Ruslan Marsovich Stanchev (born March 16, 1972) is a Nizhny Novgorod media manager and politician, a deputy of the City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod for single-member constituency No. 15 in Kanavinsky District, and a member of the United Russia faction. He was first elected in the 2019 by-elections and was re-elected in 2020 and 2025. Before joining the legislative body, he rose from being a presenter at the first Nizhny Novgorod music FM station to becoming General Director of Volga TV company; at the time of his work in the Duma he serves as General Director of ZAO Radio Rendezvous SF [1][2].

Education and work in the media

He graduated from the Nizhny Novgorod State Agricultural Academy [1].

Stanchev's professional career is tied to the Nizhny Novgorod media landscape. In 1992 he became one of the first presenters at the music Radio Rendezvous station, and later became its editor-in-chief. From 1994 he was the author and presenter of the programme Avtokanal. At various times he worked at the Volga television channel, at the Kommersant publishing house, and at the Nizhny Novgorod branch of RBC. In 2016 he became head of ZAO Radio Rendezvous and joined its shareholders [2][3].

Adviser to the Governor and Volga TV company

In October 2017, Stanchev was appointed adviser to the acting Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region on interaction with the mass media [4][3].

On July 4, 2018, he was appointed Director General of the Nizhny Novgorod television company Volga, succeeding Oleg Kondrashov in that role. The appointment followed a change of ownership: from June 27, 2018, the company's founder became Rusenergo LLC [4][3]. Volga is included on the list of mandatory publicly accessible regional television channels [3].

On June 16, 2020, Stanchev left the post of Director General of Volga; his successor was Olga Gudkova. His departure coincided with the merger of the television company with NNTV [5].

Election to the City Duma

On June 19, 2019, deputies scheduled by-elections to the City Duma of the sixth convocation for September 8, 2019 — for District No. 9 in Leninsky District, Districts No. 15 and No. 16 in Kanavino, and Districts No. 21 and No. 24 in Sormovo; 12 million rubles were allocated for their conduct [6]. In District No. 15, Stanchev received 60.57% of the vote [2].

In September 2020, he was elected from the same district to the Duma of the next convocation [7].

The elections of September 12–14, 2025, were held under a new arrangement of 39 single-member districts: following the merger of Nizhny Novgorod with Kstovsky Municipal District, the convocation count was reset, and the elected body became the Duma of the first convocation. Seats were distributed as follows: United Russia — 28, KPRF — 5, LDPR — 3, A Just Russia — Patriots — For Truth — 2, New People — 1; the first session was held on September 29, 2025 [8]. Stanchev was re-elected in District No. 15 with 70.67% of the vote on a turnout of 21.33% [9].

Committee work

Stanchev serves on two standing committees of the City Duma — on urban development and architecture, and on patriotic education, youth policy, physical culture, and sport; the latter was established in September 2025 [1][10].

In 2025, the urban development committee's work included monitoring the resettlement of dilapidated housing: following the first phase of the targeted program for 2024–2028, 224 residential units with a total area of nearly 6,500 sq. m were vacated and two apartment buildings were put into service [10].

At Stanchev's initiative, the patriotic education commission considered two issues: targeted assistance to participants in the special military operation and their families, and the development of mass sports. The city budget for 2026 allocates 2,223.9 million rubles for physical culture and sports, 1,392.9 million rubles for targeted support of specific categories of citizens, and 39.2 million rubles for programs for children and youth [10].

Work in the District

District No. 15 covers the Gordeevka and First Meschera microdistricts [10]. The deputy holds constituent appointments at 9 Tonkinskaya Street and at the party's public support headquarters [10].

During 2025, Stanchev held 23 in-person meetings with residents attended by more than 350 people, and processed over 700 inquiries through social media; according to the report, 90% of these were resolved within a month. Half of the inquiries concerned housing and communal services, with 10% each relating to landscaping and roads, the work of local government bodies, social welfare, and financial assistance [10].

Each week the deputy compiles a photo report with addresses across the district — snow and garbage removal, the condition of waste container sites, breakdowns at children's and sports playgrounds — and sends it to the Kanavinsky District administration, the housing management company, and the regional solid waste operator. Over 2025, more than a thousand problems were addressed in this way [10].

Stanchev oversees the regional "Social District Officers" project in Kanavinsky District, launched in 2023; approximately 30% of inquiries reach the deputy through the social district officers [10].

  • Following the deputy's requests, 2 million rubles were allocated to the district from the city budget in 2025: furniture and equipment for the A. Ostrovsky and A. Gaidar libraries, replacement of window units in kindergartens No. 438 and No. 444 and schools No. 41 and No. 51, renovation of classrooms in school No. 121, and repair of the façade of kindergarten No. 126;
  • a section of Moscow Highway from building 4g to building 13 was repaired, patch repairs were carried out on Sergey Akimov Street and on municipal driveways in courtyards, including Gordeevskaya Street;
  • on 11 August 2025, school No. 41 hosted a project workshop for the governor's participatory budgeting initiative "It's Your Call!", attended by more than 50 people; the school grounds improvement project proposed there won the public vote in December 2025.

Projects and Public Activities

In an interview with the publication "Открытый Нижний" in December 2023, Stanchev named the resolution of the rusty-water problem as the main project implemented in the district: 1.6 billion rubles from budgets at various levels were invested in it, individual heat exchange units are being installed in courtyards, and four years were allocated for the complete elimination of the problem. As an unrealized project he cited the Betancourt Square near the Yarmarka: a concept had been developed and funding secured, but residents did not support the project at public hearings [11].

Stanchev sits on the public council of the "Heroes. Nizhny Novgorod Region" program and serves as an expert for its educational component [10][12].

His program "Geroi Volgi" ("Heroes of the Volga") airs weekly on the Volga television company and the OTR channel; in 2025, more than 30 episodes were released, with guests including Deputy Governors Andrey Sanosyan and Yegor Polyakov, Nizhny Novgorod Mayor Yuri Shalabayev, Regional Minister of Social Policy Igor Sedykh, and Regional Minister of Sport Dmitry Kabaylo [10].

Sources

  1. gordumannov.ru — City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod — Stanchev Ruslan Marsovich. Single-member electoral district No. 15 (archive)
  2. Nizhny Novgorod Now — Stanchev Ruslan Marsovich
  3. telesputnik.ru — Telesputnik — Ruslan Stanchev appointed General Director of the Volga television company (archive)
  4. V Gorode N — Ruslan Stanchev heads the Volga television company (archive)
  5. nn.aif.ru — Argumenty i Fakty — Nizhny Novgorod — Ruslan Stanchev leaves post of General Director of the Nizhny Novgorod TV company Volga (archive)
  6. gordumannov.ru — City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod — Supplementary elections for deputies of the City Duma of the 6th convocation will be held on September 8, 2019 (archive)
  7. Kommersant (Volga Region) — Preliminary results of the elections to the Nizhny Novgorod City Duma published (archive)
  8. gordumannov.ru — City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod — Elections to the Nizhny Novgorod City Duma of the 1st convocation declared valid (archive)
  9. KP — Nizhny Novgorod — Komsomolskaya Pravda — Results of the elections to the Nizhny Novgorod City Duma published (archive)
  10. gordumannov.ru — City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod — Report by Nizhny Novgorod City Duma deputy for single-member electoral district No. 15, Stanchev Ruslan Marsovich, on the results… (archive)
  11. Otkryty Nizhny — Ruslan Stanchev: "One goal — to become more effective and to help more"
  12. nobl.ru — Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region — Ruslan Stanchev: "Heroes. Nizhny Novgorod Region" is one of the key projects this year (archive)