The official inauguration ceremony took place in the regional philharmonic: Andrei Chibis took office as governor of the Murmansk region. 

The guests of the ceremony were the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District Alexander Gutsan, Assistant to the President Vladimir Medinsky, Head of the Presidential Administration for Monitoring and Analysis of Social Processes Alexander Kharichev, members of the Federation Council, Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Fleet of Russia Konstantin Kabantsov, Chairman of the Murmansk Regional Duma Sergei Dubovoy, honorary citizens of the Murmansk region, heads of local government bodies, business structures and public organizations, deputies, representatives of territorial administrations of federal government bodies.

The elected governor took the oath in accordance with the Charter of the Murmansk region: "I swear, when exercising the powers of the governor of the Murmansk region, to observe the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Charter and laws of the Murmansk region, to respect and protect the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, to faithfully serve the people of the Murmansk region."

Congratulating Andrey Chibis on his re-election and official inauguration, Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative Alexander Gutsan emphasized that northerners see the efforts that have been made over the past 5 years to make the region modern and dynamically developing, where it is interesting to work and comfortable to live. 

“Almost 14% more voters voted for your candidacy than in 2019, which is a convincing confirmation of my words. The whole country knows your slogan “Live in the North”. I think that even you could not imagine 5 years ago that tourists from all over the country would go to a remote fishing village on the shore of the cold Barents Sea, and the name Teriberka would become a successful tourist brand. This is just one manifestation of the unconventional approach that is characteristic of you and the regional government. This approach motivates people to make life in this harsh region better, brighter and more comfortable. I am confident that your plans, ideas and dreams will be realized in the next 5 years. "I wish you, Andrei Vladimirovich, success and further achievements for the benefit of the Murmansk region and the Russian Federation, and well-being, health and all the best to the residents of Murmansk!" emphasized Alexander Gutsan.

Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky also noted that the governor's victory in the elections is a high assessment of the results of his work by the residents of the region.

"This is the assessment that our citizens, voters, residents of the Murmansk region, gave to the governor's team and to him personally based on the results of 5 years of work. This assessment confirms that the Murmansk region is changing for the better, that great efforts have been made by the governor's team, the federal authorities to implement the vector of development of the North set by our President, that Russia, as said, will now grow, and the Arctic, where the main promising mineral resources are located. Assessment of the implementation of national projects, plans for expanded gasification, the construction of new large enterprises and ports, the development of the Murmansk transport hub, the construction of a world-class university campus, the unique "Arctic Mortgage". This is not only an assessment, but also hope that the program of the governor and his team for the next five years "Living in the North" will be implemented no less, and probably even more. The geography itself, history, all this forged the special character of the Murmansk residents. And I wish the governor to be as decisive, steadfast, and unwavering in implementing the tasks set in the next five years as the generation of residents of these places. Those who chose this beautiful but harsh land to live in, to build their destiny here, who associate their hope for a better destiny with you, who gave you their faith and hope. Do not let them down. Health and success to you and all the residents of this beautiful land," said Vladimir Medinsky.

Northern Fleet Commander Konstantin Kabantsov emphasized that the vast majority of Northern Fleet servicemen and their families know Andrei Chibis as a competent, experienced, and highly effective leader.

“You are deeply immersed in the problems of the closed administrative-territorial entities, and you delve into the concerns of servicemen’s families. You do and continue to do a lot to provide for our soldiers who are in the Northern Military District. We deeply believe that the next five years will allow you to implement global plans for the development of the Murmansk Region. I would like to wish you good health, inexhaustible energy, good spirits, successful resolution of all tasks set before you, and, of course, good luck,” Konstantin Kabantsov wished.

The head of the regional parliament, Sergei Dubovoy, noted that the support of northerners given to Andrei Chibis during the elections is connected with the desire to see the region more comfortable, prosperous, with real changes in the economy, social sphere, and housing and communal services.

“This is a great honor and great trust, responsibility to thousands of people. The second five-year plan in such a high position obliges in many ways. The regional government faces the task of stable economic development of our region. The implementation of the strategic plan "Living in the North" has shown how consistently and carefully the governor makes decisions to achieve the goals set. And the policy of further development of our region, improving the standard of living in the North is presented in the new strategic plan, which includes proposals from all residents of our Murmansk region. And most importantly, we are convinced that the governor knows how to listen and hear people's opinions. It is important to maintain this course and continue to follow it now. We have close cooperation between the legislative and executive authorities. Together we can ensure that each of us has even more reasons to be proud of the Murmansk region," said Sergey Dubovoy.

Concluding the ceremony, Governor Andrei Chibis thanked the northerners, the President, the federal government, colleagues from regional and municipal authorities for their trust and support.

"Five years ago, we agreed to show the world how important the Russian North is, that strong and heroic people live here, who ensure the development of our country, its protection and security. And we have fulfilled our agreement. For the first time since 1989, more people came to live and work here than left. We have reduced the rate of population decline by 7 times. We have achieved a 2.5-fold increase in GRP - we have reached 10th place in the country, created 8.5 thousand new jobs. The growth of the improvement of cities and towns has become noticeable to every resident. We have proved to skeptics that it is possible and necessary to live in the North. Our plan "Live in the North" has yielded results in 5 years. Thank you to the northerners who work every day for the benefit of the region, to the military personnel who ensure the protection of the country on long campaigns and in the North Military District, who show courage and heroism. It is a great honor for all of us to serve next to you," the governor said. 

Andrey Chibis emphasized that with the support of President Vladimir Putin, a number of strategic projects and initiatives for the entire country are being implemented in the region. 

“Immense gratitude to our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, firstly, for the trust, for supporting our initiatives, for the decisions that the President makes regarding the development of both the Murmansk Region and the entire Arctic. Thanks to his support, we have built a new railway, 50 kilometers as part of the Murmansk Transport Hub project. The new Lavna port, the first since the Soviet Union, is at a high level of readiness. We have built a large-scale plant in Belokamenka. A 2-percent Arctic Mortgage has appeared, as the Presidential Aide just said. We have launched a large-scale program for the renovation of closed administrative-territorial entities. Thank you to our federal government for your cooperation and support, to our plenipotentiary representative, who always comes to the rescue in the most difficult situations and fairly deals with all issues. This is fundamentally important,” the head of the region emphasized.

Andrey Chibis reminded that the plan “Living in the North” for the next 5 years has already been presented, which was created based on the wishes of residents.

“Our goal is to maintain the population with an influx of new personnel and the retention of young specialists, to ensure the growth of people’s income and the budget. There is a whole list of tasks ahead in all sectors. I am convinced that each of us in our place, in our area of ​​work, will do everything possible to achieve this with the support of the President, federal authorities, law enforcement officers, and parliamentarians,” the governor emphasized.

/ Ministry of Information Policy of the Murmansk Region /