 Shifrin was born in Dnipropetrovsk, Soviet Ukraine, the son of metallurgy professor Vladimir Moiseyevich Shifrin.From 1977–1983, he attended the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys, earning a PhD in metallurgy.Over the next 10 years, he worked in Zaporizhia at the steel company Dniprospecstal, rising from assistant foreman to manager of the steel plant and then head of marketing.