The government of the Nizhny Novgorod region expressed condolences on the passing of historian and local historian Alimzhan Mustafovich Orlov.

      On July 15, 2025, at the age of 96, Alimzhan Mustafinovich Orlov passed away — a well-known historian, local historian, Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, publicist, public figure who made a significant contribution to the study of the history of the Nizhny Novgorod region and the preservation of the cultural heritage of the Tatar people, and an elder of the Tatar Muslim community of Nizhny Novgorod. As the government of the Nizhny Novgorod region noted, Alimzhan Mustafinovich Orlov left a profound scientific and human legacy. He was a person of high culture, a true educator, and a keeper of historical memory. His activities were repeatedly recognized with letters of appreciation and awards at the municipal, regional, and federal levels. For several decades, he taught at the Gorky Agricultural Institute (now the Nizhny Novgorod State Agricultural Academy). He paid special attention in his scientific and social activities to the history of the Mishar Tatars — one of the indigenous peoples of the Nizhny Novgorod region. He authored more than 100 scientific and journalistic works, including fundamental texts such as "The Historical Fates of the Mishars," "The Nizhny Novgorod Region in the History of the Mishar Tatars," and others. In 1990, he became one of the initiators of the creation and the first chairman of the Tatar cultural society "Tugan Yak" ("Native Land") — the first official Tatar organization in the region, which later transformed into the Nizhny Novgorod Center for Tatar Culture "Tugan Yak." Thanks to his efforts, the first major Tatar cultural events in Nizhny Novgorod were held in the post-Soviet period. Notably, at his initiative, in the late 1980s, the Tatar festival Sabantuy was held in Nizhny Novgorod for the first time, and it has been held annually in the city ever since. With his participation, the region's only Tatar newspaper, "Tugan Yak," has been published for over 35 years. Alimzhan Mustafinovich also participated in ethno-cultural and interethnic projects aimed at strengthening harmony and mutual understanding among the peoples living in Nizhny Novgorod and the Nizhny Novgorod region.