The ex-leader of the Union of Right Forces Nikita Belykh has officially taken the post of Governor of the Kirov Region on Thursday. The inauguration ceremony was held in the city of Kirovsk in the regional drama theatre.

At the ceremony Belykh took the oath, was given the original copy of the Code of Laws, the governor’s emblem, the flag of the region, and the award pin of the Governor.

Heads of all the regions of the Volga Federal District were invited to the inauguration of Nikita Belykh. The majority of the delegation came from the Perm Region, where Belykh was born and had worked in for a long time.

Nikita Belykh declared before that he is not going to change his ideological views, but if he is approved for the post of Governor, he will leave his political career. “It is not a matter of political work. It is a matter of a region which is in a difficult situation, and needs smart management”, he stated.

“I do not change my ideological views and I wish to note that in many respects they correspond to what the state authorities declare”, the former head of Union of Right Forces said. He said the question of market principles in the region and strengthening democratic institutes are among the tasks for the new governor. Belykh aims to cooperate with all political forces of the region. In the near future he intends to meet representatives of parties represented in the region’s Legislative Assembly of the Kirov Region.

Fact box:

Aged 33, Nikita Belykh born in Perm. There he finished school with a gold medal and was an excellent student and postgraduate of the economic faculty of the Perm State University. Later he passed a training course in Oxford, according to ITAR-TASS.

The political career of Belykh started in 2001 when he was elected the deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Perm Region and worked as vice-chairman and then chairman of the committee on economic policy and taxes.

In March 2004 Nikita Belykh was appointed the vice-governor of the Perm Region. He supervised the development of the regional economy, the consumer market, small businesses, mortgage matters and also foreign economic relations. In this year Belykh also became a member of Federal Political Council of the Union of the Right Forces.

In May 2005 he became the leader of the party.

In September 2008 he resigned from the post of the leader of Union of Right Forces and left the party.

On December 8 2008 President Dmitry Medvedev recommended Nikita Belykh's nomination to the deputies of the regional Legislative Assembly of the Kirov region for the post of regional governor. On December 18 the majority of deputies approved Belykh’s nomination for the Kirov governor post.