Russian actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov, best known for his role as Soviet spy Stirlitz in the television series '17 Moments Of Spring', has died in Moscow. He was 81.
As Stirlitz, he was as familiar to Soviets as James Bond in the West, reports the BBC.
Tikhonov, more familiar to Western audiences as Prince Andrei in an epic Soviet adaptation of War And Peace in the 1960s, passed away after suffering a heart attack.
Russian film director, Eldar Ryazanov, described the actor's death as a 'catastrophe'.
"I'm sorry, he was my friend and I'm in no state to say anything now," he told Interfax news agency.
While Karen Shakhnazarov, director general of the Mosfilm studios in Moscow, said: "For many generations, (Tikhonov) he personified the best in Soviet cinema."
Tikhonov was a recipient of numerous state awards, including the titles of People's Artist of the USSR (1974) and Hero of Socialist Labour (1982).
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