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. He became co-owner and general director of SU-155 when the company became a publicly traded entity in 1993. In 2000 he moved to work in the Moscow mayor’s office, where he was responsible for the construction of municipal projects and the renovation of substandard housing. The Moscow International House of Music, the new stage for the Bolshoi Theatre, Square of Europe near the Kiyevsky railway station and the MGU Library were remodelled while he was working for the mayor of Moscow. 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, 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, but he sold his shares in the bank in April 2013. 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.
In 2014, Balakin ran for the Moscow City Duma in 38th constituency. Initially, it was assumed that he would run as an independent candidate, but in the end he went to the polls from the Liberal Democratic Party. Balakin was elected to the City Duma gaining 46% of the vote. 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. At the mayoral election Balakin ranked last, scoring 42,192 votes.
Philanthropy
Balakin and the SU-155 Group of companies that he heads are actively involved in the construction and restoration of churches. Between 2002 and 2005, the SU-155 Group of companies restored the cathedral of St. Nicholas of Myra in Serpukhov, founded in the sixteenth century; the cathedral was restored based on sketches and photographs. Between 2009 and 2012, the Naval cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Kronstadt was restored, having been closed in 1929 and used as a movie theater, housing for officers in the Baltic Fleet, a concert hall and a branch of the Central Naval Museum in Soviet times. Construction of a new church in Shcherbinka proceeded in 2014 with the support of Mikhail Balakin and the SU-155 Group – the church containing the icon of Our Lady “Queen of All Creation”, which had been halted earlier after repair of the foundation and when funds collected for the construction ran out. Restoration was begun in 2014 on the church of St. Nicholas in Butki in Serpukhov. The church was closed in Soviet times and gradually fell into ruin. Along with the churches mentioned, the SU-155 Group has laid the foundation and built the church of the Protection of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary in Yasenevo and the church of the Protection of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary in Ivanovo, as well as restoring the Sunday school for the church of Sts. Boris and Gleb in Zyuzino and the church of Holy FatherSergius of Radonezh in Verkhnyaya Vereya.
Awards and prizes
Awards have been presented at various times by the Russian Orthodox Church: the Order of Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow III class in 2005, the Order of Holy Father Serafim of Sarov III class in 2007, the Medal of Holy Prince George Vsevolodovich III class and the Order of Holy Father Serafim of Sarov II class in 2014. He was awarded the title “Builder Emeritus of the Russian Federation” in 2008. He was awarded the Order of Honour in 2014.
