From 1957 till 1979 he was one of the leading actors of Gorky Bolshoi Drama Theater in Leningrad.

The leading part in Wit Works Woe (1962) by Alexander Griboedov made him one of the most significant actors of his generation.

His director's debut Moliere (also known as The Cabal of Hypocrites) by Mikhail Bulgakov in 1977 was highly acclaimed, but was not accepted by Georgy Tovstonogov, and led to Yursky's departure from the theatre.

He also worked as an actor and director in Moscow Art Theatre, as well as in Belgium, France and Japan.

Yursky performed one-man recitals of poetry and prose, touring widely with them in USSR, then Russia and beginning in the 1990s many countries with a Russian-speaking population.