We went to the Volga: Putin checked the condition of the Nizhny Novgorod automobile industry

Familiarization with innovative digital systems, strategic initiatives and participation in the relaunch of the legendary car brand — all this formed the route of Vladimir Putin's working trip to Nizhny Novgorod. The Head of State studied the map of national projects on the anniversary of the ASI, aimed domestic engineers to look "beyond the horizon" when creating the transport of the future and personally tested the new Volga behind the wheel of the flagship model. What else surprised the president in Nizhny Novgorod, and why he remembered Dmitry Mendeleev, is in the Izvestia article.

Startups of Russian engineers and the fate of their heroes

Vladimir Putin arrived in Nizhny Novgorod on August 28 on a working visit: the last time the head of state was here was in September 2023 at the opening of the section of the M-12 Vostok highway. The president's agenda turned out to be full — ranging from the examination of civil initiatives to the revival of the legend of the national automotive industry.

The sixth forum of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) "Strong Ideas for a New Age" was held in Nizhny Novgorod on these dates. The organization was established in 2011 on the initiative of the President. That is why Vladimir Putin first went to the forum's plenary session, where he congratulated the ASI staff on their 15th anniversary.

— Your ideas should continue to be a truly creative response to the challenges of the new age. We are creating it for future generations, creating it all together in the interests of strengthening sovereignty, fighting for the present, the future of Russia through our practical efforts aimed at improving the well-being of citizens. Russia is strong, and it will be strong in the future," the head of state said.

The choice of Nizhny Novgorod to host the forum carries deep symbolism, the president is convinced. According to him, this city is historically considered one of the largest industrial, business, scientific, cultural and spiritual centers of Russia.

In 1896, the famous All-Russian exhibition was held here, which showed the world the inventions of Popov and Shukhov. The President quoted Dmitry Mendeleev, an outstanding chemist and thinker, who said at the time: "Watching our exhibition means learning, learning, analyzing, thinking, and not just walking, watching, and relaxing. At every step, there is everything new, different, unexpected, instructive, moreover, its own and often cutting-edge."

The head of state got to know the leading man personally — before the start of the plenary session, he looked at the exposition of the Know Our Growing Russian brands competition. Its key theme in 2026 was autonomy — the ability of Russian developments to effectively solve problems with less dependence on external infrastructure.

The development of digital systems for the mining industry attracted the special attention of the head of state. The exhibition featured a domestic drilling rig control system that completely replaces the imported RCS5, as well as a tunneling drilling assistant and an anti-collision avoidance system.

The head of ASI, Svetlana Chupsheva, told Izvestia that since the first forum was held in 2020, the number of incoming initiatives has tripled: in 2026, about 48 thousand projects were received on the crowd platform. At the same time, about half of all ideas are directly related to issues of the quality of life of citizens, support for families and the development of the social sphere. People also suggested mechanisms for the development of domestic production.

The President called for building a full-fledged innovation support system and ensuring long-term demand for domestic products, so that the whole country from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok would be proud of the technologies created domestically.

A special emphasis was placed on personnel training and updating the Atlas of New Professions, which should take into account, among other things, the combat experience of veterans of a special military operation. It is the duty of the state and society to ensure that every participant in their conflict can realize themselves in peaceful life, in management, economics and the social sphere, Vladimir Putin stressed.

Test drive of the new Volga and modular Gazelles

The second part of Vladimir Putin's visit to Nizhny Novgorod was an immersion in the affairs of the automotive industry. The Head of State visited the automobile cluster, where the production of new Volga cars was launched. Despite the updated design and new functionality, the car has retained the "cultural code" of the legend of the Russian automotive industry — Volga— the anchor project for the Nizhny Novgorod automotive cluster.

This is a familiar car for the head of state. The president did not hide his warm attitude towards the brand: in 2005, during a meeting in Novo-Ogaryovo, he put American leader George W. Bush behind the wheel of his own restored 21st Volga and taught him how to drive Soviet classics, and in 2008 he personally tested a novelty of that time, the Volga Cyber.

Years later, the legendary line of the brand, which was temporarily put on pause, gained a second wind on the basis of the modernized capacities of the Nizhny Novgorod automobile cluster, where Volkswagen and Skoda, which had previously left the country, were produced. The plant's potential is 110,000 vehicles per year: serial assembly was launched in April 2026.

The president was shown the entire updated model range — the C50 business sedan, as well as the K40 and K50 crossovers. To try out the novelty in business, Vladimir Putin personally drove from one workshop to another behind the wheel of the flagship K50.

Next, the head of state was shown the main breakthrough of the Gorky Automobile Plant — a unique modular platform for the NN Gazelles of the new generation. GAZ engineers have created a universal "constructor" that is relevant for the next 30 years: the platform allows you to change the length of the base, drive and install any engines without alterations — from diesel and gas to hybrid, electricity and even hydrogen.

The low loading height of 600 mm meets international standards, and the project immediately included right-hand drive versions for active export. During the conversation between the president and the workers, one of the engineers stressed that this development would cover the country's needs for commercial transport for decades to come.

— It is very important that you look, look beyond the horizon, look into the future — in two or three decades there will be such and such. I am very pleased to say that there are people, including in your industry, who know and want, and are doing everything to ensure that in two or three decades everything will be stable, reliable and solid," Vladimir Putin remarked.

The end of the "wave" agenda was a visit to the new 12,000-strong Volga Ice Arena, the future home of the Torpedo hockey club. Here Putin met with young hockey players, who thanked him for the modern sports palace and promised to play only to win.

As a souvenir, the athletes presented the president with a personalized hockey stick and a game sweater, and in return they asked him to leave an autograph on their equipment and take a photo together.