On 26 March 2020, JINR Director Academician V. A. Matveev signed an order to entrust Grigory Vladimirovich Trubnikov with duties of the First JINR Vice-Director due to his return to work in the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research pending the approval of the appointment by the Committee of Plenipotentiary Representatives of JINR, the session of which has been postponed since March for an unspecified period.

Academician G. V. Trubnikov leaves his position of the First Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation to take up the position of the First JINR Vice-Director on the proposal of the JINR Member States. In accordance with the Resolution of the CP JINR of 25 – 26 November 2019, G. V. Trubnikov will be entrusted the duties and responsibility to develop the programme of the future JINR development basing on the Strategy for the long-term development of JINR until 2030 being drafted by the International Working Group. G. V. Trubnikov will be also entrusted with the duties of the Head of the Directorate of the NICA mega-science project. Moreover, G. V. Trubnikov will undertake the coordinating functions of the JINR Administrative Director supervising the activities of all the JINR divisions.