Mikhail Dmitrievich Balakin (Russian: Михаил Дмитриевич Балакин, born April 20, 1961) is a Russian billionaire businessman and politician. He is chairman of the SU-155 group of companies, as well as a Moscow politician, member of the Moscow City Duma from 38th constituency.[1][2]
Early life and education
Mikhail Balakin was born to a family of builders.[citation needed] He graduated the Kuibyshev Moscow State University of Civil Engineering with a degree in civil engineering and a concentration in heat and gas supply and ventilation.[3]
Career
He worked his way up from master to chief engineer over the following eight years. In 1990 he was named director of Construction Management No. 155 (SU-155).
He became co-owner and general director of SU-155 when the company became a publicly traded entity in 1993.[1]
After deciding to leave the mayor’s office in 2005, he returned to the helm of SU-155, where he is the chairman.
Business
Balakin is the majority shareholder of the SU-155 Group of companies,[6] comprising over 80 industrial and construction businesses. SU-155 revenue in 2013 rose by 35% to 114.2 billion roubles.
Balakin was one of the shareholders of NS Bank,[7] but he sold his shares in the bank in April 2013.[8][9]
He divested himself his assets in management companies that were originally part of the SU-155 Group in 2014 in order to concentrate on the core business of the Group.[10][11]
In 2018, he ran for Mayor of Moscow. Balakin was nominated by the Union of Citizens party. To register, he had to pass the so-called "municipal filter", collect from 110 to 115 signatures of municipal deputies. Initially, he collected 112 signatures, this number was enough for registration, but then three deputies withdrew their signatures and the City Election Committee rejected the candidacy of Balakin citing a lack of signatures. On 23 July 2018, the Moscow City Court found the refusal of registration illegal and ordered to register Balakin as a mayoral candidate.[35][36]
At the mayoral election Balakin ranked last, scoring 42,192 votes (1.87%).[37]