Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Soviet and Russian actor Vladimir Etush died in Moscow at the 97 year of life. This was stated by the director of the Vakhtangov Theater, where the artist worked, Kirill Kroc.

Kirill Kroc stated that Vladimir Etush died today (9 March) at 12: 30 (Moscow time) at the hospital, where he was taken the day before, on Friday.

Etush will be buried in the Novodevichy cemetery. Farewell to the artist will be held on 12 March in the Vakhtangov Theater.

Etush was born on 6 May 1922, in Moscow. He joined the Vakhtangov Theater in 1945 and became a leading artist soon, having performed in over 50 plays.

Etush started his career in cinema industry in 1953, having performed a role in "Admiral Ushakov" movie by prominent Soviet filmmaker Mikhail Romm. While the actor has performed in over 150 movies, he is mostly known for his roles in "Solaris" (1972) sci-fi movie by Andrey Tarkovsky and in Leonid Gaidai’s comedy films "Kidnapping, Caucasian Style" (1966), "The Twelve Chairs" (1971) and "Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future" (1973).

Etush has received a number of awards, including the People’s Artist of the Soviet Union and the State prize of the Russian Federation in the field of literature and the arts.