His legacy is Moscow’s world famous Taganka Theatre, which he founded in 1964.

Renowned Soviet and Russian actor and director Yury Lyubimov has died at the age of 97.

During the 1980s, Lyubimov was exiled for five years after criticizing cultural restrictions in the Soviet Union in an interview with a British newspaper.

Lyubimov’s death today in a Moscow hospital, three days after he was admitted, was the top news on Russian television and radio broadcasts.

With the exception of the five years he spent abroad, Lyubimov led the Taganka Theater from 1964 until 2011.