Nizhny Novgorod  ¾ Mr. Oleg Zaitsev is a dedicated Honorary Consul of Malta for Nizhny Novgorod, a beautiful city to the East of Moscow. 

Mr. Zaitsev is continuously contributing to the strengthening of the relations between Malta and the Russian Federation especially through his people-to-people initiatives.

His latest initiative was the organisation of a team called ‘Maltese Falcon’ to participate in the competitive X-Waters Volga. The competition was organised by the X-Waters which is an international franchise that organises evets all over the world including in Malta next October. The competition took place on the 23^rd of July 2021.  The temperature of the water was 20^oC. The Volga River is the longest river in Europe. 

This is not the first time that Mr. Zaitsev participated in sports events to promote Malta.  Earlier this year he participated in the IronStar Triathlon competition in the city of Gelendzhik on the Black Sea, as well as Kazan, in the Republic of Tatarstan, where he and his team took various prizes.The Maltese Falcons competed with a specifically designed gear bearing the very recognisable Maltese Cross.The City of Nizhny Novgorod will be commemorating this August the 800^th Anniversary of its foundation.  It was established by Prince Yuri II of Vladimir in 1221.  During the Soviet period it was called Gorky and it became an important industrial centre.  Because of this, it suffered severe attacks from the Luftwaffe during WWII.