Ukraine without Kuchma
In his youth, Biletsky practiced several types of martial arts and boxing. In 1990 he refused to be accepted into the Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization. Biletsky, along with senior schoolmates, raised the Ukrainian flag over his school. His major patriotic influence in his youth was his father's gift of a book prohibited in the Soviet Union, History of Ukraine for children by Anton Lototsky. In 2001, Biletsky graduated with honors from the History faculty of the University of Kharkiv. His thesis was about the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. The same year Biletsky participated in the Ukraine without Kuchma (UBK) protests, for which he was placed under administrative arrest. The Security Service of Ukraine pressured university administration to expel Biletsky from the institution.