Meet Ruslan

Ruslan Shamal is a Staten Island resident, entrepreneur, and media professional running for New York State Senate.

Ruslan was born in Belarus and grew up under a communist system. He came to the United States alone with limited financial resources to pursue the American Dream, initially settling in Brooklyn. During his early years in New York, he worked a range of blue-collar jobs, including as a busboy, barback, kitchen cabinet installer, and hardwood flooring installer, while building stability and learning the trades.

Through hard work and persistence, Ruslan went on to build and operate several small businesses. As an entrepreneur, he understands firsthand the challenges faced by business owners and families, including rising costs, regulation, taxes, and the growing affordability crisis that is pushing people out of their communities.

Alongside his business work, Ruslan has spent more than 20 years in broadcast media. He is a radio host on RUSA FM and Freedom FM 104.7 (WXNY-HD4), where he focuses on local news, public safety, civic issues, and the affordability challenges facing working families in Staten Island, Brooklyn, and across New York City.

Through his radio work, Ruslan has interviewed elected officials, law enforcement representatives, business owners, and community leaders, and has used his platform to highlight neighborhood issues and local initiatives across the district.

After the birth of his first child, Ruslan moved to Staten Island, choosing the borough for its stability, family-oriented neighborhoods, and strong sense of community. He lives in Staten Island and continues to work in Brooklyn, giving him firsthand experience with the economic, transportation, quality-of-life, and affordability challenges on both sides of the district.

Ruslan is grateful for the opportunities America has given him, for the people who helped him when he first arrived in Brooklyn, and for the life he has built in Staten Island. He is running to help ensure that New York remains a place where hard work is rewarded, housing and everyday living are affordable, and where the next generation, including his own children, can pursue the American Dream.

Ruslan is a strong supporter of public safety and the NYPD. His priorities include supporting small businesses, protecting homeowners and property owners, opposing policies that threaten neighborhood stability, encouraging parental involvement in education, supporting practical education solutions including school choice, addressing affordability, and ensuring respect and support for veterans and seniors.

Ruslan is running for New York State Senate as a Republican to bring a public safety-focused, common-sense perspective to Albany and to represent working families in Staten Island and Brooklyn.