Alexander Mikhailovich Barykov (born 27 September 1968, Vyksa, Gorky Oblast) is a deputy of the 7th convocation (2021–2026) of the Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, a member of the "United Russia" faction, elected from single-member constituency No. 14 (Vyksa, Kulebaki, Voznesenskoye). Since 2015 he has headed the Vyksa Steel Works, part of the Unified Metallurgical Company (OMK) [1][2].

Biography

He was born on 27 September 1968 in Vyksa, Gorky Oblast. He graduated from the Vyksa Metallurgical Technical College with a degree in "electrical equipment of industrial enterprises and installations" (1987), from the Moscow State Open University with a degree in "power supply" (1994), and from the Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod with a degree in economics and enterprise management (2005) [1].

Almost his entire career has been tied to the Vyksa Metallurgical Plant (VMZ) and Vyksa [2]. From 1989 he worked as an electrician at the plant, then as a foreman and service chief, and from 2008 as head of a production complex. In 2009–2011 he was director of the "OMK-Steel" branch, in 2011 chief engineer of OMK's Vyksa production site, and in 2012–2013 production director of the "Trubodetal" plant [1]; he then headed the VMZ large-diameter pipe division [2]. In July 2015 he became head of the Vyksa plant [1][2].

Outside parliament

Barykov is a laureate of the I. and A. Batashev Foundation prizes (2008, 2012, 2017) and holds the title "Honored Metallurgist"; under his leadership VMZ received the Toyota Engineering Corporation gold medal for the level of development of its production system [2]. In March 2017 he received the regional "Kommersant of the Year" award in the "For Prospects" category — for beginning construction of a new high-tech VMZ center for pipe production and finishing [3].

On 5 September 2023, together with the head of local self-government Vladimir Kochetkov and OMK president Natalya Yeryomina, he discussed the company's housing program: in total OMK planned to build two thousand apartments in Vyksa across several sites, including at Shchitki and on the site of the former "Vyksa PAP" (passenger motor transport enterprise). According to Barykov, the apartments are being built not only for recruited employees but also for Vyksa residents wishing to improve their housing conditions [4].

In the Legislative Assembly

In the September 2021 elections, 25,850 people voted for the "United Russia" candidate, and 12,636 for the Communist candidate Sergei Bobrov [5]. In the current convocation he serves on the committee on economics, industry, support for entrepreneurship, trade and tourism, and on the committee on urban development, property and land relations; the deputy's public reception office is open in Vyksa, on Krasnye Zori Street [1]. In February 2022, citizen appointments were organized by phone, with calls coming in from all three municipalities of the constituency: according to the deputy, people asked about the work of resource-supplying organizations, repair of local roads, and increased responsibility of pet owners [6].

In NewsNN's ranking of the hundred most influential people in the region, he rose from 91st place to 78th: a year earlier he had held the 91st spot, and in the May 2024 edition — 78th [7]. In the "Nizhny Seychas" publication's 2026 influence ranking of Legislative Assembly deputies, he took 27th place with a score of 92 points and fell into the medium-influence group [8]. In the "United Russia" preliminary vote held 25–31 May 2026, he won in constituency No. 15, receiving 8,150 votes; in constituency No. 14 the primaries were won by another sitting deputy, Igor Tyurin, general director of JSC "Karavai" [9].

The plant, the town, and the environment

In February 2020, NewsNN and "Vyksa.RF" described the situation of the village of Motmos, surrounded by the plant's production sites. Shortly before the publication, in early December, an initiative group of residents approached ecologist Igor Kakonin, saying they were choking on harmful emissions; residents linked the smell to the foundry-and-rolling complex. There was no way to verify this: the air-testing laboratory had closed several years earlier. According to the state report on the environmental situation in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Vyksa led in the number of samples exceeding maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants [10].

After the residents' appeal, public hearings were held in Vyksa on the construction of a new workshop — an electric steel-smelting facility between the foundry-and-rolling complex and Motmos. According to Kakonin, the hearings "were held in the middle of a working day," and "two buses of VMZ workers were brought in to fill the crowd." About 350 people came to the rally, and 800 signatures were collected against the construction. Rosprirodnadzor (the federal environmental oversight agency) issued rulings holding the enterprise administratively liable under four articles, but the plant challenged them in the Vyksa city court, presenting data from its own laboratory; the oversight agency appealed the decision. At the time, the enterprise's managing director was Barykov [10].

Sources

  1. web.archive.org — Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast — Barykov Alexander Mikhailovich: biography, constituency, committees, reception office (deputy profile, web archive snapshot 28.03.2023) (archive)
  2. vr-vyksa.ru — Vyksunsky Rabochy — Alexander Barykov registered to take part in the "United Russia" preliminary vote to nominate candidates for deputies of the Legislative Assembly (27.04.2021) (archive)
  3. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — Director of the Nizhny Novgorod VMZ Alexander Barykov received the regional "Kommersant of the Year" award (16.03.2017) (archive)
  4. vyksa.rf — Microdistricts for OMK employees to be built at Shchitki and on the site of the "Vyksa PAP" (06.09.2023) (archive)
  5. vyksa.rf — Alexander Barykov won the election to the Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (21.09.2021) (archive)
  6. vr-vyksa.ru — Vyksunsky Rabochy — Legislative Assembly deputy Alexander Barykov's public reception office took calls from residents of three municipalities (07.02.2022) (archive)
  7. web.archive.org — NewsNN — Top 100 most influential people of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (28.05.2024), position No. 78 — web archive snapshot 18.06.2024 (archive)
  8. Nizhny Seychas — Influence ranking of Legislative Assembly deputies — 2026: 27th place, 92 points, "medium influence" group
  9. Nizhny Seychas — Two SVO (special military operation) participants and 23 sitting deputies won the "United Russia" primaries for the Legislative Assembly elections (vote held 25–31 May 2026; constituency No. 15 — Alexander Barykov, 8,150 votes; constituency No. 14… (archive)
  10. vyksa.rf — Factory town: Vyksa is choking on emissions from "VMZ" (21.02.2020, based on material from NewsNN) (archive)