Russia, there is no Sámi Parliament. There are two Sámi organisations that are members of the national umbrella organisation of indigenous peoples, the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON), and represent the Russian Sámi in the Sámi Council. RAIPON is represented in Russia's Public Chamber by Pavel Sulyandziga. On 14 December 2008, the first Congress of the Russian Sámi took place. The Conference decided to demand the formation of a Russian Sámi Parliament, to be elected by the local Sámi. A suggestion to have the Russian Federation pick representatives for the Parliament was voted down with a clear majority. The Congress also chose a Council of Representatives that were to work for the establishment of a parliament and otherwise represent the Russian Sámi. It is headed by Valentina Sovkina. Sámi Parliamentary Council On 2 March 2000, the Sámi parliaments of Norway and Finland founded the Sámi Parliamentary Council, and the Sámi Parliament of Sweden joined two years later. Each parliament sends seven representatives, and observers are sent from the Sámi organisations of Russia and the Sámi Council. The Sámi Parliamentary Council discuss cross-border cooperation, hand out the annual Gollegiella language development award, and represent the Sámi people abroad. Saami Council In addition to the parliaments and their common council, there is a Saami Council based on Saami organisations. This council also organises interstate cooperation between the Saami, and also often represents the Saami in international fora such as the Barents Region. This organisation is older than the Parliamentary Council, but not connected to the parliaments except that some of the NGOs double as party lists in Sami parliament elections. Russian side The Russian side of Sápmi is within Murmansk Oblast. Oblasts are governed by popularly elected parliaments and formally headed by governors. The governors are nominated by the president of Russia and accepted or rejected by the local parliaments. However, should the parliament refuse to accept the president's nominee, the president is entitled to dissolve parliament and call local elections. Murmansk Oblast covers the Kola Peninsula and is home to Murmansk, the largest city north of the Arctic Circle and in the Sápmi. It is subdivided into several districts, of which the geographically largest is Lovozersky District. This is also part of Russia where the Sami population is most numerous and visible. The Lapland Nature Reserve (, Laplandskiy zapovednik) is a Russian zapovednik (strict nature reserve) in