are captured on his canvases. In the picturesque harmony of nature, this painter feels the beauty of life. Portraits of his mother, milkmaids, and old collective farmers reproduce the images of the strong Soviet people. Several of his pieces are included in the Fleischer Museum Collection.