Nikolay Aksyonenko was born on 15 March 1949 in the village of Novoaleksandrovka, Bolotninsky District, Novosibirsk Oblast.

Since 1979 he worked as deputy chief, then head of the traffic department of the Voronezh branch of the South Eastern railway.

During his work, the Kizlyar—Kizilyurt railway was completed, telecommunication company TransTelekom was founded, a transit connection was established through the territory of Russia.

There was a moment when Yeltsin called Gennady Seleznyov (17 May 1999) and said that Aksyonenko's candidacy was being proposed to the Duma, and the speaker announced it at a plenary session.

According to the auditors, the Railway Ministry top officials diverted money from the investment program in order to buy private apartments.

On October 31, representatives of the Prosecutor General's Office reported that the federal budget lost more than 11 billion rubles as a result of Aksyonenko's actions.