Russian Acting Legend Yankovsky Loses Cancer Battle
Beloved Russian actor Oleg Yankovsky has died after a battle with cancer. He was 65.
His career spanned five decades and included many iconic roles in classic Russian movies like Shield & Sword and Andrei Tarkovsky's Nostalgia.
One of his final films, Tsar, recently screened at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival in France.
Yankovsky's death was marked by a day of unofficial mourning on Wednesday, when the news of his passing led morning news broadcasts in the former Soviet Union.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have both paid tribute to the actor - Putin called Yankovsky "an actor from God", revealing it was his role in Shield & Sword that inspired the young politician to become a member of the Kgb.
President Medvedev credited the star with being able to "fully represent the times he lived in" in his films.
Yankovsky, who was honoured as a People's Artist of the U.S.S.R., was born in Kazakhstan in 1944. He will be buried at Moscow's prestigious Novodevichy Cemetery on Friday.
His career spanned five decades and included many iconic roles in classic Russian movies like Shield & Sword and Andrei Tarkovsky's Nostalgia.
One of his final films, Tsar, recently screened at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival in France.
Yankovsky's death was marked by a day of unofficial mourning on Wednesday, when the news of his passing led morning news broadcasts in the former Soviet Union.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have both paid tribute to the actor - Putin called Yankovsky "an actor from God", revealing it was his role in Shield & Sword that inspired the young politician to become a member of the Kgb.
President Medvedev credited the star with being able to "fully represent the times he lived in" in his films.
Yankovsky, who was honoured as a People's Artist of the U.S.S.R., was born in Kazakhstan in 1944. He will be buried at Moscow's prestigious Novodevichy Cemetery on Friday.
- 5/20/2009
- WENN
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