Olga Valeriyevna Balakina (born April 14, 1960) is a Nizhny Novgorod lawyer and deputy of the Nizhny Novgorod City Duma for single-member electoral district No. 28, and chair of the Duma's standing commission on local self-government [1]. She has served in the city parliament since the turn of the 2000s and has held the position of Deputy Chair of the Duma in various convocations [2][3]. She is a member of the United Russia party [1].

Education and profession

She graduated from the All-Union Correspondence Law Institute [1]. By profession she is a lawyer; the City Duma's website lists her as a counselor at Law Office No. 13 of the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Bar Association [1].

In a 2023 interview, she explained that combining bar membership with a deputy's mandate became impossible after changes to federal legislation: "I am a lawyer by profession, and since 2020, under federal law, one cannot simultaneously be a lawyer and a deputy." [4]

By her own account, before entering the legal profession she spent more than fourteen years in the city administration — the successor to the city executive committee — working as a legal counsel [5].

Work in the City Duma

On October 24, 2005, deputies of the fourth convocation of the City Duma elected Balakina as Deputy Chair of the Duma: 26 deputies voted in favor of the candidacy put forward by Chairman Ivan Karnilin, and 16 voted against. By that point she was already serving in the third convocation of the Duma and had held the post of Deputy Chair in the previous convocation [2].

She also held the post of Deputy Chair of the Duma in the sixth convocation: in September 2020, the [3] City Duma introduced her in precisely that capacity.

In the elections of 13 September 2020, Balakina retained her mandate in District No. 28 and joined the Duma of the seventh convocation [6][7]. In that convocation, the number of deputy seats was reduced from 47 to 35; United Russia received 24 mandates, the CPRF — four, the LDPR and A Just Russia — two each, and the Party of Growth — one; voter turnout was 15.62 percent [6].

As of September 2024, her tenure as a deputy stood at 25 years and five convocations [5].

Following the merger of the city with Kstovsky District, the composition of the representative body was renewed: elections were held from 12 to 14 September 2025, the number of single-member constituencies and mandates increased from 35 to 39, and the Duma itself began counting convocations anew — the first session of the Duma of the first convocation was held on 29 September. As a result of the elections, United Russia received 28 mandates, the CPRF — five, the LDPR — three, A Just Russia — Patriots — For Truth — two, and New People — one [8]. Balakina was again elected in District No. 28 [9].

Standing Commission on Local Self-Government

Balakina chairs the City Duma's standing commission on local self-government; the deputy chair of the commission is Tatyana Aleksandrovna Druzhinina (District No. 9), and the commission also includes Svetlana Dosaeva, Aleksey Kozhukhov, Marina Kryukova, and Nikolay Sataev [10]. She also sits on the standing commission on municipal property [1].

The commission's remit covers the structure of city self-government:

The nature of the commission's work is reflected in its decisions. In February 2016, the meeting adopted regulations on conflicts of interest and personal interest among deputies, set a deadline of 30 April for the submission of asset declarations, clarified the concept of the reporting period for the head of the city, and established a mechanism for the competitive allocation of premises to public organizations — around a hundred associations had been competing for the available space [11].

In July 2017, Balakina supported the creation of a municipal Public Chamber: "The Public Chamber must be created to implement initiatives that come from citizens," she said, noting that residents want to oversee their own projects themselves [12]. In May 2026, a commission chaired by her assessed the work of Nizhny Novgorod's voluntary people's squads [13].

  • the city charter and the rules of procedure of the City Duma, administrative and territorial division;
  • direct citizen participation in local self-government, formation of governing bodies, and municipal elections;
  • engagement with public organizations;
  • assignment of addresses, naming of streets, and commemoration of memory;
  • municipal service, anti-corruption measures, and digitalization [10].

District No. 28

Electoral District No. 28 covers Verkhniye Pechyory [4]. Its boundaries include buildings on Kazanskoye Highway, Bogdanovich Street, Brinsky Street, Verkhne-Pecherskaya Street, Kasyanov Street, Lopatin Street, and Nizhne-Pecherskaya Street, the Verkhnee-Pecherskaya sloboda, as well as the gardening associations "Mayak," "Sputnik," "Voskhod," "Burevestnik," and "Druzhba" [14].

The district has four schools and eight kindergartens; in 2023 the deputy drew attention to the fact that the growing residential area has neither a cinema nor any sports and fitness facilities: "The district has 4 schools and 8 kindergartens, the neighborhood is expanding, yet it has neither a cinema nor sports and fitness facilities." Each year, at her initiative, budget funds are allocated to schools — for window replacements, holidays, end-of-year ceremonies, and gifts for medal-winning graduates. According to her, after her second election she managed to enter the city program and have fifteen children's playgrounds installed in the district [4].

In September 2020, Balakina inspected the progress of work at three sites in Verkhniye Pechyory: the landscaping of the public space at Verkhne-Pecherskaya, 4, a fitness equipment area at Lopatin, 2/1, and the construction of a school in Microdistrict 8, where the foundations of a sports complex and a classroom wing had been laid [3].

In September 2024, she cited among her current tasks the repair of the façade of the Brinsky Cultural Center, improvements to children's playgrounds, and road works, and among her long-term goals — a sports complex, a cultural center, and a dog-walking area. At the same time, she articulated her approach to working with constituents: nothing can replace face-to-face communication, even though online correspondence is useful [5].

An example of day-to-day work: in January 2025, following complaints from residents of No. 14 German Lopatin Street about poor cleaning of stairwells and the surrounding yard, the deputy organized a meeting with the building management company; the participants inspected the stairwells and waste chutes and recorded the deficiencies [15].

Citizens are received at the following address: 5b Lopatina Street, on Thursdays from 9:00 to 12:00 [1].

Sources

  1. gordumannov.ru — City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod — Balakina Olga Valerievna. Deputy's page, electoral district No. 28 (archive)
  2. Vremya N — Olga Balakina and Andrey Osipenko elected deputy chairpersons of the Nizhny Novgorod City Duma (archive)
  3. gordumannov.ru — City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod — Olga Balakina monitored the progress of works in Verkhniye Pechyory (archive)
  4. gordumannov.ru — City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod — "A deputy must not only be a professional in their field, but also a kind, open person" (archive)
  5. Nizhny Seychas — Olga Balakina: electronic correspondence cannot replace live communication with voters
  6. Nizhny Seychas — 21 out of 47 deputies re-elected to the Nizhny Novgorod Duma of the 7th convocation (archive)
  7. gordumannov.ru — City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod — Deputies of the City Duma, 7th convocation (archive)
  8. gordumannov.ru — City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod — Elections to the Nizhny Novgorod City Duma (archive)
  9. gordumannov.ru — City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod — Deputies of the City Duma, 1st convocation (archive)
  10. gordumannov.ru — City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod — Standing Commission of the City Duma on Local Self-Government (archive)
  11. gordumannov.ru — City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod — "We reviewed several important matters": results of the local self-government commission meeting (archive)
  12. gordumannov.ru — City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod — "The Public Chamber must be established to implement initiatives coming from citizens" (archive)
  13. Vremya N — Balakina: caring, socially active people will always find a way to serve society (archive)
  14. gordumannov.ru — City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod — Electoral district No. 28 (archive)
  15. gordumannov.ru — City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod — Olga Balakina organized a meeting between residents and the servicing organization (archive)