While he remained fond of hunting, he also enjoyed more academic pursuits in his downtime including reading and writing poetry and playing the piano and accordion.

In 1956 Belyayev succeeded in gaining entry into advanced studies at the Red Banner Air Force Academy.

[6] During Belyayev's final studies at the Red banner Air Force Academy he had been interviewed and tested for possible inclusion in the space program.

[9] Yuri Gagarin nicknamed the two senior officers "The Professors"[10] In August 1960, Belyayev fractured his lower leg just above the ankle in parachute training, an accident that delayed his progress by approximately 12 months and excluded him from any early space flights.

Due to the severity of the injury, it seemed unlikely that Belyayev would be readmitted to the program, but he worked constantly to recover and regain his fitness.

Leonov, who had been chosen to perform the space walk described how he preferred to have Belyayev as his mission commander over Khrunov.

Due to the cramped conditions inside the capsule and its poor design, Belyayev had to lie across the seats to use the Vzor while Leonov held him in place.

After spending a night back inside the capsule in extremely cold conditions, the crew were met by an advance rescue party the following morning.

[16] After the success of the mission Belyayev and Leonov were awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union medal, given 15,000 rubles, a Volga car and 45 days leave.

[17] Apollo 15 commander, astronaut David Scott recalled meeting Belyayev at the 1967 Paris Air Show, when he and other NASA representatives visited the Russian pavilion.

"[18] On a reciprocal visit to the American pavilion, Belyayev disclosed that he had been "the first cosmonaut to bring his mission back to Earth on manual control".

[5] Belyayev died five years after the Voskhod 2 mission in 1970 from peritonitis that resulted from an operation on a stomach ulcer.

Belyayev has been commemorated with other prominent figures from the early Russian space program with a bust on Cosmonauts Alley in Moscow.

His name appears on the plaque accompanying the Fallen Astronaut sculpture placed on the Moon on 1 August 1971 by the crew of Apollo 15.

Belyayev is also used as a character in Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens 2005 novel, Freefall, in which he is the first person to land on the Moon, hours before Apollo 11.

[23] Konstantin Khabensky portrayed Belyayev in the 2017 Russian film The Age of Pioneers, a dramatisation of the Voskhod 2 mission.