Darya Shunayeva is a Nizhny Novgorod official in the field of urban development, who as of 2026 holds the post of Minister of Urban Development and Agglomeration Development of Nizhny Novgorod Region. Shunayeva is considered one of the youngest ministers in the region; she took office in 2025. Shunayeva headed the regional Ministry of Urban Development in late 2024, succeeding Marina Rakova in the post; she was officially confirmed as minister in the spring of 2025. Before her appointment as minister, Shunayeva had served for a year as Deputy Minister of Urban Development of Nizhny Novgorod Region, and prior to that had worked at the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation; she holds a law degree and is also a graduate of the Arkhitektory.RF program.[1][2]

Activities

In her role as minister, Shunayeva oversees the largest integrated territory development (ITD) projects in Nizhny Novgorod Region. Deputy Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region Sergey Morozov, commenting on Shunayeva's appointment, named the development of the region through the ITD mechanism as one of the Ministry's priority tasks.[1] She described the ITD project "Olgino" as "a fully-fledged city within a city" with its own school, kindergartens, recreational and retail infrastructure, and as the region's flagship project in terms of area and construction volume. The project envisages the development of approximately 265 hectares and the construction of around 1.4 million square metres of housing for approximately 46,000 residents.

Shunayeva is also involved in developing an ITD project in Kanavinsky District, which she described as "a landmark place in the history of Nizhny Novgorod, where tradition and modernity intertwine." In her work, Shunayeva has paid particular attention to low-rise projects and has emphasised the need for further development of individual housing construction in Nizhny Novgorod Region.[1] As part of this project, meetings of apartment owners in buildings within the ITD boundaries are scheduled to be held by the end of September 2026. In September 2026, Shunayeva went on maternity leave; her first deputy — Chief Architect of Nizhny Novgorod Region Sergey Popov — was appointed acting minister.[2]

Sources

  1. GIPERNN — Head of Nizhny Novgorod's Ministry of Urban Development Darya Shunayeva goes on maternity leave
  2. NN.RU — Darya Shunayeva has headed the Ministry of Urban Development of Nizhny Novgorod Region since 2025 and is considered one of the youngest ministers in the region.
  3. Kommersant (Volga Region) — Darya Shunayeva heads the Ministry of Urban Development of Nizhny Novgorod Region
  4. Otkryty Nizhny — Darya Shunayeva appointed head of Nizhny Novgorod's Ministry of Urban Development
Sources used (4)

In progress, CRD "Olgino", Microdistrict "Novoye Olgino", Master Plan for CRD near Kanavinsky Market (2026)