Then Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) talks with Russian actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov after handing him the order 'For Service to the Fatherland' marking the actor's 75th birthday in Moscow in 2003. Tikhonov, one of Russia's most popular actors, best-known in the West for starring in an Oscar-winning adaptation of "War and Peace," has died aged 81, Russian news agencies reported.
(AFP/File)