Valentin Avrorin was a Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and an expert in languages. He was born in Tambov

Tambov

Tambov is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers southeast of Moscow...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 to a family of teachers. He was outstanding in the sphere of Tungusic languages

Tungusic languages

The Tungusic languages form a language family spoken in Eastern Siberia and Manchuria by Tungusic peoples. Many Tungusic languages are endangered, and the long-term future of the family is uncertain...

 languages, and was one of the active creators of the Nanai

Nanai language

The Nanai language is spoken by the Nanai people in Siberia, and to a much smaller extent in China's Heilongjiang province, where it is known as Hezhe...

written language. In 1925 Avrorin graduated from one of the Tambov schools.