Valery Limarenko

Valery Igorevich Limarenko (; born 19 October 1960) is a Russian politician currently serving as Governor of Sakhalin Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, since 2018.

Early life Limarenko was born on 19 October 1960 in Kharkiv. His grandfather worked at an aircraft repair plant and his father was a military pilot. He was also going to become a pilot, but did not pass for medical reasons.

In 1983, he graduated from Kharkov Aviation Institute and was qualified as a mechanical engineer of aircraft engines. In 1983, Limarenko took up the post of a design engineer at the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics (VNIIEF) in Arzamas-16. In 1988, he returned to scientific work. In 1999, he defended his thesis for the degree of candidate of economic sciences on the topic "Management of the Process of Mortgage Lending in the Municipality", at the Nizhny Novgorod State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering.

In 2000, he defended his thesis for Ph.D. on economics on the topic "Formation and Development of the Municipal System of Management of Housing Mortgage Lending in a Transitional Economy", at the Institute of Regional Economic Research in Moscow.

Scientific career Limarenko served as the president of the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute and head of the department of Life Cycle Management Systems for Complex Engineering Objects at the Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University (NSTU). He also received an honorary doctorate from NSTU.

During his time in Rosatom, Limarenko oversaw the providing of assistance to Japan during the Fukushima nuclear disaster in the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. He also was responsible for the development of the Unit No.3 of Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant in Lianyungang, China.

Political career From 1984 to 1988, he worked as a Komsomol worker at VNIIEF. He later served as deputy and then secretary of the Komsomol committee of VNIIEF. He served as the Deputy in the Sarov Town Duma and later Deputy Chairman for Economics and Finance.

Limarenko was appointed as the Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities of Nizhny Novgorod in 2001. In 2003, he served as Chief Federal Inspector for the Nizhny Novgorod Region in the office of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Volga Federal District. From 2005 to 2007, he served as the deputy governor and deputy chairman of the Government of Nizhny Novgorod for construction, energy, housing, communal services and information technologies.

On 10 December 2018 Limarenko announced his intention to stand as a candidate in the gubernatorial elections as a self-nominated candidate. Limarenko regularly held meetings with residents of the region, where the most pressing problems are discussed. On 2019 Russian regional elections, Limarenko won the first round of elections for the Governor of the Sakhalin Region gaining 56.15% of the votes cast in the elections. His term of office will end in 2024. On 12 September 2019 he officially took office as the Head of the Sakhalin Region.

From 27 January 2020 he became a member of the Presidium of the State Council of the Russian Federation.

On 14 January 2021, in his Telegram account, Limarenko announced his intention to issue special badges to citizens vaccinated against COVID-19 in the region, allowing them not to wear masks. On 19 January it became known that instead of a badge for those vaccinated against COVID-19, an electronic certificate will be introduced in the form of a QR code in the phone.

On 8 September 2021, under his governorship, Sakhalin Oblast signed a memorandum with Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation to cooperate on decarbonisation through setting up large-scale production of hydrogen for exports, and also through carbon capture and storage technologies.

Three-year results Under Limarenko, Sakhalin Region became the first region in Russia to complete the resettlement program of emergency housing for buildings, recognized as such before 2017. With the support of the federal center, the authorities continued to resettle dilapidated houses that had been listed to the program in subsequent years. According to media reports, Limarenko's lobbying played an essential role in resolving this issue.

Media reports also stated that Limarenko's lobbying has helped speed up the region's gasification with Gazprom.

In addition, Limarenko resolved the transportation issue in the region. During his three years of governorship, the network of local aviation routes was significantly expanded. To do so, a unified Far Eastern airline was created on the base of a local Aurora airline company. Moreover, dozens of runways and air terminals were rebuilt during this period in various districts. In August 2022, regional authorities began the construction of a new runway and passenger terminal at Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk International Airport. As a result, passenger traffic in aviation increased by more than 30%.

The shortage of passenger ships in the Kuril direction (Kunashir, Iturup, and Shikotan) was also solved. In 2021, two newly-built cargo-passenger ships – the Admiral Nevelskoy and the Pavel Leonov – departed for the Korsakov-Kurily line. They were built near Saint Petersburg specifically for serving in island regions.

The support of the governor and the government allowed Sakhalin manufacturers to implement major investment projects, increase production rates, and expand the range of products. Inna Pavlenko, Minister of Agriculture and Trade of the Sakhalin Region, reported in 2022 that the region received extensive government support for the agro-industrial complex and trade in more than 40 areas. As a result, over three years, the regional self-sufficiency in milk has increased 1.5 times, and in meat - 1.2 times. Also, 100% of the population's demand for fresh cucumbers and more than 90% for tomatoes have been met. While the regional government annually allocated about 3 billion rubles for the support and development of agricultural enterprises, by September 2022, 3.5 billion rubles have already been assigned to this sector.

Personal life Limarenko is married to Marina Anatolyevna, who graduated from the Tula State University with a degree in Robotics and worked as a designer. They have two sons and several grandchildren.

Awards and honors Order of Alexander Nevsky (2016): for the achieved labor success and many years of conscientious work. Order of Honour (2010): for great contributions to the development of nuclear energy, and ensuring the physical and energy start-up of Unit No.2 of the Rostov Nuclear Power Plant. Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, third class Order of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov, third and second classes