One of the outstanding Crimean realist artists of the second half of the 20th century, a talented researcher of new possibilities in the technique of realistic visual art, a person with a bright destiny. He was born in Sevastopol on June 26, 1921, in a Christian family. He began drawing at the age of five and at seventeen became the winner of the All-Union children's drawing competition in Moscow. From 1938 to 1940, he studied at the Crimean Art School named after N.S. Samokish. During this time, he also attended the home studio of N.S. Samokish, an academician of battle painting at the Imperial Academy of Arts. N.S. Samokish's strict and responsible attitude towards art, his high moral level left an indelible mark on the artist's soul.

From 1941 to 1945, he participated in the Great Patriotic War. In October 1941, he was wounded, captured along with a hospital, and attempted to escape three times. From November 1943, he was back in the active army. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star and medals for bravery, for the liberation of Prague, for the capture of Budapest, and for victory over Germany. Even at the front, he began collecting material for battle works. The artist's creative path began in February 1945 when he received permission from the command to make sketches from life during his free time between battles. In 1945, during the war, the artist created his first small battle paintings.

In March 1947, at the age of twenty-six, Volkov was accepted into the Union of Artists of the USSR. The battle theme, the Great Patriotic War in general, and the battles in Crimea in particular became the main focus of his work. His battle paintings brought him nationwide fame. The most famous among his battle works is the painting "The Feat of the Five Black Sea Sailors." Nature played a special role in the life and work of the artist. It awakened thoughts in him about the meaning of life, about the beautiful, was a source of inspiration and the main teacher. Many works are dedicated to the sea. The second period of the artist's creativity, covering 1962-1991, was devoted to exploring new possibilities in oil painting, watercolor, ink, charcoal, pastel, tempera, and ceramics.

Y.V. Volkov participated in all regional exhibitions starting from 1948, as well as republican exhibitions of the RSFSR (1949, 1953). In 1999, by the decision of the Yevpatoria City Executive Committee, the Children's Art School in Yevpatoria was named after Y.V. Volkov, for whom he was a mentor and friend. Since 1981, his wife O.V. Volkov has been teaching at this school. In 2019, the Yevpatoria Committee posthumously awarded Y.V. Volkov the city prize S.E. Duvan in the nomination "Culture and Art." His works are kept in the Simferopol Art Museum, the Sevastopol Art Museum named after M.P. Kroshitsky, the Black Sea Fleet Museum in Sevastopol, and the Yevpatoria Local History Museum.