[2][4][5] After completing high school in Kursk in 1982, he studied at the Higher Military-Political College in Minsk and graduated in 1986.

After the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, Babaiev's unit withdrew from Czechoslovakia and he was stationed in Kyiv.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Babaiev served as a reserve officer in the Ukrainian army until 1996, eventually reaching the rank of colonel.

[7] He became Chairman of JSC Kremenchukmyaso in 1998 and President of a football club, FC Vorskla Poltava, in 2005.

Being an avid sportsman, Babaiev invested heavily in rebuilding the aging Soviet-era parks and sports stadiums within the city.