Solomon Haykazovich Apoyan (b. 1989, Artik, Armenian SSR) is a physician and politician, a deputy of the VII convocation of the Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Region (2021–2026) from the United Russia faction, and chief physician of the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Center for the Prevention and Control of AIDS and Infectious Diseases. He is the youngest deputy of the convocation and one of its three "budget-sector" members; in March 2026 he became the subject of reports of detention, which the parliament denied. [1][2][4][5]

Biography

He was born in 1989 in the city of Artik, Armenian SSR. He graduated from the Nizhny Novgorod Medical Academy with degrees in radiology and healthcare organization. [2] In an interview with Nizhegorodskaya Pravda, Apoyan said he had lived in the city "for a very long time, not from birth, but since childhood, since school age": "My parents and I moved to this city when my father was transferred to Gorky by job assignment." [1]

He named the medical class of School No. 101 as his first vivid impression of Nizhny Novgorod — in his words, that class and his first teachers determined the course of his life. For a long time his home was the Leninsky District, from which he was later elected to the regional parliament. [1][15]

He has served as chief physician of the regional AIDS prevention and control center since 2018. [1] In late July 2023 he married; instead of a honeymoon trip, he and his wife Svetlana purchased supplies for a request from a local branch of the People's Front, which collects and delivers humanitarian aid to participants of the special military operation. [14]

Beyond parliament

Under Apoyan, the center switched to two-shift operation, updated its fleet of laboratory equipment, and launched a mobile laboratory based on a GAZelle NEXT van that toured every district of the region offering free HIV testing; a mobile app for patients and a children's educational character named Immuntik also appeared. [1]

In July 2025 the center commissioned a robotic laboratory system capable of running up to 50,000 tests a day. According to Deputy Governor Andrei Chечерин, automation cut the time to get results from fifteen hours to two; according to Apoyan, during the coronavirus pandemic 40 staff members performed up to 15,000 tests a day. [10] In July 2026 the center took second place in the All-Russian competition for digital transformation projects among medical organizations (results were announced on July 7); the institution operates a robotic laboratory integrated with the Unified Digital Healthcare Platform, and the region's first AI assistant for rapid assessment of patients' condition. [11]

According to Apoyan, 935 HIV cases were identified in the region in 2025 — a historic low; a year earlier 1,323 cases had been identified. Testing coverage in 2025 reached 45% of residents, compared with 40.6% in 2024. [12]

Apoyan is co-chair of the regional headquarters of the People's Front [1] and a member of its regional executive committee. [13] The former head of the Nizhny Novgorod executive committee of the movement was detained on October 14 and remanded in custody the following day on charges of large-scale fraud; as of December 5, 2025, the branch, according to Nizhny Seychas, had gone without a leader for nearly two months, and Apoyan told the outlet that the movement's central executive committee had not put forward any candidates for the post and that no date had been set for a regional headquarters meeting on elections. [13]

In the Legislative Assembly

He ran for United Russia in single-mandate district No. 3, covering the Leninsky District of Nizhny Novgorod. [15] Following the September 2021 election, Nizhegorodskaya Pravda included him among the 25 winning single-mandate candidates, crediting him with 10,472 votes. [7]

By February 2024 he held the post of deputy chairman of the committee on social affairs. [9] In November 2023 he supported a bill introduced by Governor Gleb Nikitin banning abortions at private clinics: "I support the bill. I believe that any abortion is murder," he said during the discussion. [8] In the first reading, 41 deputies supported the bill, with no votes against or abstentions; a petition against the ban was signed by 4,000 women of Nizhny Novgorod. [8]

In the influence rankings of Legislative Assembly deputies compiled by the news agency Nizhny Seychas, he ranked 21st in 2025 [6] and 25th in 2026 [5] — both times with a downward arrow. The outlet counted him among the convocation's three "budget-sector" deputies and called him the youngest member of parliament. [4]

Inspection at the AIDS center (2026)

In late March 2026, law enforcement officers were reported working at the regional AIDS center. The Legislative Assembly's information policy department stated the same day: "The information does not correspond to reality. Solomon Apoyan is currently present at a regular session of the Legislative Assembly." [2]

According to the outlet Nizhny Seychas, the security services' visit was presumably linked to detentions at the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Pharmacy enterprise; Apoyan was not a suspect. In its review of the results of the VII convocation, the outlet placed the episode within a broader intensification of investigative actions against the deputy corps and the region's budget-funded organizations. [3]

Sources

  1. Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — "My Nizhny": chief physician of the AIDS Center Solomon Apoyan (10.08.2023) (archive)
  2. Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — Nizhny Novgorod Legislative Assembly denies rumors of Solomon Apoyan's detention (27.03.2026) (archive)
  3. Nizhny Seychas — Deputy Apoyan of the Legislative Assembly was not detained (27.03.2026) (archive)
  4. Nizhny Seychas — 50 shades of not-quite-white: what the VII convocation of regional Legislative Assembly deputies will be remembered for (21.04.2026)
  5. Nizhny Seychas — Influence rating of Legislative Assembly deputies — 2026 (20.08.2026)
  6. Nizhny Seychas — Influence rating of Nizhny Novgorod Legislative Assembly deputies — 2025 (30.10.2025)
  7. Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — 25 deputies elected to the regional parliament from single-mandate districts of Nizhny Novgorod Region (23.09.2021) (archive)
  8. Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — Nizhny Novgorod Region seeks to tighten abortion legislation (30.11.2023) (archive)
  9. Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — Solomon Apoyan: "The maternity protection program will preserve the health of generations" (29.02.2024) (archive)
  10. Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — Robotic conveyor for blood testing launched at the Nizhny Novgorod AIDS Center (10.07.2025) (archive)
  11. Nizhny Seychas — Deputy Apoyan boasted about the AIDS center's digital transformation (08.07.2026) (archive)
  12. Nizhny Seychas — 935 HIV cases identified in Nizhny Novgorod Region (30.04.2026) (archive)
  13. Nizhny Seychas — Regional branch of the "People's Front" is in no hurry to appoint a new leader (05.12.2025) (archive)
  14. Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — Solomon Apoyan and his wife spent money helping SVO soldiers instead of taking a honeymoon trip (16.08.2023) (archive)
  15. NN.RU — 2021 Nizhny Novgorod Region Legislative Assembly elections: parties, politicians and platforms — candidates by district, including district No. 3 (Leninsky District) (10.09.2021) (archive)