At 82 year of life has died the leading actor of the Moscow theater of satire Mikhail Derzhavin. Information about his death was confirmed to RBC’s wife Roksana Babayan. The actor struggled with a terrible disease, but she overcame it.

“After a long illness, died today, the people’s artist of Russia Mikhail Derzhavin”, according to the representative of the theatre. This information was confirmed by news portal RBK wife Derzhavin, Roksana Babayan. “Yes, really” she said, without specifying the cause of death.

Singer, people’s artist of the RSFSR Lev Leshchenko in a conversation with RBC called Mikhail Derzhavin “the brightest representative of the old school of acting”. “It’s very sad. He was a man quite versatile, working a lot in film and on stage. Personality was big. Of course, all of us, for his friends, to his friends — this is a big loss,” — said Leshchenko.

Ex-wife Derzhavina Nina Budennaya in one of the conversations reported that he suffered from vascular disease. “He died this morning, in the area 7-8 am. Very quickly, in just two weeks, died down and everything. He was sick the last two days he was a little dazed, almost unconscious,” she explained.

Mikhail Derzhavin grew up in a house on the street Vakhtangov, in the next entrance which is the Theatre Institute of the Boris Shchukin theater Vakhtangov. Derzhavin graduated from this school in 1959, then worked in the Moscow theater. Lenin Komsomol, in the theater on Malaya Bronnaya, but the greater part of his life — since 1968 — served in the Moscow theater of satire, which played about 40 roles.

A special love of the audience received a variety of performances in which Derzhavin has performed with his long-term partner and friend Alexander Shirvindt. After the death of the chief Director of the theater of satire Valentin Pluchek, Shirvindt has headed the theatre, becoming its artistic Director. During the work in the theater Shirvindt put a few plays in which he played, and Derzhavin.

On movie screens, the actor has appeared not so often as at the theater. He has played 30 roles that are remembered by the audience as well as its projections on the stage. This is mainly comedic roles in such films: “Three men in a boat not counting the dog”, “Winter evening in Gagra”, “Womanizer”, “Real male”, “Impotent”, “Old broads”. Derzhavin was awarded several government awards: the order “For merits before Fatherland” III and IV degree, order of Honor, order of Friendship.