In three months, residents of the Novgorod region have become very disappointed in the acting governor Andrei Nikitin, who, instead of solving pressing problems, is trying to implement projects that almost no one understands, say interlocutors interviewed by the Club of Regions. Observers, however, do not doubt his victory in the gubernatorial elections with a low turnout.

Novgorod region

Novgorod region

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• Expert: Chelyabinsk region authorities are not returning direct elections of mayors because it is a risk for them

  Acting Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region Alexey Teksler said that direct elections of mayors in the region can be returned when society is ready for this. “If we all understand that we are ready for this, I will be the first to recommend changing this system,” Texler said. The head of the regional branch of the Yabloko party, Yaroslav Shcherbakov, believes that such a statement by the governor speaks of “mistrust of fellow countrymen.” “It is necessary to return direct elections. Just return it, and not talk about it,” Shcherbakov added. He also noted that the return of direct elections of mayors is disadvantageous for the regional authorities, since there is a risk of losing the vote. The results of closed opinion polls promise the acting governor of the Kurgan region, Vadim Shumkov, an unconditional victory in the first round. Political scientist Alexander Belousov explains Shumkov’s positions with a request for renewal and “waiting for a miracle.” Golos representative Mikhail Kuzovkov believes that Shumkov’s victory is ensured by his huge, compared to other candidates, pre-election fund, nomination not from United Russia, as well as administrative resources. But, despite these obvious advantages, Shumkov also does not refuse to use “dirty technologies,” the observer added.

  Expert: moving the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District to Vladivostok did not strengthen the position of Governor Kozhemyako

  President Vladimir Putin signed a decree moving the presidential mission to the Far Eastern Federal District from Khabarovsk to Vladivostok. Since December last year, we recall, Vladivostok has been the capital of the federal district. Experts note that so far the Primorsky Territory has not received any effect from the new status. Political scientist Alexander Ognevsky also doubts that the transfer of the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District to Vladivostok has in any way strengthened the position of Governor Oleg Kozhemyako.

  Political strategist: the new mayor of Cherepovets may become the future governor of the Vologda region

  In the Vologda region, the names of candidates for the post of mayor of Cherepovets have been named instead of Elena Avdeeva. Let us recall that Governor Oleg Kuvshinnikov named her among his candidates for the post of senator from the Vologda region. According to local observers, Avdeeva may resign after the gubernatorial elections, which will take place in the fall of 2019. According to political strategist Yulia Mileshkina, the future mayor of Cherepovets will in the future become the new governor of the region, since if Kuvshinnikov is re-elected, this term will be his last. And political consultant Andrei Patralov recalls that the heads of Cherepovets were mainly people from Severstal structures and such continuity is unlikely to be disrupted.

Andrei Sergeevich Nikitin is the current governor of the Novgorod region, who took office in 2017 after early elections. But his knowledge and interests are not limited to his political career. Nikitin is a person with an excellent education and a courageous approach to life. He managed to write a dissertation and become the author of several serious scientific articles.

Childhood and youth

Published biographies of Andrei Nikitin often contain unintentional factual errors. It is officially believed that he is a native Muscovite.

In fact, on November 26, 1979, little Andrei was born in the Vladimir region, in the city of Kirzhach. His maternal grandfather served there for many years in missile defense. Moscow is recorded as the place of birth due to the registration of the parents in the dormitory of the State University of Management, which at that time was called the Institute of Management. .

At the age of 2, the boy moved to Miass with his parents. His father got a job in a car industry, and his mother, a business executive by training, held a position in the municipality.

Towards the end of school, the parents set a condition for their son: if he wants financial support during his studies, he must enter a good university. The list of possible places also included MGIMO, the country's main diplomatic forge. Andrei quickly discarded the idea of ​​going there - the student body seemed too pompous. As a place of study, Nikitin eventually chose State University, which was memorable to his parents.

During his studies, the young man did internships in the State Duma and the plenipotentiary representative office of the Southern Federal District. In 2001, a bachelor’s degree in state and municipal administration was received, and the question arose of where to move next.

Career and politics

Nikitin did not limit himself to five university courses, and the next stage of his life was graduate school. In 2006, Andrei Sergeevich became a Doctor of Economics, defending a dissertation on the difficult topic “Strategy of organizational change as a tool for effective management (theoretical and methodological aspect).

Next came a new level - 2008 was marked by receiving a Master of Business Administration degree. He studied at the Stockholm School of Economics. In addition, Andrei Sergeevich received the position of associate professor at the State University of Management, at the department of theory and organization of management.

The politician began working while still a student, but at first his field of activity was business. The first job in this field was the post of deputy director of Block Black LLC. After that, Nikitin worked as deputy director for development of the popular Teremok cafe chain. The network known today in Russia then consisted of four trailers, and Andrei himself was involved in negotiations with local authorities.

For the next 9 years, the man worked at Ruskomposit - under this name, enterprises involved in fiberglass, geosynthetic materials and composites are united. By 2009, Nikitin’s professionalism led to his appointment to the position of general director.

In 2011, the non-profit organization “ASI” appeared, the purpose of which was to support new medium-sized businesses. By that time, Andrei Sergeevich had already established himself in coordinating the project “Quality of Roads in the Russian Federation.” As a result, Nikitin was selected from among the candidates to lead the organization.

As a general director, Andrei Sergeevich was remembered primarily for his rejection of bureaucracy and his consistent fight against it. The result was a reduction in the time required to register enterprises and obtain construction permits. The number of documents required to submit was also reduced.

Nikitin's efforts have been repeatedly noted. He was thanked by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the President of the Russian Federation. Hard work led to Andrei Sergeevich being awarded the medal “For Valiant Labor”.

2017 was a year of big changes. The man who in 6 years became the personification of ASI was appointed acting governor of the Novgorod region. Doubts about Nikitin’s competence as a politician were dispelled by the time of early elections. Having worked in office for less than a year, Andrei Sergeevich won with 67.99% of the votes.

Personal life

Due to the same last name, patronymic and similar political positions, Andrei Nikitin can be considered a brother - also a governor, but of the Nizhny Novgorod region. This is wrong. Sergei Andreevich has no brothers, his family consists of his parents, wife and daughter.

The governor's wife is Maya Viktorovna Nikitina, whose maiden name was Sannikova. They met back in their school days. Then the girl entered the Chelyabinsk Medical University and studied to be a doctor, and Andrei himself went to Moscow. However, after studying, friendly relations nevertheless grew into love.

Maya Viktorovna is a specialist in the field of oncological gynecology, Candidate of Medical Sciences. Before Nikitin’s appointment as governor, the woman worked at the Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology named after. Kulakova. By this time, the governor’s wife was already pregnant, so she left her job without hesitation. On February 25, 2017, Maya Nikitina gave birth to a daughter, Arina.

The personal life of a politician is visible, but this does not prevent Andrei Sergeevich from remaining himself. Since childhood, he dreamed of a motorcycle and in 2011 he managed to fulfill this dream. So now a man often rides a “two-wheeled horse” and does not hide it at all. A photo of the governor on a motorcycle can be found on his account at "Instagram".

In an impromptu interview with young people at a rock picnic for the magazine “Time Is”, the politician admitted that he is partial to rock music, and his favorite band is.

Andrey Nikitin now

Andrey Sergeevich continues to work as the governor of the Novgorod region. The man is a supporter of United Russia and takes a responsible approach to political issues. On September 9, 2018, he, along with other townspeople, attended the elections of State Duma deputies.

Nikitin declared income even while holding the position of director of ASI, although he had the right not to do so. Officially, the man earned 44.7 million rubles in 2016.

After starting his political career, the salary became lower, but the governor is not complaining - he wants to be useful in his work.

Name: Nikitin Andrey Sergeevich Date of birth: November 26, 1979 Place of birth: Kirzhach, Vladimir region, USSR Position: Acting governor of the Novgorod region

Childhood

Official biographies say that Andrei Sergeevich was born in Moscow. In fact, this is a case where the documents do not accurately reflect reality.

My maternal grandfather was from near Baturin, Chernigov region; Nikitin’s ancestors lived there since the time of Mazepa. For many years my grandfather commanded a missile defense regiment in Kirzhach, Vladimir region. Andrei was born there, but Moscow was written down on the birth certificate, since his mother and father were registered in the dormitory of the Ordzhonikidze Moscow Institute of Management (now the State University of Management). My father mastered a specialty related to mechanical engineering, my mother studied urban utilities.

When Andrey was two years old, the family left for the Urals, to the small industrial city of Miass. His father entered the Ural Automobile Plant, his mother worked in the municipality. Then Sergei Nikitin went into business for a while, and his mother worked for several years as an ordinary specialist in one of the departments of the Ministry of Economic Development. Now both are pensioners, and live separately - father in the Urals, mother in Moscow.

As a child, Andrei dreamed of a motorcycle and history as a specialty. I even tried to assemble the “Dnepr” motorcycle piece by piece in the garage, but after finishing the work, my parents immediately sold the motorcycle and they never managed to ride it.

Nikitin eventually bought a motorcycle, and more than one, but the story didn’t work out. In the 1990s, academic science was not exactly unfavoured, but it certainly did not provide an opportunity to earn a living. So I had to adjust the dream towards greater correspondence with reality.

Education

When the Nikitins discussed their son’s future, they promised to support him until he graduated from a higher educational institution. But only if Andrey enters a prestigious and promising university. The list consisted of four names - Financial Academy, MGIMO, Plekhanov Academy and State University of Management.

Andrei, as he himself said, thought that there were a lot of snobs at MGIMO, and most of all he liked the State University of Education, where his parents also studied. He graduated from it in 2001, becoming a certified specialist in the field of state and municipal administration.

In 2006, Andrei Nikitin received the title of Candidate of Economic Sciences, having defended his dissertation on the topic “Strategy of organizational change as a tool for effective management.” In 2008, Nikitin studied and received an MBA from the Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden's most prestigious economics institution.

Career at Ruskomposit

While studying at SUM, Andrei Nikitin completed an internship twice. The first time was in my second year at the State Duma. At the International Affairs Committee, the student carried papers, typed documents and made coffee. Nikitin completed his graduate practice at the embassy of the Southern Federal District, where he did the same thing. But I saw Akhmat Kadyrov “live”.

But Andrei Nikitin did not remain in the presidential administration, preferring a career in business. For about a year, Nikitin worked as development director of the now famous Teremok chain. It all started with four trailers, and Nikitin’s duties included negotiating with the authorities so that they would be allowed to install new trailers and connect them to the network. As Nikitin later recalled, the development director always went to negotiations with a bag of pancakes and Russian kvass.

But Nikitin did not stay in Teremka. He met Sergei Fakhretdinov, who had just opened the first fiberglass production plant in Ufa. And he lured a promising specialist, inviting him to found a company trading house and try to establish sales.

Nikitin gave nine years to the Ruskompozit company. When he came to Ruskompozit, the turnover was about 10 million dollars, when he left it reached 200 million. The company occupied approximately half of the small Russian market for fiberglass and composites.

Employer - Putin

Nikitin got into ASI, if not from the street, then close to it - at least that’s what he himself says. Of course, he cannot be called an ordinary businessman - Andrei Sergeevich headed the committee on youth entrepreneurship and coordinated the project “Quality of Roads in the Russian Federation” in the public organization of entrepreneurs “Business Russia”, and was vaguely familiar with its then head, Boris Titov.

As some media write, Nikitin’s appointment to the newly created Agency for Strategic Initiatives was Titov’s initiative. Nikitin himself says that Nikitin submitted documents to participate in the open competition without at all expecting to win. More precisely, getting into the expert council would be a victory. However, after an interview with the employer - it so happened that it was the first in his life and, it seems, remains the only one at the moment - Nikitin took the position of general director of ASI.

The employer was Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. In 2011, he served as chairman of the Russian government.

Strategic Initiatives

The Agency for Strategic Initiatives was conceived as a platform where representatives of business and civil society would solve their problems and implement projects. Nikitin worked as the organization’s general director for almost six years.

He was positioned as an implacable enemy of bureaucracy - and indeed ASI managed to reduce the “height” of administrative barriers and simplify many procedures for businessmen - for example, shortening the time for registering enterprises, property rights and obtaining construction permits, and reducing the number of documents when obtaining permits.

It has become fashionable to support investors at the regional level - Nikitin especially insisted that a businessman who wants to work have direct access to the governor. The Agency for Strategic Initiatives was involved in the implementation of the National Technology Initiative. Under Nikitin, an international movement to popularize blue-collar professions WorldSkills came to Russia and a network of children's technology parks "Quantorium" was created.

State contribution – 500 million

It was assumed that ASI would not receive a penny from public money - the agency was supposed to exist at the expense of big business. However, in 2012 it became known that the organization would receive 500 million rubles.

As Nikitin explained, this was a property contribution from the state. Initially, it was planned to allocate a building to ASI, but the management of ASI was not interested in the options proposed by the Federal Property Management Agency, so it was decided to take a share in money and rent the premises to their liking. Part of the money, as Andrei Sergeevich said, may go to support some social and educational programs.

Technocrat in the non-black earth region

Andrei Nikitin actually became the face of ASI. So much so that when he was appointed acting governor of the Novgorod region, political scientists asked whether this meant the liquidation of the agency for strategic initiatives as such? (The structure still exists today).

“I am amazed by the appointment. I don't understand the length of the "bench". I have two options: either ASI can no longer do what she was doing, or there is no “bench”. I cannot explain why Nikitin was sent to the Novgorod region. The region is small, there is no innovative development there. Let’s see how young technocrats understand what the Russian non-black earth region is,” said Natalya Zubarevich, director of the regional program of the Independent Institute of Social Policy.

The reaction in the Novgorod region was no less perplexed. The resignation of the previous governor had been expected there for a long time, but the new one was discouraging. The technocrat, who mentioned the “smartgreen” technology when discussing problems with connecting to power grids, who insisted on allocating funds for the construction of the “Quantorium” in the face of collapsing roads and serious problems with public transport, was completely misunderstood by the Novgorodians.

The patriarchal Novgorod region had no use for a person “from the young metropolitan crowd,” as the young acting head of one of the districts, Larisa Payuk, described.

Family

Andrei Nikitin is truly a man of a new formation and a timid disposition. One of his main hobbies was motorcycle. The accomplished businessman did not immediately realize his childhood dream. Not only he himself, but also his wife “biker” in his free time.

Andrei Sergeevich met Maya Sannikova at school. However, love at first sight did not break out between the young people, and life took them apart - Maya went to Chelyabinsk, where she received the profession of obstetrician-gynecologist, Andrei successfully entered the capital’s university. But they maintained their acquaintance, and eventually friendship grew into love.

Maya Viktorovna is a candidate of medical sciences, her specialization is gynecological oncology. She worked in the department of innovative oncology and gynecology of the Scientific Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology named after V.I. Kulakova. Nevertheless, she says that she did not even hesitate whether to follow her husband to the region.

The decision was probably made easier by the fact that at the moment when it became known about Andrei Sergeevich’s inevitable departure from Moscow, his wife was expecting a child. The general public learned about the birth of the acting governor’s daughter, Arina, almost immediately - the governor of the Ulyanovsk region, Sergei Morozov, “turned in” his colleague, who published his congratulations on Twitter. A joyful event occurred on February 25, 2017.

After returning from maternity leave, Maya Viktorovna plans to go to work at one of the medical institutions in Veliky Novgorod.

Income

As head of ASI, Nikitin was not required to declare his income. But I decided to do it anyway. As the official notes, he has nothing to hide - everything has been checked by the tax authorities. He received a good salary, plus bonuses, plus compensation for work on the boards of directors of RSC Energia and Vostochny Bank (Nikitin emphasized that he had the right to engage in this activity, since both organizations did not deal with ASI).

In total, the amounts obtained were by no means small. In 2016, Andrei Nikitin received 44.7 million rubles, and his wife brought another 1.2 million into the family treasury. The Nikitins own half of the land plot with an area of ​​28,443 square meters. meters, a residential building and a bathhouse, two apartments, one large and one not very large, and two parking spaces. Andrey Sergeevich owns a Toyota Land Cruiser 200, a trailer and two motorcycles. His wife drives a BMW.

However, as Nikitin notes, the million-dollar income is now over. The salary of the acting governor, according to him, was just over one hundred thousand rubles. And the governor of the Novgorod region promised not to look for additional sources of income in the region.

But the president trusts

Andrei Nikitin, having moved from Moscow to Veliky Novgorod, lost his job, which he clearly liked, and a very large salary.

“I work here because the president trusts me, and I understand that I can be useful for the Novgorod region,” he explained in an interview.

Whether Andrei Nikitin is really useful, both political scientists and Novgorod residents disagreed. On the one hand, federal money has flowed into the region along with the new head, and in general he is a good lobbyist. On the other hand, the money could come because the presidential elections are ahead, and Nikitin remained a mystery to those around him.

But political scientist Evgeny Minchenko, head of the Minchenko Consulting holding, called Nikitin “Putin’s personal creature.” And in the rating of stability of governors, prepared by the holding’s specialists, Andrei Nikitin, along with Sergei Sobyanin and Ramzan Kadyrov, was included in the group of 11 heads of regions closest to the president.

As Andrei Nikitin said, back in 2012, he, of his own free will, “without bringing anyone on the bus,” went to a pro-presidential rally in Luzhniki.

“For me the question was: do I want or don’t want. And I realized: either I share these positions, and then it makes sense to work, and if I don’t share any values, then it’s better not to deceive myself and do something else. And I went to Luzhniki as a citizen to support the president,” said the governor of the Novgorod region.

Previously, he served as head of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives

General Director of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives Andrey Nikitin

Moscow. February 13. website - Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the early termination of the powers of the governor of the Novgorod region Sergei Mitin and appointed Andrei Nikitin, head of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, as acting head of the region. The Kremlin press service reports this.

“Accept the resignation of the governor of the Novgorod region, S.G. Mitin, at his own request. Appoint Andrei Sergeevich Nikitin as acting governor of the Novgorod region until the person elected as governor of the Novgorod region takes office. This decree comes into force from the date of its signing,” it says text of the document.

On Monday, the president met with Nikitin in Novo-Ogarevo. Putin said that he “consulted with the current governor” on the issue of appointing the acting governor. head of the Novgorod region.

The President highly appreciated Nikitin's work as head of the ASI, noting that "during this time, the agency has done a lot to give 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 recently ASI at the regional level “has been actively promoting work in the field of blue-collar professions: organizing the participation of our young people in international competitions, helping regions organize relevant events at their level, including in Central Russia, in Novgorod region".

Speaking about the region in which the president appointed Nikitin as acting governor, Putin emphasized “the importance of the Novgorod region in the history of our country, in today’s life, in the economy,” and the potential of this region.

Earlier on Monday, Mitin, who led the Novgorod region for more than nine years, told reporters about his early resignation. He noted that he decided not to participate in the 2017 gubernatorial election campaign. According to him, he is leaving his position of his own free will. In addition, Mitin said that he had already asked the head of state for a new job.

Vector of regional development

The priority areas for the development of the Novgorod region are the tourism industry and the processing sector, Nikitin believes.

“Of course, the Novgorod region is very interesting both from a historical point of view and from a logistics point of view. In essence, this is a corridor between two capitals. Probably, the priorities that could be (in the development of the region) are, firstly, tourism industry; secondly, the industry associated with processing, which works for this main cluster of our population, which is located between Moscow and St. Petersburg. These can be Russian and foreign investors," Nikitin said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to him, in the social sphere it is necessary to rely on the opinion of citizens. “If we use the experience that we at ASI saw in the regions, then we need to rely on the opinion of residents when 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 are doing, that colleagues from the regions are doing. Lately we have been very actively engaged in this , including in the Northwestern District, with colleagues from the Novgorod region,” he said.

According to him, a series of meetings were recently held at which issues of the business community were discussed, 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 people in the tourism business, in service , services, in some kind of production that is related to tourism,” Nikitin said.

Nikitin's career

Nikitin was born in Moscow in 1979. He graduated from the State University of Management in 2001 and received an EMBA degree from the Stockholm School of Economics in 2007. Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Theory and Systems of Industry Management, Institute of Industry Management, RANEPA.

From 2002 to 2011, he worked in the Ruskompozit group of companies, which unites enterprises in the markets of fiberglass, composites and geosynthetic materials, and since 2009 - General Director of the Ruskompozit management company.

In July 2011, Nikitin was appointed general director 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 Council under the President of the Russian Federation 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 of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree, and received a Letter of Gratitude from the President of the Russian Federation.

Andrey Nikitin, governor-innovator-biker February 13th, 2017

Wherever they expected Nikitin - young, successful, demonstrating energy and efficiency with his entire appearance.

In particular, he was persistently wooed to replace Ulyukaev, the Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.

The GDP decided that it was too early. Let 37-year-old Andrei show himself “on the ground” first.

Nikitin is a Muscovite, but lived and received school education in the city of Miass, Chelyabinsk region.
Graduated from the State University of Management with a degree in State and Municipal Administration. He defended his PhD thesis on the topic “Strategy of organizational change as a tool for effective management (theoretical and methodological aspect).”

Since university days 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, over the course of 9 years. Copying and printing equipment, pancakes, oil/gas, fiberglass, composites and geosynthetics.

In 2009-11, Nikitin headed the Ruskompozit holding.
Until November 2009, the founders of Ruskompozit were Bashkir entrepreneur Sergei Fakhretdinov, who had 80 percent of the management company, and Nikitin, who had a share of 20 percent. The company was then sold to the Cypriot company Steklonit Holding Limited. In 2011, the press reported about Ruskompozit 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 Steklonit Management LLC, a subsidiary of Steklonit Management LLP (Kazakhstan) and a representative office of the company in Ukraine. It was also noted that Roskompozit “has established good relations 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. Thus, in 2009, the profit of Ruskompozit amounted to 1.4 million rubles, in 2010 the profit of Steklonit was 82.8 million rubles, and Tverstekloplastika in the same year - 20.3 million rubles. In March 2011, Nikitin signed a cooperation agreement between Ruskoposit and the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh), headed by Vasily Yakemenko. 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 youth forum “Seliger-2011”, “constructing mobile road surfaces on its territory” from “innovative materials” (laying slabs that are used for the passage of wheeled and tracked vehicles in “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, in contrast to Skolkovo, the favorite brainchild of the hapless Medved.
Putin himself headed the supervisory board. Nikitin, after passing an open competition and approval by the President, became general director.

On February 13, 2017, Putin expectedly appointed Nikitin as acting governor of the Novgorod region.

Andrei Sergeevich Nikitin is exclusively Putin’s creature, equidistant from oligarchic, security and other groups of influence and having no obvious conflicts with these groups of influence.
The Novgorod region is only used as a training ground and (depending on the results) a launching 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, and his parents are pensioners.