The Insider: Father of PM candidate Stepaņenko ran firm that made anti-tank barriers for Russian army
Independent outlet The Insider has found that a construction company owned by the father of Latvian PM candidate Jūlija Stepaņenko produced anti-tank “dragon's teeth” for the Russian military after the invasion of Ukraine began. Sergejs Fedotovs has confirmed he is her father and previously gifted her cash and a Riga apartment.
Independent online outlet The Insider reported on Wednesday that Sergejs Fedotovs, father of Jūlija Stepaņenko — prime ministerial candidate for the “Sovereign Power/Latvian Union” party alliance — is majority owner of two construction companies in Solnechnogorsk, in the Moscow region.
The 72-year-old businessman owns 73.45% of “PLK Forma” and 72.68% of “Forma ZhBI.” His wife Irina Fedotova and daughter Anna Makarovska are co-owners of both firms. Forma ZhBI produces concrete and reinforced-concrete products, while PLK Forma builds, manages and leases commercial real estate.
Link to military production
When Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, Forma ZhBI reported manufacturing around 2,000 anti-tank obstacles known as “dragon's teeth” and concrete tetrapods, which were sent to the Belgorod region and Russian-occupied parts of Donbas. The company also reported donating fireplaces to Russian soldiers. Between 2021 and 2024 the two firms' combined annual profit ranged between 5.7 and 7.05 million euros, though in 2025 they posted a small loss instead of net profit.
In August this year, Fedotov's plant was visited by Viktor Bout, convicted in the United States for arms trafficking, who was running for Russia's State Duma with the Liberal Democratic Party.
Gifts to his daughter
According to official asset declarations, Stepaņenko received nearly 240,000 euros in cash from her father in 2022 and a Riga apartment worth 180,000 euros in 2024. Fedotov confirmed to The Insider that he is her father, saying he transferred the apartment to her after Latvia closed its border to Russian citizens. He said he was born and lived in Latvia for years, served in a reserve military construction unit after being drafted by the Riga military commissariat, but stayed in Russia and built his business near Moscow once he could no longer return.
Stepaņenko declined to comment when approached by The Insider, saying she needed to consider whether to speak with a foreign publication.
