[1] He attended the P. S. Nakhimov Black Sea Higher Naval School [ru], graduating in 1981, and going on to serve in the Northern Fleet.

He took the Higher Special Officer Classes [ru], graduating in 1992, and in 1993 took command of the Project 671RTM/RTMK Shchuka nuclear attack submarine B-524.

[1][2] Fedotenkov graduated with honours from the N. G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy in 2000, and from then until 2002 served as chief of staff of the 7th Submarine Division of the Northern Fleet, and then as its commander from 2002 until 2005.

[2] After further study at the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia, he graduated in 2007 and until 2009 served as Deputy Commander of the Kola Flotilla [ru], part of the Northern Fleet.

Fedotenkov stated that the goal of the exercises was to "strengthen mutual understanding between the navies ... regarding boosting stability, countering new challenges and threats at sea.