Mr. Sharonov graduated from the Ufa Aviation Institute with a degree in electrical engineering, and received a PhD in sociology from Russian Academy of Government Services. In 1989 he was elected chair of the student affairs committee of the USSR. From 1992 he worked as the chair of the Youth, Sport and Tourism department within the Russian government. In 1996 he was appointed head of the Merging Department in the Ministry of Economics of the Russian Federation and in 1997 he was promoted to Deputy Minister of Economic Development.