Yury Gagarin is Russians’ icon of 20th century

A recent poll has shown that some things never change and the first man in space Yury Gagarin is still dear to Russians' hearts, being named the 20th Century's top celebrity in the country.

What's more, his rating has gotten higher over the last decade, even 40 years after his death.

In second was dissident actor and singer Vladimir Vysotsky, with World War II Marshal Georgy Zhukov in third.

Leo Tolstoy, Josef Stalin, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn follow on the list of favourites.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the man who brought perestroika to the Soviet Union, is second to last in the list of 20th century icons.