Memorials & famous biographies

Prolific French playwright, filmmaker, and actor, known for his 115 plays and significant contributions to boulevard theatre

Russian-born American actor, photographer, and musician renowned for his Academy Award-winning portrayal of King Mongkut in <em>The King and I</em> and his distinctive shaved head

Soviet ballet dancer and choreographer widely regarded as the greatest male ballet dancer of the 20th century

Influential Soviet and Russian poet, screenwriter, photographer, and director, renowned for his extensive literary and artistic career

Russian diplomat and politician known for serving as Prime Minister from 1992-1998 and leading the transition to a market economy

Russian-Soviet writer, screenwriter, and novelist known for his works in science fiction and historical fiction, including 'Zolotoj Kljuchik' and 'Petr Pervyj'

Soviet physicist and educator who shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics for his fundamental work in quantum electronics, leading to the development of laser and maser

Russian chess grandmaster and the tenth World Chess Champion, known for his elegant style and historic matches against Tigran Petrosian and Bobby Fischer

Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster and electrical engineer who held five world titles and pioneered computer chess

Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to conduct a spacewalk on March 18, 1965, during the Voskhod 2 mission

Russian physicist, liberal statesman, and politician known for his role in post-Soviet economic reforms and as an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin

Russian mercenary leader, oligarch, and entrepreneur who led the Wagner Group and owned catering businesses that served the Kremlin

German physicist and Nobel laureate who formulated Wien's displacement law, calculating blackbody emission

Soviet and Russian small arms designer renowned for creating the AK-47 assault rifle and its subsequent improvements

Soviet and Russian film director, screenwriter, and film theorist celebrated for his spiritual and metaphysical films with slow pacing and dreamlike imagery

Finnish President, teacher, and diplomat, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008 for his vital efforts in resolving international conflicts

Russian revolutionary anarchist and political philosopher, known for his foundational influence on anarchism and collectivist anarchist tendencies throughout Russia and Europe

Soviet and Russian politician who served as the first President of Russia from 1991 to 1999

Russian composer, conductor, and pianist who became a central figure in 20th-century modernist music and whose works like <em>Le Sacre du printemps</em> redefined classical and ballet genres

Last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991, Nobel Peace Prize laureate for his role in radical changes in East-West relations, and a jurist, economist, and environmentalist