On September 3, 2026, Governor Gleb Nikitin signed three laws providing for the abolition and transformation of 15 populated localities in the region. The laws were adopted by the Legislative Assembly on August 27, 2026, and take effect on January 1, 2027.[1][2] The bulk of the changes affected the Chkalovsky urban district; separate changes concerned Varnavinskiy District.

Changes in Chkalovsky District

In Chkalovsky District, 13 localities in five rural councils (selsoviets) are being abolished by merging them with larger neighboring settlements.[3] The official grounds cited for the mergers are the creation of conditions for gas supply extension and territorial development, as well as the elimination of difficulties in working with the Federal Address Information System.[1]

  • Belovsky-Novinsky selsoviet: the village of Varlashevo will be merged into the village of Bubnovo; the village of Ryzhkovo — into the selo of Sitskoye.[1]
  • Kotelnitsky selsoviet: the selo of Balakhnino will be merged into the village of Strelka; the village of Zhukovo — into Vashkino; Sapanikkha — into Kutyachevo; Chernilnikovo — into Pavelkovo.[1]
  • Kuznetsovsky selsoviet: the village of Gubtsevo will be merged into the village of Perekhvatkino.[1]
  • Purekhovskiy selsoviet: the village of Fomino will become part of Purekh.[1]
  • Solomatovsky selsoviet: the villages of Bolshoye Yakunino, Kodochigi, Morozovo, Umniki, and Shishkino will be merged into the selo of Solomaty.[1][2]

Changes in Varnavinsky District

In Varnavinsky District, two localities are not being abolished through merger but are instead having their generic designation changed: the village of Prudovka (Mikhaleninsky Selsoviet) and the village of Antoniha (Bogorodsky selsoviet) will receive the status of khutors effective January 1, 2027.[3] The reason given is the existence of localities with identical names within the same district, which creates difficulties when working with address registries.[1] In addition, sources mention a previously adopted decision to abolish the uninhabited rural settlement of Yelevaya Zavod' in the same Mikhaleninsky selsoviet — this measure has been enacted through separate legislative acts.[4]

Context

The regulatory acts have been published on the official legal information portal.[2] According to regional media, over the past two decades approximately 120 selos and villages in Nizhny Novgorod Region have ceased to exist — primarily due to the absence of permanent residents.[3]

Sources

  1. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — 13 localities to disappear from the map of Chkalovsky District
  2. Newsroom24 — 15 villages to disappear from the map of Nizhny Novgorod Region from 2027
  3. GIPERNN — 15 villages decided to be abolished in Nizhny Novgorod Region from 2027
  4. Zhivyom v Nizhnem — 15 villages to disappear from the map of Nizhny Novgorod Region in 2027 — Zhivyom v Nizhnem
  5. Otkryty Nizhny — 15 rural settlements to be abolished in Nizhny Novgorod Region from 2027