Born in the USSR (now Ukraine), Baltacha represented Scotland at youth international level.
He first played football in the Dynamo Kiev academy,[3] but began his professional career in Scotland, at St Mirren, where he gained 3 caps for the Scotland U-21 side.
[6] Baltacha was eligible to play for Russia, Ukraine and under FIFA regulations at the time, the four Home nations as a British passport holder born outside of the United Kingdom with no British parental or grand-parental bloodlines.
[7] Having acquired a British passport, in 1999, he represented Scotland at U21 level against Lithuania.
[8] His father, Sergei, played football for the Soviet Union; his mother, Olga, was a pentathlete; and his sister, Elena, was a former British number one in women's tennis.