Arguably he was the most famous actor in the Soviet Union.
Minutes after Mikhail Vartanov received the Russian Academy Award for Parajanov: The Last Spring (1992),
on the same stage presenter Yuri Nikulin received a huge tree-shaped
cake as he had just turned 71 that day; Yuriy Nikulin, one of the greatest
Soviet comedians, was admired by one of the greatest Soviet filmmakers
Sergei Paradjanov, the subject of Parajanov: The Last Spring (1992)