Week results: April 6-12

      150 km of federal highways are planned to be repaired in the Nizhny Novgorod region by the end of 2028. In the Nizhny Novgorod region, it is planned to repair 150 km of federal highways by the end of 2028 with the efforts of the Federal State Institution "Volga-Vyatka Road Administration," of which 31 km will be capital repairs, with the expansion of the roadway to four lanes. Large-scale work is underway on the federal highway R-158 Nizhny Novgorod – Saratov: road workers continue to modernize the section from the village of Nizhgorodets to Arzamas. The prospects for the development of the road network under the national project "Infrastructure for Life" were discussed during a working meeting between the head of the Federal Road Agency Roman Novikov and the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region Gleb Nikitin. The indicator of the normative condition of the federal road network in the region, which is under the operational management of Rosavtodor, is 78%. In 2026, it is also planned to bring 180 facilities of regional and local road networks, with a total length of over 600 km, to normative condition in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The capital repair of the bridge over the Tyozha River on the regional highway Ryazhsk – Kasimov – Murom – Nizhny Novgorod will be completed. During Roman Novikov's working trip to the Nizhny Novgorod region, an expanded off-site meeting of the Public Council under Rosavtodor was held on the topic "National Project 'Infrastructure for Life' – Prospects for the Development of the Road Economy." The head of Rosavtodor reported that last year a federal subsidy of 8.3 billion rubles was sent to the Nizhny Novgorod region. All funds were allocated for the implementation of targeted industry indicators, which were fully met. The situation in the chemical industry and metallurgy was discussed at the operational headquarters for the socio-economic development of the Nizhny Novgorod region. Governor Gleb Nikitin held a meeting of the operational headquarters to ensure the sustainability of the socio-economic development of the region, dedicated to the state of the chemical industry and metallurgy. By the end of 2025, the industrial production index in the chemical industry was 88.7%. Profit has decreased, and the indebtedness of production has increased. The situation in metallurgy is more complicated: the industrial production index for 2025 was 72.9%, and 80% of large metallurgical enterprises reduced their production volumes. Following the meeting, Gleb Nikitin instructed to work with federal structures on the possibilities of targeted support for metallurgical enterprises, as well as to continue active monitoring of the situation at chemical enterprises. An off-site meeting of the interdepartmental commission to support participants of the Special Military Operation (SMO) took place in Zavolzhye of the Gorodets district. The first deputy governor Andrey Gneushev met with the family of a missing soldier. At the site, all agencies were given appropriate instructions. Andrey Gneushev also met with veterans who returned to peaceful life after participating in the special operation. After personal meetings, the commission discussed life situations together with all agencies involved in addressing the issues faced by SMO participants and their relatives. Commission members discussed issues of providing medical assistance to SMO participants and also analyzed the implementation of a new tool – a social portrait of each person returning to peaceful life. The number of business inspections in the Nizhny Novgorod region has decreased by 10%. The ombudsman for the protection of entrepreneurs' rights in the Nizhny Novgorod region Pavel Solodky presented a report on the results of his activities in 2025 to the regional head. Governor Gleb Nikitin noted that the burden on honest businesses is decreasing in the region. The number of business inspections by regional and municipal control authorities has decreased by 10%, and the number of identified violations has decreased by 20%. Gleb Nikitin and Pavel Solodky discussed the state of the business environment in the region. Over the past three years, there has been a trend towards an increase in the number of small and medium-sized enterprises. In 2025, the number of self-employed citizens and newly registered individual entrepreneurs significantly increased, indicating a favorable business climate. Practices for developing patriotic tourism in the Nizhny Novgorod region were presented at the Travel Hub "Commonwealth" forum in Minsk. The forum was attended by representatives of legislative authorities, federal and regional agencies, and experts from the tourism business. The Minister of Tourism and Crafts of the Nizhny Novgorod region Sergey Yakovlev spoke at the round table "Patriotic Tourism and Cooperation of CIS States in Preserving Memory and Educating Future Generations" at the Belarusian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War about the project "Lessons with Travel" and presented practices for developing patriotic tourism. The emphasis in patriotic tourism is placed on programs for youth, which corresponds to the tasks of the national projects "Youth and Children" and "Tourism and Hospitality." Another useful initiative is the creation of a set of thematic tourist routes in the Nizhny Novgorod region: "Road of Courage," "Road of Memory. Great Victory," "No One is Forgotten, Nothing is Forgotten," and others. Sergey Yakovlev also spoke about the opening of a new patriotic route in the Bogorodsky district near the village of Khvoshchevka. More than 90% of Nizhny Novgorod residents participating in the survey support the ban on the sale of vapes. In the Nizhny Novgorod region, the results of a large-scale public opinion survey on the topic of vape sales have been summarized. Over three winter months, social surveyors interviewed more than 22,000 residents of the region. More than 90% of respondents expressed support for the initiative to ban the sale of devices and liquids for vaping. According to sociologists, the survey results reflect not only attitudes towards a specific initiative but also a broad public demand for the formation of a healthy environment and the reduction of harmful habits. Participants in the study expressed their views on harmful habits in general. 63% of respondents consider their prevalence a serious social problem. Medical professionals also note an increase in citizens' adherence to healthy lifestyle principles. This is the result of comprehensive work by the entire healthcare system within the framework of the national project "Sustained and Active Life." Ivan NIZHIGORODTSEV Photo by Maxim Gerasimov, photo.pravda-nn.ru