Elizaveta Solonchenko is one of the young technocrats in modern Russian politics. Behind her is a prestigious technical education, experience in the business sector. A fragile woman for several years entered the closed club of the rulers of Nizhny Novgorod, having managed in 2017 to head the city administration. However, the open leadership style was too revolutionary for the established patriarchal way of life of a large Volga city, and after a short time she was removed from her post.
Businesswoman
The biography of Elizabeth Solonchenko begins her countdown in 1972, when she was born in Nizhny Novgorod, which at that time was named after the writer Maxim Gorky. Unlike many of her peers, she was indifferent to the humanities and was not afraid of the wilds of technical disciplines.
Therefore, to continue her education, the girl after leaving school chose the Nizhny Novgorod State University and the furious specialty “applied mathematics”.
After graduation, Elizabeth Solonchenko had no problems in finding a job, many private firms were pleased to see a highly intelligent graduate. The first place of work for her was VKT LLC, where she served as commercial director from 1993 to 1995.
An ambitious young woman was bored of sitting in one place, for several years she changed several companies, everywhere held leadership positions. In the period 1995-1999. Elizaveta Solonchenko, a native of Nizhny Novgorod, worked as the director of the trade representative office of Lyubyatovo OJSC, then returned to VKT and headed the company as general director.
Elizaveta Igorevna completed her career as a businesswoman at ZAO Trading House Cracker, where she also served as general manager.
Coming into politics
Despite a successful career in business, Solonchenko pursued ambitious dreams of public service for the benefit of the people. The woman decided to associate her political activities with the leading party in the country.
She was successfully elected to the deputies of the Nizhny Novgorod Legislative Assembly, and headed the United Russia regional support fund.
In 2012, Elizaveta Solonchenko was unanimously elected the head of the United Russia party in the City Duma, headed the commission on property and land relations, but her fast-paced political career was not limited to this. In 2014, an activist of the party in power was appointed deputy head of Nizhny Novgorod, successfully helping the mayor for several years.
Mayor of the city
In June 2017, the previous head of Nizhny Novgorod, Ivan Karnilin, was dismissed. Homegrown experts talked about the chances of a candidate, but were brutally deceived in their expectations. Unexpectedly for many, but not for Elizabeth Solonchenko herself, at the next session of the city parliament, her candidacy was approved for the post of head of a major Volga city.
Despite the rare precedents for women to be governors in Russia, the townspeople generally favored the arrival of Elizabeth Igorevna as mayor.
She was a representative of the business community of the city, and in addition, she was a symbol of a new generation in politics - young technocrats who did not abuse populism and focused on real affairs.
From the very beginning of her activity, Elizaveta Solonchenko demonstrated that she would avoid undercover intrigues and backroom activities. Each initiative of the City Hall was brought up for wide discussion by representatives of civil society and the media, while the “iron lady” of Nizhny Novgorod was not at all afraid of journalists who could tear to pieces any politician.
Nevertheless, despite the sprightly start, Elizabeth Solonchenko somehow did not suit the leadership of the region, which already in December 2017 removed the woman from the post of head of the city. Today she continues to work in the city parliament, holding the post of deputy chairman of the legislative assembly.
