Captain First Rank with Ukraine war experience is new mayor of submarine town Zaozersk
Yaroslav Melnik is one of several veterans with combat experience in Ukraine who are taking over key political positions on the Kola Peninsula.
Captain First Rank Yaroslav Melnik has been appointed as Mayor of Zaozersk, the closed naval town on the Kola Peninsula. Melnik, who served on submarines with the Northern Fleet, recently fought in occupied Ukrainian territory.
On 24 June, the Zaozersk town council elected the military man as the new mayor. He takes over the post from Aleksei Penshin, who was appointed Mayor of the Pechenga municipality in March this year.
“It is a great honour for me to take the helm of Zaozersk—a town inextricably linked to the fate of our navy and home to submariners. I feel a deep sense of pride in taking on responsibility for this important garrison town,” he said in a comment following his appointment.
“My military experience forms the foundation upon which I intend to build my work,” he added.
The 42-year-old Melnik served on strategic submarines, as well as at the Northern Fleet headquarters. He took part in Russia’s military operations in Syria, as well as in the war of aggression in Ukraine.
In 2004, he graduated from the Admiral F.F. Ushakov Baltic Naval Institute in Kaliningrad.
According to Sergei Dubovoy, speaker of the Murmansk regional Duma and himself a military man, the new mayor of Zaozersk has been awarded the Order of Courage, the Medal of the Order ‘For Merit to the Fatherland’ (2nd class), the Suvorov Medal, and has received a Letter of Thanks from the President of the Russian Federation.
Yaroslav Melnik was one of about 20 soldiers from the war in Ukraine who, in September 2025, were selected to take part in Governor Andrei Chibis’s so-called ‘Hero of the North’ programme. The programme, based on a national initiative from the Kremlin, aims to militarise the Russian government sector.
Many of the participants have fought on the frontline and been involved in serious war crimes.
"We selected the best—those who have proven their professionalism on the battlefield and are now ready to serve our country in civilian life," Governor Chibis said in a welcome address to the participants.
"You are the true elite of our country," he emphasised.
Several similar appointments are likely to take place in the coming months. Earlier this week, it was announced that Major General Roman Fyodorov, the commander of Russia’s Marine Corps, will be on the Murmansk ballot in the upcoming regional parliamentary election.
Zaozersk is known for its powerful nuclear submarine bases, which today include attack submarines of the Yasen class. Near the town centre is the Nerpicha naval base, which houses the brand-new K-560 Severodvinsk and K-561 Kazan. Previously, it was also the homeport for six giant Typhoon submarines, as well as several other vessels, among them the K-278 Komsomolets and the first Soviet submarine, K-3 (Leninsky Komsomol).
The municipality is a closed military town. It is located about 50 km from the Norwegian border and has a population of about 7,000.
