Authority (from English *authority*) — a Nizhny Novgorod colloquial term for the collective body of those who hold real power in the region: the regional and city administrations, deputies, heads of the security services, and directors of major enterprises. The word derives its force from a deliberate contrast: the English root creates distance between the speaker and the subject, while the impersonal plural emphasizes that this is not about specific individuals but about an entire social stratum.
The Word and Its Relatives
The English word *authority* and the Russian *avtoritet* behave quite differently. The English word is neutral, denoting both power as such, an official body, and a recognized expert; the Russian word, by the end of the twentieth century, had acquired a criminal connotation — *avtoritet* as a person of influence in the underworld. A direct calque was therefore unsuitable for referring to officialdom, and so the Anglicism entered common use.
Borrowings of this kind are standard practice in Russian youth slang: a word is taken from English in its original form because the form itself brings with it the distance the speaker needs, leaving Russian connotations aside.[1]
What Lies Behind the Word
The stratum commonly referred to by this term is described by sociologists as a regional power group. Research into the social and structural characteristics of such groups across ten regions reveals consistent features: high social closure, a homogeneous "recruitment pool" — bureaucracy and business — and a marked tendency toward plutocratization, meaning consolidation around business rather than public-political values.[2]
Upward movement into these groups from "lower" strata is minimal, while mechanisms of vertical mobility within the stratum itself remain stable. The authors also note a high degree of homogenization within power groups in recent years — a sign that the community is consolidated and the social order associated with it is stable.[2]
How influence is measured in Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod "authority" has a perfectly quantifiable dimension as well. The news agency "Nizhny Seychas" publishes two monthly rankings — "Professional Activity and Political Influence of Nizhny Novgorod Political Figures" and "Media Activity and Openness to Dialogue with Civil Society." Scores on a ten-point scale are assigned by the Nizhny Novgorod expert community: politicians, sociologists, political scientists, representatives of media outlets and civic organizations; the list comprises around three hundred people in total — staff of the plenipotentiary representative's office in the Volga Federal District, members of the regional government, employees of the city administration, deputies of the regional and city parliaments, entrepreneurs, enterprise directors, heads of districts, and heads of law-enforcement agencies.[3]
According to the January 2026 results, the influence ranking is led by the Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region Gleb Nikitin (218 points), followed in second place by the head of the Nizhny Novgorod city administration Yuri Shalabaev (171), and in third place by the chairman of the Regional Legislative Assembly, Evgeniy Lyulin (165). In the media-activity ranking, first place also goes to the Governor (189 points), second to the head of the city administration (156), while third place is shared by the head of the regional FSB directorate, Igor Zavozaev, and the chairman of the Legislative Assembly.[3]
The iconography of power
Of particular interest is how power was depicted in images across different eras — from lubok prints and May Day processions to caricatures and traveling waxwork attractions. The selection gathered in this article forms the following sequence.
Soviet iconography was built around the idea of being "just like everyone else": a people's commissar among working-class youth, a leader on an ordinary city street. Caricature — both homegrown and directed at foreign rulers — worked by the opposite device, enlarging the figure to grotesque proportions. The post-Soviet 1990s added the theme of clashing interests, and the 2000s introduced the fairground attraction of wax figures, where statesmen of different eras stood side by side for a modest fee.
Nizhny Novgorod subjects
The word's connection to Nizhny Novgorod everyday life is not only a matter of ratings: behind it stands a long series of local episodes in which decisions were made at the top while the whole city looked on — from civic processions and campaigns to outdoor advertising on the main thoroughfares.
The largest such episode is the painting Konstantin Makovsky's "Minin's Appeal." The enormous canvas depicting the Nizhny Novgorod militia of 1612 was presented to the city by Emperor Nicholas II, and since then it has been kept in Nizhny Novgorod. A newly renovated display dedicated solely to this work opened on 24 January 2024 in the art museum building at 3 Verkhne-Volzhskaya Embankment.[4]
Sources
- cyberleninka.ru — Anglicisms in Russian Youth Slang (archive)
- cyberleninka.ru — Regional Power Groups: Key Socio-Structural Characteristics and Their Role in the Development of Contemporary Russian Society
- Nizhniy Seychas — Rating of Political Influence and Media Activity of Nizhny Novgorod Figures in January 2026 (archive)
- artmuseumnn.ru — The K.E. Makovskiy Hall Exhibition — NNSAM — Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum — The K.E. Makovskiy Hall Exhibition: "Minin's Appeal," a gift from Emperor Nicholas II… (archive)