Master of fantasy: Renowned Russian theater & TV director Mark Zakharov dies at 85

Mark Zakharov made several beloved and widely popular movies that became instant classics during the Soviet times and are still fondly remembered today. The late director also led one of Moscow’s iconic theaters for decades.

The celebrated director passed away from pneumonia complications on Saturday.

Throughout his long career, Zakharov became a household name among movie buffs and theater-goers alike. He directed several acclaimed Soviet dramedies and musicals in the ‘70s and ‘80s, often with fantasy elements, as well as dozens of plays in Moscow’s Lenkom Theater, where he led the artistic department for over four decades.

His work was inspired by classics like Anton Chekhov, Bertolt Brecht and Jonathan Swift, as well as Russian contemporary Soviet playwrights and writers.  Zakharov was penchant for assembling ‘dream teams’ of talented actors for his productions, while many of his students later became celebrated performers in their own right.

Zakharov was also noted for skillfully sneaking controversial themes into his plays without being caught by the censors. This did not always work out well, though: a Soviet culture minister once took down his stage production after branding it “ideologically corrupt.”

Nevertheless, the director was not afraid to speak his mind and occasionally ventured into political commentary. At the height of Gorbachev’s Perestroika reforms in the late ‘80s, he made a poignant parable film ‘To Kill a Dragon’ about one’s fight against tyranny. Around that time he is said to have burnt his Communist Party card on live TV.

For his achievements, Mark Zakharov was awarded the highest grade of the Order ‘For the Merit to the Fatherland,’ becoming among the only 54 people to receive this honor.

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