Andrey Viktorovich Melin (born June 15, 1972) is a Nizhny Novgorod politician and sports administrator who has served as head of local self-government of Pochinkovsky Municipal Okrug since March 2026 [1][2]. From 2023 to 2026 he was a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Region of the 7th convocation, representing the United Russia faction [3][4]. His entire career has been tied to his native Pochinki: he began as a physical education teacher, headed a sports school and an orphanage, ran a health and fitness complex, and from 1999 was repeatedly elected to local representative bodies, serving as head of the okrug Council of Deputies from 2020 to 2023 [5][6].

Biography and education

Born June 15, 1972 [3]. He grew up in the selo of Pochinki (a larger village) in a family of civil servants [5]. In 1993 he graduated from the Gorky State Pedagogical Institute named after M. Gorky with a degree in physical education teaching [3][5].

Work in Pochinkovsky Okrug before election to the regional parliament

After the institute, he worked in his field as a physical education teacher, then headed a sports school and an orphanage, and ran a youth club [5][6].

He began his career as a deputy in 1999, when he was first elected to the Pochinki Village Council. Ten years later he received a mandate in the Zemstvo Assembly of Pochinkovsky District, and from 2020 to 2023 he served as chairman of the Council of Deputies of the Pochinkovsky Municipal Okrug [5].

At the same time, he headed a state autonomous institution of Nizhny Novgorod Region — the physical culture and recreation complex in the selo of Pochinki, known as the FOK "Urozhay" [3][6]. He remained the director of the complex during his years in the regional parliament as well: in January 2025 he took part in the opening ceremony of a modular ski base of about 124 square meters, built in the okrug under the regional program for the development of physical culture and sports [7].

Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Region (2023–2026)

Melin received his mandate as a deputy of the seventh convocation of the Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Region on May 12, 2023. The seat became vacant after Igor Sedykh, who had been appointed the region's Minister of Social Policy, resigned his powers early at the end of April of that year. Melin held the second position in the corresponding part of the United Russia list — regional group No. 17, which covers the Pochinkovsky Municipal Okrug, the Lukoyanovsky Municipal Okrug, the Shatkovsky Municipal Okrug, the Vadsky Municipal Okrug, and the Perevozsky Municipal Okrug [3].

In this convocation he belonged to the United Russia faction and served on three specialized committees — on social issues, on the agro-industrial complex, and on ecology [4]. He combined his work as a deputy with managing the Pochinki physical culture and recreation complex [7].

On August 20, 2026, the news agency "Nizhny Seychas" published an influence ranking of the convocation's deputies, compiled from a survey of fourteen experts who rated the parliamentarians on three scales — influence, recognizability, and media activity. In this ranking Melin, with a total of 28 points, took 40th place and was assigned by the compilers to the group with weak influence; next to his name, the outlet noted that he had belonged to the faction until March 2026 [8].

Head of Pochinkovskiy District

In spring 2026, Melin moved to work in the local self-government bodies of his home district. The previous head, Mikhail Larin, left the post upon the expiration of his term of office [5].

On March 23, 2026, the Legislative Assembly committee on state power and local self-government considered a draft resolution on the early termination of Melin's deputy powers: the application was submitted of his own volition in connection with his move to a municipal position [1][9]. The deputies adopted the resolution itself at the session of March 27, 2026 [2].

The vacated mandate went to Yuliya Garevskaya, chief physician of Hospital No. 29: the Regional Election Commission made the decision to transfer it on April 16, Garevskaya took the deputy's oath at a plenary session on April 30, 2026, and joined the committees on social issues and on ecology [10].

In his new post, Melin takes part in district events at the regional level. On August 11, 2026, he was among the participants at the opening of the new building of Fire Station No. 176 in the settlement of Uzhovka: the station is designed to serve eight settlements of the district with roughly three and a half thousand residents, three schools, three kindergartens, and three houses of culture [11].

Sources

  1. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — Regional Legislative Assembly Deputy Andrey Melin to Become the New Head of Pochinki Okrug (archive)
  2. Vremya N — Powers of Legislative Assembly Deputy Andrey Melin Terminated Early (archive)
  3. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — Andrey Melin Becomes a Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Region (archive)
  4. Nizhny Seychas — Regional Legislative Assembly to Change the Composition of Its Committees (archive)
  5. NN.RU — New Head of Pochinki Okrug in Nizhny Novgorod Region Andrey Melin: What Is Known About Him (archive)
  6. nn.aif.ru — "Argumenty i Fakty — Nizhny Novgorod" — Deputy Andrey Melin to Resign Early from the Regional Legislative Assembly (archive)
  7. nobl.ru — Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region — Modular Ski Base Opens in Pochinki Municipal Okrug
  8. Nizhny Seychas — Ranking of the Influence of Regional Legislative Assembly Deputies (archive)
  9. KP — Nizhny Novgorod — "Komsomolskaya Pravda" — Deputy Andrey Melin Resigns Early from the Legislative Assembly (archive)
  10. Govorit Nizhny — Yuliya Garevskaya Officially Becomes a Deputy of the Regional Legislative Assembly (archive)
  11. nobl.ru — Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region — Sergey Polovnikov Takes Part in the Opening of a New Fire Station in Pochinki Okrug