Andrey Nikitin, Innovative Biker Governor February 13th, 2017
Wherever Nikitin was predicted - young, successful, with all his appearance demonstrating energy and efficiency.
In particular, he was stubbornly asked to take the place of Ulyukaev, to the ministers economic development RF.
The GDP decided that it was too early. Let 37-year-old Andrei first show himself "on the ground."
Nikitin is a Muscovite, but he lived and received school education in the city of Miass, Chelyabinsk region.
Graduated State University management with a specialization in "State and municipal government". He defended his thesis on the topic "Strategy of organizational changes as a tool for effective management (theoretical and methodological aspect)".
Since university times in business: Deputy Director of Block Black LLC, Deputy General Director for Development of Teremok - Russian Pancakes LLC, Development Director of Neftegazinvest Investment Company CJSC, General Director of Steklonit Trading House LLC, General Director of Integrated Insulation Systems LLC ", General Director of Uralneftegazstroy LLC, again General Director of LLC "Trading House "Steklonit", General Director of LLC "Steklonit Management", General Director of OJSC "Tverstekloplastik".
All this, I note, for 9 years. Copiers, pancakes, oil/gas, fiberglass, composites and geosynthetics.
In 2009-11, Nikitin headed the Ruscomposite holding.
Until November 2009, the founders of Ruscomposite were Bashkir businessman Sergei Fakhretdinov, who had 80 percent of the management company, and Nikitin, who had a 20 percent share. Then the company was sold to the Cypriot company Steklonit Holding Limited.. In 2011, it was reported in the press about Ruscomposite Management Company that it "combines two production sites" - Ufa OJSC "Steklonit" and OJSC "Tverstekloplastik". It was noted that it also includes the Moscow trading house LLC "Steklonit Management", a subsidiary of LLP "Steklonit Management" (Kazakhstan) and a representative office of the company in Ukraine. It was also noted that Roscomposite has "established a good relationship with Gazprom", "Transneft", "Russneft", "Rosneft", "Lukoil", "TNK-BP", "Ritek" and "Russian Railways". The media also reported on the profitability of the companies in which Nikitin worked. So, in 2009, the profit of "Ruscomposite" amounted to 1.4 million rubles, in 2010 the profit of "Steklonit" was estimated at 82.8 million rubles, "Tverstekloplastika" in the same year - 20.3 million rubles.
In March 2011, Nikitin signed a cooperation agreement between Ruskoposit and federal agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh), headed by Vasily Yakimenko. According to this document, the company was supposed to provide support to "young innovators" - participants in the "Zvorykinsky project" of Rosmolodezh. In addition, Nikitin's company acted as a partner of the Seliger-2011 youth forum, "constructing mobile road surfaces on its territory" from "innovative materials" (by laying slabs that are used to drive wheeled and tracked vehicles in conditions of "rough and swampy terrain") .
In May 2011, GDP announced the creation of an incubator for innovative business projects, the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI). In defiance, as opposed to Skolkovo, the favorite brainchild of the unlucky Medved.
Putin himself headed the supervisory board. Nikitin, after passing an open competition and approval by the President, became the general director.
On February 13, 2017, Putin, as expected, appointed Nikitin as Acting Governor of the Novgorod Region.
Andrei Sergeevich Nikitin is exclusively Putin's creature, equidistant from the oligarchic, power and other groups of influence and does not have obvious conflicts with these groups of influence.
Novgorod region only as a training ground and (depending on the results) a launch pad.
There is relatively little information about Nikitin's personal life. It is known that he is a biker (Bad Boyz Moscow club), his wife is a surgeon, his parents are pensioners.
How the Novgorod region under the new head of the region Andrey Nikitin is being rebuilt on a new track
We continue a series of reports from the regions where gubernatorial elections will be held on September 10. Andrey Nikitin, ex-head of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI), headed the Novgorod Region six months ago. The previous governor, Sergei Mitin, also a Moscow appointee, has been in public conflict with local elites over the past two years. New head distances himself from them.
"He is a man from a young metropolitan party"
Regional entrepreneurs gathered in the assembly hall of the house of culture in the city of Chudovo. An investment energy conference is being held here - officials tell how the connection to the grid is going on in the region. “We recently had a flood, several enterprises were left without electricity. This problem will help to solve the technology of "smart grid" - the so-called smart networks. “Smart Grid” is already being implemented in Sevastopol and Kaliningrad, now it will also be in the Novgorod region,” announces Acting Governor Andrey Nikitin.
“What kind of “smart grid” is this?” one businessman asks another in a whisper in the hall. “Who knows, it’s probably a good thing,” the second one replies.
Andrey Nikitin moved from the position of general director of ASI to the position of acting head of the Novgorod region - a region that, according to the same agency, was an outsider in terms of investment attractiveness - in February. The first initiatives of the 37-year-old appointee caused misunderstanding on the part of local elites: regional deputies, for example, wondered why allocate budget money for the project to create a Quantorium, a center children's education when roads in the region are falling apart, and in winter Novgorod was left without public transport due to debts.
Andrei Nikitin himself does not consider the problem of misunderstanding of his style to be a serious problem. “The point is not in the Quantorium, but in the fact that the children’s additional education there should be not only music and sports, but in those specialties that the economy needs. These are very practical things, easy to explain. Entrepreneurs of the Novgorod region are advanced people, they understand everything. Rather, it is difficult for officials to perceive some things, there is a problem here. Not everyone can change quickly, so there is a rotation, ”explains the acting head.
For half a year of managing the region, Mr. Nikitin almost completely changed the composition of the regional government. It is more difficult to find a replacement for municipal officials: there are few who want to head a depressed area under the constant supervision of the prosecutor's office. “Andrey Sergeevich, when he came, immediately sent me to study in Skolkovo,” says the head of the Chudovsky district, Larisa Payuk, who has been working in the territory for more than 30 years. and didn't want to at first. I grew up in a village, my father gave me a suitcase, 30 rubles, put me on a train and said: you must go and learn. It's the same here." Andrey Nikitin is “of a completely different generation and education” than most officials in the region, the head of the district admits: “He is a man from a young metropolitan party, and here his time is in the patriarchal Novgorod region.”
Alexander Rutskoi participates in the Novgorod elections as a candidate for the Federation Council from the LDPR nominee
“When there is nothing to do, we will think about politics”
Opponents of Mr. Nikitin are building their campaign on opposition to the image of the acting as a Varangian, a temporary worker. “There are worthy people among you. Why not appoint one of you to lead the region? This is your home, your land.
We need to support a local candidate, not just another experimenter sent from Moscow,” says ex-Vice President of the Russian Federation General Alexander Rutskoi at a meeting with Novgorod businessmen. The LDPR nominee, State Duma deputy Anton Morozov strengthened his campaign with the figure of Mr. Rutskoy, naming him among his candidates for the Federation Council.
To the argument of competitors that Andrei Nikitin is a Varangian, the team of the acting head demonstrates his lobbying capabilities on federal level. The Novgorod region was the first of the regions where gubernatorial elections will be held in September, where Vladimir Putin came to visit. Several federal officials have visited the area over the past few months.
In summer, the region received 1.2 billion rubles. from the federal budget for road repairs, many regional politicians note that under the previous governor, the region did not participate so actively in federal programs. Mr. Nikitin himself says that he does not set himself the task of demonstrating federal support to Novgorodians and does not even think in such categories: “I rather want to show big federal officials that we will be responsible for our joint work, and help them to fall in love with the region a little, to want to help us."
The municipal filter in the gubernatorial elections (in the region it is the maximum - 10%) was overcome by candidates from all parliamentary parties and "Patriots of Russia". Anna Cherepanov, a representative of Yabloko, was not allowed to participate in the elections (she collected 25 signatures out of the required 131), the Rodina nominee withdrew his candidacy himself. The campaign is going boringly, the only thing that brings revival into it is the demand to return the elections of the mayor of Veliky Novgorod, canceled in 2013, which the rivals of the acting governor are making.
At the last meeting of the regional Duma, the bill returning the nationwide elections was rejected, despite the support of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Liberal Democratic Party and A Just Russia. The current procedure for appointing a mayor by a competition commission (it also includes representatives of the regional administration) actually means that the head of the regional capital will be subordinate to the head of the region.
Andrei Nikitin supports this method of appointing the mayor, but "not for political, but for pragmatic reasons": "Neither the city nor the region can exist separately." The interim governor does not consider the issue of the election of the mayor of Veliky Novgorod important in principle: “Our task now is not to think about how to elect someone prettier, but to correct the situation in the region. If you ask people, there are one hundred and fifty million cases in Veliky Novgorod, ranging from trolleybuses and buses to storm sewers. And when we do them all and we have nothing to do, we will think about how to choose the mayor, and about politics in general.”
Yuri Bobryshev clashed with ex-governor Sergei Mitin, and immediately found a common language with the acting head
“The entire regional budget is like two streets in Moscow for renovation”
The lack of election of the mayor of Veliky Novgorod insures Andrei Nikitin against repeating the scenario according to which relations with the regional capital developed with his predecessor. For the past two years, the region has been in a state of permanent public conflict between former governor Sergei Mitin and the mayor of Veliky Novgorod, Yuri Bobryshev.
Mr. Bobryshev is often called the “red director”: he has worked all his life in the alcohol industry, his family owns the Novgorod distillery Alkon. Sergei Mitin himself called him to head Veliky Novgorod ten years ago. “It seemed to me then that we would easily find a common language: he is the director, I am the director. The first time we worked together.
But then the region began to take money from the city. I could not agree with this, we began to swear, it came to a conflict,” says Yuri Bobryshev. investigative committee opened three criminal cases against him. The city duma controlled by the governor, after several attempts, managed to dismiss him, but he regained his mayor's seat through the courts. “The protracted war occupied the resources of both the mayor and the governor: neither the region nor the city developed,” says political consultant Alexander Antoshin.
One of the causes of the conflict was inter-budgetary relations: only 10% of the collected taxes remained for the regional capital, the rest was taken by the regional budget. Yuri Bobryshev says that with the arrival of Andrei Nikitin, this issue was immediately resolved - the acting governor agreed to change interbudgetary relations in favor of the regional capital.
“During Mitin, no one wanted to work with us - like children in a sandbox. Here the situation changed radically: they sat down and sorted things out. We agreed that Veliky Novgorod should be a priority in the development of the region - from here the region receives 70% of all income,” says Yuri Bobryshev. He supports the mayor and Andrey Nikitin's initiative to leave more taxes in the budgets of the districts: “This creates an initiative for local development. Why am I fighting alone here, why am I the only donor for the entire region? They drew estimates for the districts - they live on subsidies. And they need to be withdrawn from subsidies.”
True, during the years of Sergei Mitin's governorship, municipal officials were not accustomed to taking the initiative, admits the mayor of Veliky Novgorod. Misunderstanding of the management style of the new governor became apparent when Andrey Nikitin, in order to find out the situation in the region and determine an action plan, began to hold “strategic sessions” in each district. “The public, officials, entrepreneurs are gathering. Specially trained guys come from Moscow.
The task is to determine the most painful places in each, excuse me, swamp, - Yuri Bobryshev describes “strategic sessions.” At first, few people understood what it was. They said: they say, they have nothing to do, they came to earn money, we ourselves know our problems. Although Yury Bobryshev supports the management decisions of the acting governor, he admits that some of them cause resonance. For example, contrary to the policy of combating alcoholism, which was pursued by the authorities of the region in the past, Andrey Nikitin's decision to extend the time for the legal sale of alcohol, taken from pragmatic considerations of increasing budget revenues, goes against the grain.
“The budget of the Novgorod region is cheap. Its entire volume is the same as two streets in Moscow for renovation,” Andrey Nikitin explains to the residents of the new building in Chudovo, who demand that he solve the problem of landscaping the yard. And he adds: when his house had the same problem, the tenants chipped in and put the yard in order themselves. “Andrey Nikitin has a business approach to everything. But the governor cannot live without politics. You need to understand what political resonance this or that decision will have,” says the head of the district, Larisa Payuk. “I used to think that the region could be run like a big factory. But life stubbornly leads to the fact that you also need to be a politician,” says Yuri Bobryshev.
The difference in the management style of the former and the new governor is striking to many in the region. “Mitin had the classic style of an enterprise director who holds large meetings and arranges public floggings - an authoritarian leader. Nikitin is completely different: he does not gather large halls for managerial decisions and does not arrange dressing down, and if he does, then through force. He is now expected to be understandable. So far, it is not very clear,” says Anatoly Fedotov, deputy of the regional Duma from United Russia, general director of the Panacea-N pharmacy chain in Novgorod. “Although local entrepreneurs clashed with Mitin, he was a man of their circle, their position, their fate. He was understandable, spoke the same language with them,” notes Alexander Antoshin. Yuri Bobryshev states that local elites will always be wary of any new governor: “So far, Nikitin keeps an equidistant distance from everyone. I don’t know how long it will last and how right it is.”
“I came here to work, not to control”
“I didn’t have a personal meeting with Nikitin. I believe that the person who came to the region and became acting governor should himself be the initiator of the meetings. I do not really understand who communicates with him at all, among my acquaintances - I mean serious people, the locomotive of the development of the region's economy - no one has "access to the body." Of course, I can make an appointment with his assistant, but, probably, my level is still not the same,” says Mikhail Karaulov, deputy of the regional duma. He is the general director of a large urban construction company, Delovoy Partner, one of the representatives of the Novgorod business elite, which consolidated around Yuri Bobryshev during their conflict with the former governor.
Mikhail Karaulov intended to go to the gubernatorial elections from A Just Russia (in 2016 he went from A Just Russia to the regional parliament, ran an expensive campaign and won a single-mandate constituency against a United Russia candidate), but the party leadership at the last moment abandoned his candidacy , putting up to compete with the acting head of the deputy of the City Duma Mikhail Panov. “Everyone was afraid of a bright and active campaign that I could conduct, I think the acting governor was also against my nomination,” says Mr. Karaulov. According to him, the nine and a half years of power of Sergei Mitin “tired everyone, everyone has nostalgia for local governor, so I, a local, had a unique chance.”
Elections with the current set of candidates Mikhail Karaulov calls "profanity." According to him, Andrei Nikitin's competitors are working for the party brand, while he was ready to run a personal campaign. In fact, he continues to lead it, despite the fact that he does not participate in the elections: there are almost as many billboards with his photographs in Veliky Novgorod as there are posters of the acting governor. Starting from the “strategic sessions” of Andrey Nikitin, which, according to Mr. Karaulov, were decorative, “did not produce results and did not inspire confidence among people”, he launched his own project “People’s Governor”, with which he travels around the districts and collects the opinions of residents about problems and ways to solve them.
In his rhetoric, Mikhail Karaulov builds on the image mistakes of the acting head: he speaks of an “honest, frank and heartfelt” conversation with residents, questioning the value of dialogue declared by Andrei Nikitin in his election program. The main slogan of the Acting Governor is “Dialogue. Development. well-being". In a PR campaign, Spravoross uses the slogan “Mikhail Karaulov. Not temporarily - forever”, playing on the fears of the Novgorod elites that Andrei Nikitin will not work in the region for long. “Maybe we will really have an economic miracle here with the new governor, a second Singapore. But the worst thing is if he dreams of leaving the region as soon as possible,” says the interlocutor in the deputy corps.
In a year, elections of deputies of the City Duma will be held in Veliky Novgorod. Mikhail Karaulov does not deny that he can "in one way or another" take part in them. However, he emphasizes that he is not interested in either the post of speaker of the City Duma or the position of city manager. Political consultant Alexander Antoshin suggests that city entrepreneurs, mindful of their experience with the previous Varangian governor, will want to limit Andrei Nikitin's control over Veliky Novgorod, and speaks of a potential conflict between Novgorod's business elites and the head of the region during the formation of lists of candidates for the City Duma. Among regional politicians, however, not everyone is inclined to consider the position of Mikhail Karaulov as evidence of a brewing conflict.
One of the deputies of the regional Duma compares Mr. Karaulov with “a young fighter who has just learned to fight, and the war has already ended”, and claims that the owners of the “Business Partner” do not support his ambitions. No one from the "real business" is going to take control of Veliky Novgorod and conflict with the governor, says Yuri Bobryshev. “There is a group of people who, for example, want to promote someone to the post of city manager. Well, why? It is stupid not to reckon with the governor: you will get the result of the last two years, when it came to a fight between the city and the region. It has now become clear to business that if you work honestly and do not try to grab everything, they will help you. Looking for good from good - what's the point? he argues.
Andrey Nikitin, according to him, does not set the task of forming a city duma under his control: "I came here to work, not to control." “When local entrepreneurs came to me and asked how to help in the elections, I had a simple answer: I don’t need anything from you, except for taxes and jobs. If these two conditions are met, my office is open,” the acting governor explained his position in relation to business. And on the question of whether the local elites treat him as a Varangian or not, he answered: "This issue has never been important - that's honest." “I work primarily for the residents of the region and for the president. And the meaning of my work is to make Novgorodians live better on their land. And where did the one who can do this come from, it doesn’t matter for people, ”concluded the acting head of the region.
On February 13, 2017, Andrey Nikitin, head of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, assumed the position of Acting Governor of the Novgorod Region. The Moscow appointee was positioned as one of the president's favorites, which allowed him - albeit with an extremely low turnout - to win in the first round of the gubernatorial election. "FederalPress" recalls what the team of "Varangian" Nikitin managed and failed to do in the region in the first year of work.
9 years old Mitina
Nikitin's predecessor, Sergei Mitin, served as governor for a long 9.5 years, before the elections to the Novgorod Regional Duma in 2016, he seemed to be an unsinkable politician. Protracted conflict between the regional authorities and the mayor's office of Veliky Novgorod, criminal cases against his deputies Andrei Nechaev and Arnold Shalmuev, corruption scandals and irritation of citizens from the arrogant style of communication of the head of the region did not convince Moscow of the need to replace him. Moreover, six months after the resignation, the ex-governor was returned to the region.
In the fall of 2016, Mitin topped the list of candidates for the regional Duma from United Russia. The only critics of the governor at that time were the Yabloko party and independent deputy Leonid Doroshev. The internal political bloc made every effort not to let the opposition into the regional parliament, and achieved its goal, the party did not have enough 0.17% to enter the Duma.
After the elections, the resignation of the governor began to be talked about much more often, but there were few real candidates for a replacement, and they represented groups of influence within the regional elite. A week before Mitin's resignation, Novgorodians still did not know anything about the future governor, but unofficial information about the change of power in the region got into the media. Of course, after 9 years of the last reign, Nikitin was doomed to comparisons with the former head.
First steps
Nikitin was presented in the region the day after the official appointment. Mitin delivered a report to the audience, which was followed by a stormy and prolonged applause.
Nikitin did not work in public politics for a single day before his appointment. In Veliky Novgorod, he made an impression of an intelligent and reasonable person, in many respects the opposite of Mitin. But a successful start did not mean a new independent policy of the governor. He reluctantly replaced the predecessor's team and at first retained key positions in the government for the old managers.
The joy of society gradually turned into bewilderment: promises to work with everyone, regardless of political views, were replaced by visits from members of the Russian government. In the spring Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin visited Veliky Novgorod, Dmitry Rogozin visited Staraya Russa.
In parallel, the ASI team helped the former boss in setting the agenda. The trainers launched a series of strategic sessions, where invited deputies, officials, representatives of management companies and active citizens developed an image of the future. These meetings were not announced publicly, so they were mostly attended by invitation or “for the company”. The style of the ASI seemed unfamiliar and annoying to those around him, critics repeatedly reminded the acting governor that he was not in the capital. Here Nikitin partially repeats the first steps of the governors, who are usually called "young technocrats" and part of the process of renewal of the Russian political elite.
Communication with deputies
Nikitin appears at sessions, but avoids visits to meetings in the regional Duma. Gradually, the functions of actual management are transferred to Sergei Sorokin, appointed in March, who, before moving, worked as his deputy in the ASI.
“Governor Nikitin, from the moment of his appointment as interim, has adhered to the tactics of being closed from the local community, preferring to use intermediaries in the form of his deputies for communication purposes. Basically - the first vice-governor Sergei Sorokin, who is called upon to determine who is his own, who is a stranger, on the basis of subjective ideas of "like it or not," says Mikhail Shimanovsky, a political strategist from Novgorod.
The only possible place for a dialogue between the acting governor and the deputies was the hall of the Novgorod Philharmonic. During the meeting of the presidential envoy with citizens, Andrei Nikitin laid siege to the deputies, saying that they should ask questions at meetings of the regional duma. In response, a group of deputies, including leaders of the United Russia and LDPR factions, left the hall.
“The usual way of communication between the regional government and deputies no longer works. In the last convocation, Sergei Mitin, perhaps, had the only headache- Doroshev. There were much more troublemakers in the new convocation, and I think we will have to negotiate with each new team, ”wrote after the meeting. former leader regional media holding "Information Communications Agency" Dmitry Vertkov.
First Deputy Sergei Sorokin, apparently, remains "in charge" while the governor is absent, political observer Alexander Vlasov believes. “Andrey Nikitin has not yet got rid of the habit of traveling on business trips, acquired during the leadership of the ASI. Recently I went to Seoul. For what? As I see it, Sorokin will continue to “rule” the region, while Nikitin will spend a lot of time in Moscow,” Vlasov said.
Ending the conflict with the mayor
Unlike the regional deputies, the mayor of Veliky Novgorod Yuri Bobryshev quickly found a common language with the new head of the region. During his conflict with Mitin, which dragged on from 2015, the mayor regularly spoke about the need to preserve most of the personal income tax for the city (now 15% remains in the city treasury - the minimum established by the Budget Code) and the return of direct mayoral elections.
Bobryshev was especially harsh about the elections when Sergei Mitin, in an attempt to establish direct control over the city, tried to remove Yuri Bobryshev from the mayor's office through deputies controlled by him. The Duma of Veliky Novgorod impeached the mayor in May 2015, but in December, Yuri Bobryshev returned to the chair of the mayor by court order.
In 2017, with the arrival of Nikitin, Bobryshev changed his rhetoric and preferred to compromise. The region proposed to leave municipalities 50 percent of taxes under the simplified taxation system in 2018 and bring this figure to 100 percent in a few years. The referendum on the return of direct elections of heads of municipalities was eventually proposed by the Novgorod "Yabloko", but the deputies rejected it. Despite the agreements reached, Veliky Novgorod has gained little so far. The funds raised under the simplified tax system will not be able to close budget gaps, and there are not enough funds even to pay contractors for cleaning the city.
Governor's election
When Nikitin came to the region, the Novgorod opposition hoped for transparent gubernatorial elections. The last campaign, in which Mitin was elected in 2012, followed an uncompetitive scenario. Many attributed this to the character of the previous governor, but hopes for an open campaign in 2017 were quickly abandoned.
Nikolai Zakharov, who participated in the last campaign, from the Patriots of Russia, a party that does not conduct any activity in the region, appeared among the interim rivals. He, like the candidates from parliamentary parties, easily collected the required 10% of the signatures of municipal deputies in his support.
The only opposition candidate, Anna Cherepanova, ran into difficulties and was eventually unable to take part in the elections. “Officers of the government of the Novgorod region, administrations municipal districts And rural settlements centrally collected signatures for the United Russia candidate Nikitin and candidates agreed with him. The candidate from Yabloko did not have the opportunity to officially and directly address the deputies of the settlements, to inform them of her nomination, ”the Voice movement for the protection of voters’ rights says in a statement.
Andrey Nikitin himself avoided statements and entering into controversy, in the public field during the campaign he behaved not as a candidate, but as an appointed manager, talking about road repairs, children's technopark Quantorium and new jobs. As a result, the nominee of "United Russia" scored 68% with a turnout of 28%.
After the election, Andrei Nikitin formed a new team. Managers appointed under Mitin faded into the background. The first vice-governor Sergei Sorokin received even more real powers, new "Varangians" arrived from other regions. The local team in the government is represented by another first deputy, Veronika Minina, who oversees relations with Moscow.
An unpleasant surprise was the appointment of ex-governor Mitin as a senator from the executive branch of the Novgorod region. There are opinions that this decision was imposed on Nikitin from the federal center, or he independently decided to maintain normal relations with Mitin and his supporters in the region. One way or another, the former "political heavyweight", by the way, also a visitor, retained some influence in the region, and Nikitin himself got rid of the image of "Nemitin", as he was called on the Internet immediately after his appointment.
Mitin held weekly briefings, while Andrei Nikitin eschewed media attention and preferred to talk to state media. Media representatives did not get into the new composition of the regional Public Chamber, nor the public council under the government. An illustrative example is the journalist Gennady Ryavkin, who worked as the editor-in-chief of the state newspaper Novgorodskiye Vedomosti. After his dismissal, he turned into a columnist and a consistent critic of the new governor in the private media.
“Unfortunately, this year did not pass without conflicts: the board of the Novgorod Union of Journalists received complaints about the “black lists” that allegedly remained with the new government, that is, the selectivity of the approach to journalists (we work with these, but not with these; we call there, but not everyone here) is partly preserved, - says Olga Larina, chairman of the board of the regional Union. “An undoubted advantage for the Union of Journalists was the political solution to the issue of our House of Journalists.” The new governor publicly promised to return the building, but it was not so easy to legally fulfill the promise of the head of the region.
After the elections, the head of the region finally held a big press conference, to which all the media were invited without exception. At it, he noted the important role of "United Russia" in the management of the region, but also dissociated himself from it. “We are working closely with United Russia. But I’m not going to enter anywhere, ”Nikitin said then.
After the election, Andrei Nikitin continued the tactics of dosed communication with the media. Even the regional Internet publication 53 Novosti announced the reform in the government according to an anonymous source. In 2018, the governor attempted to create a new image of a manager open to society, which was noted on the local telegram channel: “The attentive ones could not help but notice how Nikitin’s positioning has changed since the beginning of the year. Just one swift raid on the regional maternity hospital on Friday evening about several high-profile cases of infant mortality is worth something. Moreover, the result of the trip was not a public scolding of the head physician, but a completely thoughtful intelligent conversation. Which is also very different from the times of Sergei Gerasimovich (Mitin) - he would have burned with napalm, ”the author notes.
Nikitin can stay
They say that in this way Nikitin stopped talking with the locals in the incomprehensible language of “foresights” and “strategic sessions” and decided to gain a foothold in the region as “his” person. Political experts, in turn, attribute these changes to their conversation with Moscow. “No leaks from an anonymous telegram channel about changing the image of the governor change this practice, but, like the recent formal appearance of the governor before the deputies of the regional Duma, they are a reaction to the likely dissatisfaction of the federal center with the excessive closeness of the governor,” Mikhail Shimanovsky believes.
Political observer Alexander Vlasov is also sure that rumors about the governor are being spread by his entourage in order to convince citizens that Nikitin is “his own” person and has the opportunity to use Moscow’s favor towards him for the benefit of the Novgorod region. He does not believe in Nikitin’s imminent departure for a promotion and considers this part of his team’s PR campaign, evaluating its results negatively: “The Pskovites also thought that Andrei Turchak would leave in two or three years for a promotion. In my opinion, Nikitin will not be invited to Moscow, and he will have to prove his professional suitability here. This reminds me of the times of the governor Mikhail Prusak before last, when there was information in the media that he would become deputy head of government or take another high position.”
The image of Nikitin in the public space is the responsibility of the first vice-governor Sergey Sorokin and the head of the information policy department of the governor's administration Yulia Slutskaya, who switched to this job from the post of press secretary of the ASI in the Northwestern Federal District. According to Vlasov, they are responsible for the vague image of the region's first person, together with the media holding Agency for Information Communications, which belongs to the region, as well as the governor himself. The main achievement of the new head at a press conference on the occasion of the anniversary of his appointment was the large-scale repair of roads in the region.
February marked the one year anniversary of Andrey Nikitin's appointment as Acting Governor. During this time, he was elected, reformatted the team and seemed to find a common language with the local elites. However, external management, especially in terms of internal and personnel policy, is handled by his first deputy, Sergei Sorokin. And it is still unclear whether Nikitin's "business trip" in the Novgorod region will be long, or whether this is just a step necessary to continue his career at the federal level.
Andrey Sergeevich Nikitin - Russian politician, candidate of economic sciences and public figure, whose name is associated with the activities of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI). In early 2017, he was appointed Acting Governor of the Novgorod Region.Early years and education
The future governor of the Novgorod region was born on November 26, 1979 in Moscow. However, his childhood years were spent in Miass ( Chelyabinsk region) - his father was one of the leaders of the press-body shop at UralAz.After graduating from one of the Miass high schools, Nikitin went to higher education to the capital university government controlled(GUU), where he subsequently defended his diploma (2001) and transferred to graduate school.
Five years later, 27-year-old Nikitin successfully defended his scientific dissertation and became a candidate of economic sciences. The topic of his work was "Organizational change strategy as a tool for effective management".
Interview with Andrey Nikitin in the program "Star on a Star"
However, Andrey did not stop there and in 2007 he was awarded the prestigious MBA degree in the world of economics from the Stockholm School. These successes were noted in the leadership of the SUM, and in 2008 he received academic title Associate Professor at the Department of Organization and Management.
Business and political career
Even while studying at the university, Andrei began to actively engage in business. So, in the early 2000s, he oversaw the legal aspects of the activities of Block Black LLC. In 2001, Teremok-Russian Bliny LLC drew attention to his strategic talents and was offered the position of General Director for Development.Andrey did not stay there for a long time and a year later he became responsible for business development at CJSC Neftegazinvest. At that time, this investment group was developing rapidly, as evidenced by the acquisition in 2002 of the JSC Steklonit plant. In the newly formed structure, Nikitin received the position of general director of TD Steklonit LLC. Andrey Sergeevich worked at this place for about five years, cooperating in parallel with the furniture company KSI LLC and Uralneftegazstroy LLC.
Head of ASI Andrey Nikitin: how to start your own business
In addition, since 2002, Nikitin was listed in the structure of the Ruscomposite business group, where from 2009 to 2011 he held the usual position of general director. It should be noted that no matter what company Andrey appeared in, its profitability increased sharply.
All this time, Andrei Nikitin was a member of the non-profit state organization Delovaya Rossiya. In his competence were issues of youth entrepreneurship and small business. He was also the curator of the promising undertaking "The quality of the roads of the Russian Federation", where they developed a plan to cover the roads with innovative material.
Andrey's career took another turn up when he won open competition and, with the approval of the President of the Russian Federation, headed the Agency for Strategic Initiatives in 2011. This company has been involved in improving the national investment climate and other important initiatives, ranging from out-of-school children's education to the creation of investment elevators for non-primary enterprises with great export potential.
During the years of work in this government organization, he was awarded the medal "For Valiant Labor" and more than once received gratitude from President Vladimir Putin.
Against this background, the president's decision to appoint Andrei Sergeevich as acting governor of Novgorod in 2017 looked quite natural. During the years of the reign of the previous governor Sergei Mitin, the region came to a pre-default state. Thus, young specialist I had the opportunity to try my hand at political incarnation.
Andrey Nikitin: personal life, hobbies
Andrei Sergeevich is married and lives with his wife in a Moscow apartment. She is an obstetrician-gynecologist by profession and works in a state medical institution.About himself, Nikitin says that he does not really know how to relax, but he loves delicious food. When he has free time, he reads historical materials about Ancient Rome and writes scientific work. By the end of 2016, six publications under his authorship saw the light of day.
In his youth, Andrei Nikitin dreamed of a motorcycle. He fulfilled his long-standing desire, already being the head of the ASI. True, due to constant work, it is rare to get out somewhere on your favorite iron horse.
He considers himself a technocrat - a person who is convinced that managerial personnel should be highly qualified scientific and technical specialists.
Andrey Nikitin now
In February 2017, Andrei Sergeevich, by presidential decree, took the post of Acting Governor of the Novgorod Region. 
At one of the first speeches, the newly-made head of the region said that the region needs a new, clear and understandable image, as well as attracting creative entrepreneurs.
Previously, he served as head of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives
Director General of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives Andrey Nikitin
Moscow. February 13. website - President of Russia Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the early termination of the powers of the governor of the Novgorod region, Sergei Mitin, and appointed acting head of the region, head of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, Andrey Nikitin. This was reported by the press service of the Kremlin.
"Accept the resignation of the governor of the Novgorod region Mitin S.G. of his own free will. Appoint Andrey Sergeevich Nikitin as the acting governor of the Novgorod region until the person elected governor of the Novgorod region takes office. This decree enters into force from the date of its signing," the statement says. document text.
On Monday, the president met with Nikitin in Novo-Ogaryovo. Putin said that he "consulted with the current governor" on the appointment of acting governor. head of the Novgorod region.
The president praised Nikitin's work as head of the ASI, noting that "during this time the agency has done a lot to give a new impetus to the development of the entire economy."
"You have done a lot on specific projects, in the most important areas of development, you have worked very closely and continue to work with business," Putin said, addressing Nikitin.
He also drew attention to the fact that in Lately ASI at the regional level "actively promotes work in the field of working professions: organizes the participation of our young people in international competitions, helps the regions organize relevant events at their level, including Central Russia, in the Novgorod region.
Speaking about the region in which the president appointed Nikitin as interim governor, Putin stressed "the importance of the Novgorod region in the history of our country, in today's life, in the economy," the potential of this region.
Earlier on Monday, Mitin, who led the Novgorod region for more than nine years, told reporters about early resignation. He noted that he had made the decision not to participate in the 2017 gubernatorial campaign. According to him, he leaves the post of his own free will. In addition, Mitin said that he had already asked the head of state for a new job.
Vector of the region's development
The priority areas for the development of the Novgorod region are the tourism industry and the processing industry, Nikitin believes.
"Of course, the Novgorod region is very interesting both from a historical point of view and from a logistical point of view. In fact, it is such a corridor between the two capitals. Probably, the priorities that could be (in the development of the region) are, firstly, tourism industry, and secondly, the industry associated with processing, which works for our main cluster of the population, which is located between Moscow and St. Petersburg. These may be Russian, foreign investors," Nikitin said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to him, in social sphere should be based on the opinion of citizens. “If we use the experience that we at the ASI saw in the regions, then we need to rely on the opinion of residents, doing landscaping, doing things related to improving the quality (of life), that is, based on the opinion of the citizens themselves,” he said.
Niktin noted that "only business can correctly show what administrative barriers really hinder it."
“The tasks that you have set to reduce administrative barriers for business can only be worked out in contact with entrepreneurs. Moreover, entrepreneurs themselves should evaluate the work that we do, that colleagues from the regions are doing. Recently, we have been very actively engaged in this , including in the North-Western District, with colleagues from the Novgorod region," he said.
According to him, a series of meetings were recently held to discuss issues of the business community, then a plan was developed and an expert group was created, which began work in the Novgorod region.
"There are very serious tasks for tourism in the Novgorod region. Tourism tasks require, among other things, professions related to tourism - these are people who work in this industry. Today, colleges are gradually starting to train such young guys in the tourism business, in the service , services, in some kind of production that is connected with tourism," Nikitin said.
Nikitin's career
Nikitin was born in Moscow in 1979. In 2001 he graduated from the State University of Management, in 2007 he received an EMBA degree from the Stockholm School of Economics. Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Theory and Systems of Sectoral Management of the Institute of Sectoral Management of the RANEPA.
From 2002 to 2011, he worked in the Ruscomposite group of companies, uniting enterprises in the markets of fiberglass, composites and geosynthetics, since 2009 - CEO of the Ruscomposite management company.
In July 2011, Nikitin was appointed CEO of the autonomous non-profit organization Agency for Strategic Initiatives to Promote New Projects.
Nikitin is a member of the Presidium of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for Economic Modernization and Innovative Development, a member of the Presidium of the Presidential Council for Strategic Development and Priority Projects, a member of the Economic Council under the President of the Russian Federation, as well as a number of other advisory bodies.
He was awarded the medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" II degree, has a Letter of Appreciation from the President of the Russian Federation.
