Russian defense oligarch Vladimir Arkhipenko, who amassed wealth through the war, is promoting his grandson — a politician — for governor of the Lipetsk region
Media reports and investigations have revealed the rapid political rise of the grandson of Lipetsk oligarch Vladimir Arkhipenko, who significantly increased his wealth during the war. Vladimir Serikov—whose grandfather owns a factory producing batteries for UAVs, torpedoes, missiles, and submarines—first became a deputy, then chairman of the regional council (effectively the second most powerful figure in the region). Now Arkhipenko is reportedly lobbying to install his favored relative as governor of the Lipetsk region, as the current head, Igor Artamonov, is expected to move to a federal-level leadership role this autumn with the backing of his long-time associate Herman Gref. However, this scenario has a long backstory.
Arkhipenko himself became director and owner of the Energia plant in Yelets in the 1990s. His only daughter married a local bodybuilder, Vitaly Serikov. Their son was named after his grandfather. When Vladimir grew up, Arkhipenko sent his favored grandson to study at MGIMO. Earlier, he had also arranged for his son-in-law Vitaly to obtain a diploma from the same institution. After graduation, Arkhipenko gifted him the “Eco Balance” mineral water plant, which operates largely on government contracts, supplying water to state institutions, including the local administration.
In the 1990s, Energia shifted from producing power sources to manufacturing items such as wooden spatulas, Kuznetsov applicators, and cash registers. This continued until Sergey Chemezov—a long-time associate of Arkhipenko—became head of Rostec. After that, large sums of money began flowing to the factory through state defense contracts. The transition back to defense production was reportedly minimal: Arkhipenko allegedly began purchasing raw materials in bulk from China, assembling batteries, and reselling them as domestically produced goods.
Arkhipenko himself once attempted to build a political career. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, he ran for mayor of Yelets, but then-governor Oleg Korolev backed his protégé Viktor Sokovykh, who ultimately won the election.
A conflict later emerged between Arkhipenko and Korolev. Arkhipenko even funded a newspaper that regularly criticized Sokovykh and Korolev.
When Artamonov became head of the region, Arkhipenko regained influence. The oligarch was tasked with financing regional elections and the local branch of United Russia. He had ample resources for this: defense contracts continued to grow steadily. In 2021, before the war, the plant’s revenue stood at 2.1 billion rubles; by 2024, it had reached 17 billion rubles.
Unable to fulfill his own political ambitions, Arkhipenko reportedly sought to realize them through his grandson. He placed Vladimir Serikov at his factory, where the latter brought in several MGIMO associates. One of them, Vyacheslav Zhabin, was effectively made mayor of Yelets in 2025 at the age of 30. For his grandson, Arkhipenko prepared an even more ambitious trajectory: at 28, Serikov became a deputy and later chairman of the regional council. Now, with the backing of his ally Chemezov, Arkhipenko is allegedly pushing him for the governorship. According to investigations, his main rival is senator Evgenia Uvarkina.
Deputy Editor
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