Public Chamber of Nizhny Novgorod is an advisory body attached to the city's local government bodies and operating on a voluntary basis. It was created by City Duma Decision No. 76 of November 26, 2025; the first convocation began work on February 26, 2026.

Structure

The chamber has 36 members, and a convocation's term of office is three years. The expansion of the membership to 36 is linked to the merger of Nizhny Novgorod and Kstovo: the previously separate municipalities were combined, and the new convocation was formed for the single urban okrug.[5] Selection for the first convocation was competitive: according to data from the time of formation, there were about five applications per seat. The first convocation was formed in three stages: twelve members were approved by the head of the city, another portion by the City Duma, and the remaining third were elected by the already approved members through ranked voting; nonprofit organizations registered within the urban okrug had the right to nominate candidates, and the submission of nominations closed on December 30, 2025.[5]

The chamber does not adopt binding decisions: its role is to discuss city issues and make recommendations to the Duma and the administration.

First Convocation

The first session took place on February 26, 2026. In February 2026, the head of the city, Shalabayev Yuri, approved 12 members of the first-convocation chamber, noting that they included both experienced participants from previous convocations and new representatives of professional communities.[5] Sergey Aleksandrovich Gorin, an Honorary Citizen of Nizhny Novgorod and chief adviser to the Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region, was elected chairman. The chamber has thematic commissions; in particular, the commission on culture and education is headed by Alexandra Loriyevna Sharova, general director of the bureau of non-trivial excursions "Neskuchny Nizhny" and a laureate of the Nizhny Novgorod Prize in the "Tourism" category (2025).[6]

Sources

  1. Vremya N — The expansion of the chamber's membership to 36 is linked to the merger of Nizhny Novgorod and Kstovo: the previously separate municipalities were combined, and the new (archive)
  2. names52.ru — The chamber has thematic commissions; in particular, the commission on culture and education is headed by Alexandra Loriyevna Sharova, general director (archive)
  1. Nizhny Novgorod Administration — Public Chamber of Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
  2. Nizhny Novgorod Administration — Formation of the first convocation of the city Public Chamber has been completed (archive)
  3. Vremya N — Competition for the Public Chamber came to five people per seat (archive)
  4. nn.aif.ru — AiF — Nizhny Novgorod — Public Chamber to be expanded to 36 members (archive)