Nizhny Novgorod Region won four awards in the federal "Social Leaders of Russia" competition.

      The Nizhny Novgorod Region won four awards at the federal "Social Leaders of Russia" prize. It was established by the state corporation Rosatom with the support of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and is aimed at identifying, supporting and promoting the best initiatives among the administrations of small and medium-sized towns in the country, budgetary institutions, NGOs and social entrepreneurs that contribute to improving Russians’ quality of life, developing the urban environment and tourism.

      According to the government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the region’s tally includes one award in the tourism sector, one award in the field of social protection of the population and two more awards for projects that engage residents in organizing territory improvement.

      A total of 350 initiatives from across the country were submitted to the competition, 88 of them made the shortlist and 30 participants became laureates. The competition was held for the first time and included five different categories.

      The project "Comprehensive Development of a Historic Territory Based on the Example of the Town of Gorodets", developed by ANO "Agency for the Preservation and Development of Historical Environment Sites of the Nizhny Novgorod Region", won the prize in the category "Best Practice for Popularizing and Developing a Territory through the Creation of Tourist Products and Creative Projects."

      According to the region’s Minister of Tourism and Crafts, Sergey Yakovlev, ASIRIS has been implementing a large-scale comprehensive project to preserve Gorodets’ historic environment since 2023.

      "Our ambitious goal is to preserve the unique historic environment of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, because these are not just architectural monuments but the living heritage of our ancestors, a source of inspiration that attracts millions of tourists. The Gorodets development project demonstrates a 'heritage + innovation' model, where historical authenticity is combined with digital technologies and creative industries. We are now moving to replicate the project in other small towns of the region," the minister said.

      The CEO of ANO ASIRIS, Ekaterina Kryunas, noted that such work with the historic environment emphasizes the place’s authenticity and its symbolic significance for the local population, contributes to tourism development in the region and aligns with the goals and objectives of the new national project "Tourism and Hospitality."

      "Our project is complex, multifaceted and planned in several stages. Ultimately, all these activities should create a hospitality infrastructure in the town, improve the quality of life for local residents, highlight Gorodets’ tourist and investment appeal, and launch a sustainable model of city development. It is important to emphasize that all short- or long-term projects in Gorodets are planned and implemented with great respect for history and taking into account the opinions of local residents," she said.

      Since 2023, the ASIRIS team has developed several directions for the revitalization of Gorodets’ historic environment: types and styles of stylized information plaques permissible for placement in the town were developed, as well as more than 160 concepts for façade and color schemes for houses and fences on its central historic streets. In addition, in partnership with the design bureaus Dal and Aprel, projects for the improvement of the town’s historic territories and the redevelopment of a complex of historic sites were developed, and in partnership with Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University named after R.E. Alekseev proposals were made for modernizing the street and road network to alleviate traffic. Technical examinations were also carried out on the condition of the cultural heritage monuments "Pedestrian Bridge over the Ravine" and "Street Retaining Walls."

      The agency carried out preservation work on 75 houses, including two cultural heritage sites — the House of N.I. Polsky and the Dementyeva House — and more than 100 fences within the boundaries of the historic environment. In addition, ASIRIS continuously works to attract investment into Gorodets’ historic real estate.

      ANO "Service for the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Mental Disorders, Orphans, and Children Deprived of Parental Care" won in the category "Best Innovative Practice of a Socially Oriented NGO" with the project "Rights Have No Diagnosis." Specialists from the Service proactively identify the problems of wards of psychoneurological boarding schools and residents of orphanage-style homes, provide free legal assistance to citizens, work with the administrations and staff of institutions, submit proposals to draft laws, and also conduct various events aimed at destigmatizing mental disability.

      "Winning the 'Social Leaders of Russia' prize is one of the highest assessments of our work over four years. At the same time, stepping onto the federal level places a greater responsibility on us for those we help. These are people with mental disorders and orphans whose voices and wishes used to go unheard, hidden behind the high fences of closed institutions. We thank the prize organizers for their support and the opportunity to continue our work," said the Service’s director, Ekaterina Kantinova.

      Two more winning projects were submitted by ANO "Center for Strategic Regional Development." The project "Digitalization of the Program 'Formation of a Comfortable Urban Environment' in the Nizhny Novgorod Region" won in the category "Best Practice for Engaging Citizens in the Development of the Urban Environment." Work is carried out annually to optimize the regional platform golosza.ru and simplify the voting process. New modules are being introduced — for example, residents can choose functional zones themselves and propose their own areas for future improvement. To engage audiences and make voting interesting, modern VR and AR solutions have been implemented.

      In the category "Best Practice for Attracting Youth and Young Families to the Implementation of Socially Significant Projects," the phygital quest "URBA" won. This project engages young people aged 14–35 in improvement through gamification, augmented reality and an AI assistant. More than 16,000 people participated in the first three weeks of the campaign, and over 2,000 young Nizhny Novgorod residents cast their votes for improvement projects.

      "The development and digitalization of the project became possible thanks to the support of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and with the direct participation and personal interest of the Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Gleb Nikitin, who is creating favorable conditions in the region for the implementation of promising initiatives. We are very pleased that our efforts to develop the 'Formation of a Comfortable Urban Environment' project and to create new formats for engaging young people in improvement have been highly appreciated. Our goal is to make the process of resident participation simple, clear and engaging," said Evgeny Kostin, director of the ANO "Center for Strategic Regional Development."

      The organizer of the prize is the autonomous non-profit organization for the development of volunteering and social initiatives ANO "Energy of Development." In 2025, winners were selected in five categories: "Best Practice for Engaging Citizens in the Development of the Urban Environment," "Best Innovative Practice of a Socially Oriented NGO," "Best Corporate Social Program for Employees / Team-Building Practice," "Best Practice for Attracting Youth / Young Families to the Implementation of Socially Significant Projects," and "Best Practice for Popularizing and Developing a Territory through the Creation of Tourist Products and Creative Projects."

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