Ministry of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region (Nizhny Novgorod Region Ministry of Construction) is an executive body of Nizhny Novgorod Region that carries out state policy in the sphere of construction and the construction materials industry, issues building permits and permits for commissioning completed facilities, and is responsible for resettlement from dilapidated housing and for supporting citizens who have suffered from the actions of developers [1][3]. The ministry occupies building 63 on Osharskaya Street in Nizhny Novgorod, but its postal address is different — Kremlin, Building 14 [6]. Since July 28, 2023, the ministry has been headed by Dmitry Evgenyevich Grunichev [11][20].

What the ministry does

The regulation on the ministry was approved by Resolution No. 543 of the Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region dated August 31, 2015; the latest revision is dated May 15, 2025. According to this document, the ministry was established in accordance with Regional Law No. 129-Z of October 3, 2007, "On the Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region," is a legal entity, has a seal bearing the State Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation and a letterhead bearing the coat of arms of Nizhny Novgorod Region, reports to the regional government, and is directly overseen by one of the deputy governors [3].

The range of powers is described in the regulation and repeated on the ministry's website in short formulas [1][2][3]:

  • implementation of state policy and regulatory legal oversight in construction and the building materials industry, including the development of state programs;
  • the functions of the responsible executor of the Region's state programs in its field;
  • provision of state services and oversight of compliance with legislation in its area of responsibility;
  • state support for citizens harmed by the actions (or inaction) of developers who raised funds for the construction of apartment buildings;
  • organization of state expert review of design documentation and the results of engineering surveys;
  • issuance of construction permits and permits for commissioning facilities, within the authority granted;
  • ensuring the resettlement of citizens from dilapidated and uninhabitable buildings;
  • creation of conditions for municipalities to provide housing for orphaned children, pursuant to Regional Government Order No. 1460-r of November 28, 2022.

The Ministry is subordinate to the Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region and, in its activities, is directly overseen by a Deputy Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region.

— Regulations on the Ministry of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region, clause 1.3 [3]

How it differs from neighboring agencies

The construction bloc of the Regional Government is divided among several bodies, and they are often confused. General plans, land use and development rules, the architectural appearance of buildings, and oversight of municipalities' urban planning decisions are handled by the Ministry of Urban Development and Agglomeration Development of Nizhny Novgorod Region, a neighboring agency located in the same block, at 63a Oshara Street [31]. Supervision of the construction work itself is carried out by the Region's State Construction Supervision Inspectorate at 22 Vysokovsky Proyezd [34].

Within this arrangement, the Ministry of Construction is responsible for permitting documents, for the money of the Region's construction programs, and for facilities that the Region builds itself. Together with the Ministry of Construction, the bloc overseen by Deputy Governor Sergey Morozov includes the Ministry of Energy and Housing and Utilities, the Ministry of Transport and Highways, and the Ministry of Urban Development [34].

Construction permits

The ministry's most visible work for city residents is its permitting documents. The ministry maintains open registers of issued construction permits and commissioning permits and updates them monthly: the version posted on September 10, 2026, brings the list up to the end of August [7]. Nizhny Novgorod media learn about some construction projects precisely from this source, as happened with the Wildberries warehouse, whose permit Kommersant reported on with reference to the register [25].

In 2025, the ministry issued 259 construction permits, ranging from a store on Kim Street to a gas branch pipeline and the Mitino gas distribution station in Kstovsky District and facilities of the Kulibin special economic zone in Dzerzhinsk [9]. From January through August 28, 2026, the register lists 116 permits [8].

The list shows how diverse the projects passing through the ministry are: the reconstruction of Sergiyevskaya Street in Nizhny Novgorod, commissioned by the construction and repair department for the Metro, bridges, and road networks; a high-tech pipeline systems plant in Kulibin; and apartment buildings in Kstovo and Bogorodsk [8][9].

Three permits from 2026 received wide publicity. On January 23, the ministry authorized construction of the first apartment building in the integrated area development project in Avtozavodsky District — the future Avtorika Residential Complex. The developer is OOO SZ "StroyUslugi-5" (part of the Unistroy group); the building, with a floor area of more than 14,000 square meters, contains 210 apartments and four spaces for public use. The project, bounded by Yanki Kupaly, Kolomenskaya, and Leskov Streets and Yuzhnoye Highway, will improve the living conditions of 1,115 people; the area is planned to include two kindergartens with 300 places and a school for 800 pupils [8][27].

On July 23, 2026, a building permit was issued for a school with 1,225 places in the village of Krutoy in Kstovsky District — the developer was OOO Stroytsentr. Residents of the village had been campaigning for a school for about ten years: children were being driven to lessons in Bolshaya Elnya and Zhdanovsky [8][26]. A day later, on July 24, a permit was obtained by OOO RVB (the merged company of Wildberries and Russ) — for a warehouse complex in the settlement of Novinki in the south of the city; investment in the project was estimated at nearly 12 billion rubles, and 35.5 hectares were set aside for the logistics facility [8][25]. Both stories appeared in the press on August 11, when the register was published [25][26].

2026 construction permits reported by Nizhny Novgorod media outlets (per the ministry's register)
DatePermit numberDeveloperProject
January 23, 202652-18-06/07/1736-2026OOO SZ "StroyUslugi-5"Apartment building No. 3 within the boundaries of Yanka Kupala Street, Yuzhnoye Highway, Kolomenskaya Street, and Leskov Street, Avtozavodsky District [8]
July 23, 202652-18-06/07/1830-2026OOO "Stroytsentr"A 1,225-seat general education school in the village of Krutoy, Kstovsky District [8]
July 24, 202652-18-06/07/1832-2026OOO "RVB"Warehouse complex in the settlement of Novinki [8]
June 25, 202652-21-06/07/1816-2026OOO NPP "Sovremennye Truboprovodnye Sistemy"Full-cycle pipeline systems manufacturing plant in the Kulibin Special Economic Zone, Dzerzhinsk [8]
January 15, 202652-18-06/07/1735-2026MKU "Main Directorate for the Construction and Repair of the Metro, Bridges, and Road Networks"Reconstruction of Sergievskaya Street from Gogol Street to Dobrolyubov Street [8]

Housing: How Much Is Being Built and Who Is Moving

Housing commissioning is the indicator by which the Region reports to the "Housing" federal project of the "Infrastructure for Life" national project. In 2025, 1 million 757 thousand square meters were commissioned in the region. Two thirds of this volume came from four municipalities: Nizhny Novgorod (636.9 thousand square meters), Kstovo Municipal Okrug (248 thousand), Bogorodsk Municipal Okrug (149 thousand), and Bor Urban Okrug (138.6 thousand) [21].

The ministry handles the resettlement of dilapidated housing together with the municipalities. Between 2019 and 2024, 266.3 thousand square meters were vacated, and 16,292 people improved their living conditions — almost three thousand more than the plan envisaged [24]. Since 2024, a new targeted program has been in effect for buildings declared dilapidated between January 1, 2017 and January 1, 2022 [22]. Subsidies to municipalities for demolishing buildings that have already been vacated are a separate line item: applications are accepted by the ministry itself, with paper ones submitted at the Kremlin, Building 14 [32].

What this looks like on the ground: in August 2026, nine residents of dilapidated buildings in Vyksa received seven apartments with a total area of 310.6 square meters in a new building on Academician Korolyov Street [28]; at the same time, the resettlement of seventeen residents of dilapidated housing in Sharanga was completed [11].

The second major storyline is defrauded home buyers. At the beginning of 2018, the Region's register of problem projects listed 218 buildings into which 7.1 thousand people had invested money. From 2019 to 2022, 13.43 billion rubles were allocated to restore their rights, of which 10.19 billion came from the federal budget and the Territorial Development Fund [23]. By the beginning of 2024, just over three hundred people remained in the register [22]. The largest project was the "Novinki Smart City" residential complex: of the 25 buildings with defrauded buyers, 24 had been completed by autumn 2023, and 1,809 people received housing [23].

Last year, 1 million 757 thousand square meters of housing were commissioned in Nizhny Novgorod Region — the housing commissioning plan was once again exceeded. For 2026, the federal project has set a target of 1 million 728 thousand square meters of housing for the region. Despite the current economic situation, we will do everything possible to achieve this result

— Dmitry Grunichev, Minister of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region, February 5, 2026 [21]

The more we build, the more stable prices are, the more affordable housing becomes, and the more people can improve their living conditions. When this issue is resolved, others are often resolved on their own right after it

— Dmitry Grunichev in an interview with GiperNN, January 22, 2024 [22]

Five years ago, the problem of defrauded homebuyers became one of the main challenges for me. There were about 7,000 victims! And now we are on the home stretch

— Gleb Nikitin, Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region, 2023 [23]

Schools, kindergartens, and hospitals

Social facilities are the third major area. According to the minister, in 2023, 13 schools were being built in the region under concession agreements alone; in 2022, about fifteen kindergartens were being constructed simultaneously in Nizhny Novgorod; and over three years, more than eighty feldsher-midwife stations (FAPs) were built in the region [22]. The governor, Gleb Nikitin, singled out the completion of the FAPs when he appointed Grunichev as minister [20].

The law does not allow a developer to be required to build a school or kindergarten, so the Region removes infrastructure constraints in two ways: through the federal "Stimul" program, under which about 5 billion rubles have been attracted over five years and ten educational facilities have been built, and through agreements on the comprehensive development of territories, in which the investor's obligations are written directly into the document [22].

Among the latest examples is the reconstruction of the central district hospital in Diveevo: the contract was signed by the ministry's subordinate state institution "Nizhegorodstroyzakazchik" with the company "SZ NO Directorate for Construction"." The first phase involves building a separate two-story ambulance station building, connected to the main building by a heated walkway [29].

Among the construction projects the minister called most important for the Region are the Neimark IT Campus, an ice palace on the Strelka with a capacity of 12,500 spectators, the development of the southern territories in Olgino and Novinki, and new Metro stations. The most striking project, Grunichev said, is the "School 800" building in Verkhniye Pechyory: the building is set into the terrain, and the minister called the view of the city from its windows a pleasure in itself [22]. The ice palace was named Volga Arena and was put into operation in August 2026: six floors, 95,700 square meters, 12,000 spectators [35]. Among the industry's digital innovations is also "Dom na Murashkinskoy" ("House on Murashkinskaya"), the country's first residential complex with full digital support [28].

Over this time he has proven himself an effective and responsible manager. Among other things, he managed to resolve the issue of completing the construction of the FAPs (rural first-aid posts). Dmitry Yevgenyevich, perhaps, has the fullest understanding of all matters of construction in the region

— Gleb Nikitin on Dmitry Grunichev upon appointing him minister, July 25, 2023 [20]

History of the Ministry

As a legal entity, the ministry was registered on June 7, 2006 (OGRN 1065260099101, INN 5260172882) [12]. In the fall of 2007, its existence was formalized by the regional law on the government, which the current regulation cites [3].

In August 2010, Governor Valery Shantsev signed an order appointing the heads of executive authorities following the reduction of the administrative apparatus; the minister of construction on that list was Vladimir Nikolayevich Chelomin [14].

On June 23, 2015, Shantsev merged six ministries into three. Construction and municipal services were combined into one agency — the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities, and Fuel and Energy Complex; it was headed by Igor Donato, while Alexander Bayer took over the construction division with the status of deputy governor. The governor cited preparations for the 2018 World Cup and the completion of the Volga Bridge and the Southern Bypass as the reason [15]. Chelomin lost his post in this reorganization; according to another minister dismissed at the time, the former head of the Ministry of Construction received the post of adviser-mentor to the governor [16].

The split came a year later: on July 1, 2016, a separate Ministry of Energy and Housing and Utilities was registered [13]. The current regulation explicitly names the Ministry of Construction as the legal successor of the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities, and Fuel and Energy Complex "in the sphere of construction and the construction materials industry" [3]. In March 2017, the Ministry of Construction was headed by Aleksey Syrov, who had risen from deputy minister [17].

Syrov was dismissed on February 8, 2019, at his own request; sources of Kommersant linked this to his work on the issue of defrauded home buyers. A competition under the "Government Team" program was announced for the vacancy: 33 people submitted applications, fifteen reached the in-person stage, among them the Minister of Construction of the Komi Republic, lawyers, and heads of construction companies [18].

The competition was won by Anatoly Molev, who had served as acting minister since February 2019; his appointment as minister was announced on August 9, 2019. Molev came from the City Hall of Nizhny Novgorod, and before that had worked as deputy minister of construction and deputy minister of health of the Region [19]. He later became deputy chairman of the Regional Government and remains in the construction division [34].

After Molev's departure, the ministry was led for over a year by Dmitry Grunichev — in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (EGRYuL) he is listed as head from August 1, 2022 [12]. On July 25, 2023, the governor announced his appointment as minister, with July 28, 2023, indicated as the date he took office [11][20].

Grunichev graduated from Nizhny Novgorod State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering in 2002 with a degree in "Highways and Airfields." He worked in the administration of Borsky District, in the Region's Ministry of Health, in the Department of Construction and Capital Repairs of the Nizhny Novgorod administration, and in the management company of the Sarov-Diveevo cluster, and from 2020 served as first deputy minister of construction [11].

Heads of the Ministry by Year
YearsMinisterName of the Ministry and Circumstances
2010 — 2015Vladimir Nikolayevich ChelominMinistry of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region; appointed by order of the Governor in August 2010, lost the post during the 2015 reorganization of the government [14][16]
from June 2015Igor DonatoMinistry of Construction, Housing and Utilities, and Fuel and Energy Complex, created by merging departments on June 23, 2015 [15]
2017 — 2019Aleksey Vladimirovich SyrovMinistry of Construction; took charge of the Ministry in March 2017, dismissed on February 8, 2019, at his own request [17][18]
2019 — 2022Anatoly Vasilyevich MolevServed as acting minister from February 2019, appointed minister in August 2019 following the results of the "Government Team" competition; later Deputy Chairman of the Regional Government [19][34]
from 2022Dmitry Yevgenyevich GrunichevHas headed the Ministry since August 1, 2022, appointed minister on July 28, 2023 [11][12][20]

Structure and Subordinate Organizations

The ministry is headed by a minister, who has a first deputy and deputies; they are appointed by the governor. In the minister's absence, his duties are performed by the first deputy or one of the deputies, as ordered by the governor [3]. Personnel services for the ministry and for the heads of its subordinate institutions are handled by the Ministry of Personnel Policy of the Regional Government [3].

As of September 2026, the first deputy minister is Aleksey Aleksandrovich Levashkin, and the deputies are Yevgeniy Viktorovich Morozov and Natalya Fyodorovna Zagumennova [4]. The minister receives citizens once a month, on Fridays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. [4].

The staff is divided into directorates and departments [4]:

  • Capital Construction Directorate — departments for the construction of social infrastructure facilities, for industrial and civil construction, and for the development of the construction industry;
  • Directorate for Informatization and Permitting Documentation — departments for the issuance of permitting documentation and design, and for informatization in the construction sector and the implementation of target models;
  • Housing Program Implementation Directorate — departments for the construction of housing for specific categories of citizens and for the implementation of resettlement programs;
  • Housing Construction Development Directorate — departments for housing construction and for preparing infrastructure sites for construction;
  • Budget Planning and Financing Directorate — departments for financing and budget execution, for budget planning and expenditure analysis, and for oversight and unfinished construction, plus a public procurement section;
  • Department of Organizational Activities and Department of Legal Support.

The Ministry's operating expenses are financed from the regional budget

— Regulations on the Ministry of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region, clause 1.7 [3]

Where to Apply

The ministry's physical address is Nizhny Novgorod, Osharskaya Street, 63; its mailing address is 603082, Nizhny Novgorod, Kremlin, Building 14. Reception office telephone: +7 (831) 462-22-00; chancellery: +7 (831) 462-22-03; fax: +7 (831) 462-22-01; email: minstroy@nobl.ru. Office hours: Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; lunch break from 1:00 to 1:48 p.m. [6].

The ministry's website is minstroy.nobl.ru; its former address in the government-nnov.ru domain redirects to it [10]. Government services — the issuance of construction permits and of permits to commission a completed facility — can also be obtained through multifunctional centers (MFTs): their list is published on the ministry's website and includes the MFTs in Bor Urban Okrug, Perevoz, and other municipalities [33].

The ministry has two subordinate organizations [5]:

  • State Autonomous Institution of Nizhny Novgorod Region "Administration for State Review of Project Documentation and Engineering Survey Results" — Nizhny Novgorod, Poltavskaya Street 14, office 7; director Olga Valeryevna Akhmeeva;
  • State Public Institution of Nizhny Novgorod Region "Nizhegorodstroyzakazchik" — Nizhny Novgorod, Kostina Street 2; director Igor Evgenyevich Averyanov.

Professional holiday

Builder's Day, which the ministry celebrates together with the industry on the second Sunday of August, was marked for the seventieth time in 2026: the holiday was established by a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of September 6, 1955, and was first observed on August 12, 1956. On the eve of the holiday, the ministry honors industry veterans and presents them with certificates of honor [30].

Selfless labor, the highest sense of responsibility, and impeccable craftsmanship — this is what distinguishes the builders of your generation. You set the standards of quality, shaped professional traditions, and trained a new generation of specialists

— Dmitry Grunichev at the ceremony honoring veterans of the construction industry, August 5, 2026 [30]

Sources

  1. minstroy.nobl.ru — Ministry of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region — official website — About the Ministry (archive)
  2. minstroy.nobl.ru — Ministry of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region — official website — Objectives and Functions of the Ministry (archive)
  3. minstroy.nobl.ru — Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region — text of the current regulations on the Ministry (archive)
  4. minstroy.nobl.ru — Ministry of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region — official website — Structure (archive)
  5. minstroy.nobl.ru — Ministry of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region — official website — Subordinate Organizations (archive)
  6. minstroy.nobl.ru — Ministry of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region — official website — Contacts and Details (archive)
  7. minstroy.nobl.ru — Ministry of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region — "Government Services" section — Registers of Issued Permits
  8. minstroy.nobl.ru — Ministry of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region — open data — Information on Construction Permits Issued by the Ministry of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region in 2026
  9. minstroy.nobl.ru — Ministry of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region — open data — Register of Construction Permits Issued in 2025
  10. nobl.ru — Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region — executive body profile — Ministry of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region (archive)
  11. nobl.ru — Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region — composition of the government — Grunichev Dmitry Evgenyevich (archive)
  12. rusprofile.ru — Unified State Register of Legal Entities data — Ministry of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region, INN 5260172882 (archive)
  13. rusprofile.ru — Unified State Register of Legal Entities data — Ministry of Energy and Housing and Utilities of Nizhny Novgorod Region, INN 5260428380
  14. nn.aif.ru — "Argumenty i Fakty — Nizhny Novgorod," August 30, 2010 — Heads of Executive Bodies of Nizhny Novgorod Region Appointed (archive)
  15. Pro Gorod Nizhny Novgorod — "Pro Gorod Nizhny Novgorod," June 23, 2015 — Valery Shantsev Changed the Structure of the Government and Appointed New Ministers (archive)
  16. MK — Nizhny Novgorod — "MK in Nizhny Novgorod," August 11, 2015 — Where Former Officials Find Employment (archive)
  17. nn.aif.ru — "Argumenty i Fakty — Nizhny Novgorod," March 31, 2017 — How Has the Structure of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Government Changed? (archive)
  18. Kommersant (Volga Region) — "Kommersant-Volga Region," April 5, 2019 — 15 People Vie for the Post of Minister of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region (archive)
  19. Kommersant (Volga Region) — "Kommersant-Volga Region," August 9, 2019 — Anatoly Molev Appointed Minister of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region (archive)
  20. Kommersant (Volga Region) — "Kommersant-Volga Region," July 25, 2023 — Dmitry Grunichev Appointed Minister of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region
  21. nobl.ru — Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region, February 5, 2026 — Leading Municipalities in Housing Commissioning in 2025 Named in Nizhny Novgorod Region (archive)
  22. GIPERNN — GiperNN, January 22, 2024 — interview with the minister — Dmitry Grunichev: The More We Build, the More Affordable Housing Will Be (archive)
  23. strategy.nobl.ru — "Development Strategy of Nizhny Novgorod Region," September 29, 2023 — An Effective Solution to the Problem of Defrauded Housing Investors: The Nizhny Novgorod Experience (archive)
  24. strategy.nobl.ru — "Development Strategy of Nizhny Novgorod Region" — Housing Renovation: Nizhny Novgorod Region's Experience in Resettling Residents of Dilapidated Housing (archive)
  25. Kommersant (Volga Region) — "Kommersant-Volga Region," August 11, 2026 — Ministry of Construction Issues Permit for Wildberries Warehouse in Novinki
  26. nn.aif.ru — "Argumenty i Fakty — Nizhny Novgorod," August 11, 2026 — Permit Issued for Construction of a 1,225-Seat School Near Kstovo
  27. nn.aif.ru — "Argumenty i Fakty — Nizhny Novgorod," January 28, 2026 — First Building Under the Comprehensive Development of Territory Program on Yanka Kupala Street Approved for Construction in Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
  28. nobl.ru — Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region, August 17, 2026 — In Vyksa, Residents of Dilapidated Housing Receive Keys to New Apartments
  29. nobl.ru — Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region, August 20, 2026 — New Building of the Central District Hospital to Be Built in Diveevo
  30. nobl.ru — Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region, August 5, 2026 — Veterans of the Construction Industry of Nizhny Novgorod Region Congratulated Ahead of Their Professional Holiday
  31. nobl.ru — Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region — executive body profile — Ministry of Urban Development and Agglomeration Development of Nizhny Novgorod Region (archive)
  32. nn.aif.ru — "Argumenty i Fakty — Nizhny Novgorod," July 29, 2025 — Demolition of Dilapidated Housing to Be Subsidized in Nizhny Novgorod Region (archive)
  33. minstroy.nobl.ru — Ministry of Construction of Nizhny Novgorod Region — "Government Services" section — List of Multifunctional Centers (MFCs) Where the Ministry's Government Services Are Provided
  34. nobl.ru — Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region — Composition of the Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region (archive)
  35. V gorode N — Ice Palace on the Strelka in Nizhny Novgorod Commissioned (archive)