born Oct. 17, 1734, Lyutkino, Tver Province, Russia
died April 24, 1783, Neskuchnoye, near Moscow
Russian military officer and lover of Catherine II .
An artillery officer, he fought in the Seven Years' War . While stationed in St. Petersburg, he met the grand duke Peter (later Peter III ) and his wife, Catherine, whose lover Orlov became с 1760. After Peter ascended the throne (1762), Orlov and his brother, Count Aleksey Orlov , planned the coup d'état that overthrew Peter and made Catherine empress of Russia. As Catherine's close adviser, he proposed agrarian reforms to help the serfs, but little was accomplished. He lost favour at court с 1772.