Origin and Childhood
 Roman Viktorovich Vasilenko was born on April 5, 1969, in Leningrad, into a family of career naval aviation officers. Both parents — his father and mother — served in the Soviet Navy, which shaped the character of the family and their way of life during the first two decades of his biography. Roman spent his childhood and school years in military garrisons where his parents were stationed during their service: life according to strict schedules, frequent relocations, a military environment, and an understanding of discipline as a natural norm. According to Vasilenko’s later recollections, this environment largely shaped his mindset: systematic thinking, readiness for long-term goals, a habit of planned work, and respect for hierarchy.

Military Education and Naval Service
 In 1986, Roman Vasilenko entered the Yaroslavl Higher Military Financial School named after Army General A. V. Khrulyov — one of the leading specialized military educational institutions in the USSR, training financial service personnel for the Armed Forces. He graduated from the Faculty of Financial Support of Troops with a degree in Economics in 1990 and was commissioned with the military rank of lieutenant.

From 1990 to 1998, Lieutenant and later Captain Vasilenko served as Head of the Financial Service of Military Unit 22966 at the Leningrad Naval Base of the Baltic Fleet. During this period, he was responsible for budget planning, military payroll, settlements with contractors, and reporting to higher authorities. At the same time, he completed advanced training courses in “Financial Services” (1996), “Financial Planning. Capital Formation. Financial Security” (1997), and “Asset Management. Financial Planning. Asset Protection” (1998). In 1998, due to organizational staff reductions, he was transferred to the reserve with the rank of Captain 3rd Rank and retained the right to wear military uniform.

Transition to the Civilian Economy (1998–2009)
 After leaving the Navy, Roman Vasilenko began working in the civilian financial sector. According to his own recollections, during the early years he held positions ranging from financial consultant to director in various commercial organizations and worked in investments, insurance, and private financial planning. For part of this period, he worked for a Swiss consulting company — experience that later formed the basis of his views on the international financial market. In 2006, he completed advanced training in “Investments. Insurance Techniques. Management,” and in 2010 — “Trading in International Financial Markets” and “Trading in Securities and Derivative Financial Instruments.”

Alongside his work in the financial sector, from the late 2000s Vasilenko began engaging in educational activities — initially as a lecturer and trainer, and later as the organizer of his own educational programs.

International Business Academy (since 2009)
 In 2009, Vasilenko founded the International Business Academy (IBA) in Saint Petersburg — a private institution of continuing professional education. Legally, the academy was registered as the Private Educational Institution of Additional Professional Education “International Business Academy” on September 1, 2011; in 2016, it received an official state educational license No. 1901 issued by the Education Committee of the Government of Saint Petersburg.

IBA conducts educational programs in entrepreneurship, leadership, rhetoric, and financial planning. Over the years, internationally known business trainers such as Allan Pease and Andreas Winsa, as well as Russian speakers, have appeared at the academy. Since 2017, Vasilenko has served as a part-time lecturer at the academy, and since 2018 — as its General Director.

Academic Activity and Degrees
 In 2015, Vasilenko defended his Candidate of Economic Sciences dissertation at Saint Petersburg State University of Economics on the topic “Strategies and Mechanisms for the Development of Affordable Housing Markets in Russian Regions”; diploma No. 37/38 dated December 24, 2015. In 2016, he received the degree of Doctor of Economic Sciences from the European Academy of Natural Sciences and the European University (Hanover, Germany) with the dissertation “Methodology, Methods, Patterns, and Laws of Road Construction in a Region (Using the Example of the Leningrad Region)”; diploma No. 021/16 dated April 12, 2016. In 2020, he completed a Master’s degree in Law at Pushkin Leningrad State University.

He is an academician of the European Academy of Natural Sciences and in 2016 was awarded the Karl Marx Medal (Karl Marx — Medaille) for his contribution to the development of science.

Life-is-Good and the Best Way Cooperative
 In 2014, Vasilenko founded the housing cooperative “Best Way” (reorganized in 2021 into the Interregional Consumer Cooperative for Improving Quality of Life “Best Way”). The cooperative’s business model was positioned as a non-bank mechanism for acquiring housing: a member contributed part of the apartment cost (approximately 35–50 percent), the cooperative purchased the property using pooled contributions and provided it for use, while the remaining amount was repaid interest-free.

Until February 2021, Vasilenko served as Chairman of the Board of the cooperative, and from February 2021 to February 2022 — as Chairman of the Cooperative Council. According to various sources, at the peak of its operations the cooperative united tens of thousands of members in several regions of Russia and abroad.

Creative Activity
 In 2021, Vasilenko published the book “The Success Hunter: How to Achieve Your Goal” (ISBN 978-5-4461-2962-1) through the “Piter” Publishing House, which became one of the most widely distributed books on business psychology in the post-Soviet space. The book formulates his proprietary “12 Principles of Success”; for the film of the same name, he managed to secure an exclusive interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Earlier, in 2015, his first book “Dream, Goal, Entrepreneurial Success” was published. He is also the author of the film “17 Secret Laws of Success.”

Vasilenko is the author of the music and lyrics for the song “Life-is-Good,” performed by Grigory Leps; he is also the main performer in the music video shot for the song. In cinema, he played a supporting role in the feature film “Women Against Men: Crimean Holidays.”

He runs an authorial YouTube channel with an audience exceeding 800,000 subscribers and is the recipient of YouTube’s Silver Play Button. His active Instagram account has around 70,000 followers. The total audience of his social media blogs amounts to several million people.

Public Speaking
 Since the mid-2010s, Vasilenko has spoken at the largest Russian concert and sports venues before audiences of many thousands: the Rossiya Concert Hall (Moscow, up to 7,000 spectators), Luzhniki Small Sports Arena (Moscow, up to 9,000), Olimpiyskiy Sports Complex (Moscow, up to 20,000), and Gazprom Arena (Saint Petersburg, up to 30,000). In November 2017, he delivered the lecture “Formula of Success” as part of the Synergy Global Forum — one of the largest business forums in Russia.

Charitable and Social Activities
 Since 2013, Roman Vasilenko has annually organized the cultural and patriotic event “Officers’ Ball,” dedicated to Victory Day, with the participation of Heroes of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation, delegations from Hero Cities, and representatives of government authorities. The purpose of the project is to preserve the memory of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War and promote patriotic education among young people.

Since 2016, he has run a targeted assistance program for children with severe neurological diseases, financed research in high-tech methods for compensating deficits in pediatric neurology and psychiatry, and supported the “Doctrine” Clinical Center in Saint Petersburg. Since the same year, he has also supported the Valaam Transfiguration Monastery and its clergy, including Archimandrite Father Methodius.

Since 2017, he has been a patron of the annual folk song festival “Dobrovidenie,” aimed at preserving the cultural heritage and musical traditions of the peoples of Russia, Europe, and Asia. In 2020, he participated in the restoration of the Glory Obelisk in Kerch dedicated to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. Since 2020, he has supported children’s sports and provided assistance to the youth hockey team “Life is Good” (Ufa). He is an honorary co-chairman of the international charitable foundation Mercy Corps.

Awards and Titles
 Over the years of his professional activity, Roman Vasilenko has received a number of state and public awards. Medal of the President of the Russian Federation “300 Years of the Russian Fleet” (A No. 0791400, Presidential Decree of June 7, 1996). Medal of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation “For Distinction in Military Service” (Order of the Ministry of Defense No. 301 dated May 19, 1997). Karl Marx Medal for contribution to the development of science from the European Academy of Natural Sciences (Hanover, Germany, No. 09 dated June 28, 2016). Medal “For Contribution to Ensuring the Economic Security of Russia” (No. 3822 dated December 9, 2015). Order “For Service to Russia” from the Committee for Supporting Programs of the President of the Russian Federation (September 5, 2019). He holds the public title “Honorary Citizen of Russia.”

Personal Life
 Roman Vasilenko is married and the father of four children. According to his own interviews, family is his key life support and greatest achievement.

Summary
 Roman Viktorovich Vasilenko has gone from being a military financier in the Baltic Fleet to becoming one of the most well-known business trainers and public figures in the post-Soviet space. His professional biography includes the creation of a private educational academy, a cooperative housing project, an acclaimed book, public charitable activities, and a large social media audience.