1985 to 1991 – Chairman of the Arzamas city Executive Committee of Soviet of people's deputies in 1991 as the first Secretary of the Arzamas city Committee of the CPSU
1990–1993 – member of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR
1991–1994 – Vice-Governor of Nizhny Novgorod region
1994–1997 – the mayor of Nizhny Novgorod
1997–2001 – Governor of Nizhny Novgorod region. As the Governor entered the Council of the Federation, was Chairman of the Committee on Federation Affairs, Federal Treaty and regional policy.
In the elections received the support of the Association of Industrialists and entrepreneurs, the agro-industrial Union region, stood as the successor to Boris Nemtsov. Despite this, shortly after the election announced conducted by the predecessor policy is wrong, and "the only political force on which he focuses," called mayor Yuriy Luzhkov. Positioning itself as a "good Manager", Sklyarov seeks to maximize the participation in the management of the region's economy. Most notable was a project of creation on the basis of the Kstovo refinery regional oil refining company on the model of "Moscow oil company". The first time the policy Sklyarov had a significant impact Sergei Kiriyenko, and after his resignation from the post of Prime Minister of Russia in the region began to increase the influence of big business. In 2000, Kstovskiy refinery came under the control of "LUKOIL", the leading petrochemical enterprises of the region included in SIBUR, and the GAZ came under the management of the group "Russian aluminium" Oleg Deripaska. In 1998, for the upcoming 200-year anniversary of the Pushkin Sklyarov appealed to the Russian Orthodox Church with a proposal to rank the poet canonized, to which the Chairman of the Synodal Commission on the glorification of the saints, Metropolitan Juvenal said: "a Politician who calls himself Orthodox, should know what to make of the proposal of canonization is the prerogative only of priests". Sklyarov was also known for other strange initiatives and meaningless or grammatically incorrect statements was "not sparkling education". Despite the revival in the economy, social sphere and living standards of Nizhny Novgorod has left much to be desired and the region intensified protests. As a result, the 2001 elections with low voter turnout Ivan Sklyarov lost member of the CommunistGennady Hodyrev.
After retirement
After the resignation of Governor, Sklyarov-Deputy General Director of JSC "Nizhegorodsvyazinform" in Nizhny Novgorod.
